MAC Football

MAC Football Power Rankings: Week 1

NIU is still king, but Bowling Green is inching closer.

By Bryan M. Vance Sep 4, 2013, 1:00pm EDT

We completely forgot to do a preseason MAC Football Power Rankings. Ooops. Oh well, that isn't going to keep us from doing it this week. On to the rankings!

Rank	Rank (Pv)	Team	Record	What We Learned
1	-	NIU	1-0 (0-0)	NIU pulled off a good win against Iowa in Week 1, and though the Huskies weren't dominate, they're clearly still the kings of the MAC until someone can succesfulyl dethrone them.
2	-	BGSU	1-0 (0-0)	Okay, we all knew Bowling Green's defense was good...but damn. The Falcons beat down the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in Week 1, and despite questionable play at quarterback, are clearly the team to beat in the east right now.
3	-	Ball State	1-0 (0-0)	Despite a sluggish start against Illinois State, Keith Wenning and the boys were able to hang 51 points on the board by the end of things. BSU still has some question marks on defense, but appears to be one of the better teams in the MAC.
4	-	Ohio	0-1 (0-0)	Yes, Ohio was embarrassed. Yes, that was the worst loss in Solich's nine season in Athens. But Louisville might have been the best team any MAC school played in Week 1 (not buying OSU as a No. 2). Too early to panic.
5	-	Toledo	0-1 (0-0)	Basically the same as Ohio. Toledo's offense was bad, but that was against a stout Florida defense. The Rockets have too much talent to be written off this early.
6	-	Buffalo	0-1 (0-0)	After the way the SUNY at Buffalo Bulls played the Buckeyes in Week 1 you'd be a fool not to have them in the top half of the power rankings. I'm still not sold that they can compete in the MAC East, but they're starting to warm me up to that idea.
7	-	Western Michigan	0-1 (0-0)	I know there are a lot of issues with the Broncos, and yes, Michigan State's offense is miserable, but still WMU hung in with a B1G squad.
8	-	Kent State	1-0 (0-0)	Dri Archer may have been hurt, but the fact that Kent struggled mightily against Liberty has to have some Golden Flashes' fans worried.
9	-	Miami	0-1	The RedHawks were one of many MAC teams on the bad side of a a ones-sided affair in Week 1. Miami's defense will need to perform better, and the offense has to show up if the team wants to not dwell in the cellar.
10	-	CMU	0-1	CMU to the biggest beating in Week 1, not just in terms of the final score, but also in the impact. Zurlon Tipton broke his ankle, and Cody Kater broke his collarbone, decimating the Chippewas offense. Alex Niznak has a lot of pressure on his shoulders right now.
11	-	UMass	0-1 (0-0)	This ranking is based solely off the first half against Wisconsin. The fact that the Minutemen didn't enter halftime trailing by 30 points is huge. UMass might be tougher than many thought.
12	-	EMU	1-0 (0-0)	I'm aware the EMU won, but let's not forget they had to comeback to get that victory...over Howard. There are a lot of issues with this squad, and with Penn St. in Week 2, things could look ugly real quick.
13	-	Akron	0-1 (0-0)	That Thursday night loss to UCF was brutal. Akron was outmatched across the board by a fellow mid-major team. The Zips really need to improve in confidence quickly to climb up off of this bottom rung.