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Finals week is not that fun, whether you are taking them or are a fan of a college sport where student-athletes are taking exams. Only ten games were played this week, and only a couple of them were of any intrigue. Nothing shocking happened, although Central Michigan and Northern Illinois put up more of a fight against BYU and Ohio State, respectively, than most thought they would.
Because of the slow week, there really wasn't much change in the power rankings this week:
Note: Rankings are compiled through Sundays' games.
| Rank | Team (1st-Place Votes) | Points | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akron (12) | 21 | 1 |
| 2 | Kent State | 43 | 2 |
| 3 | Toledo | 45 | 3 |
| 4 | Northern Illinois | 70 | 4 |
| 5 | Ohio | 72 | 5 |
| 6 | Eastern Michigan | 73 | 6 |
| 7 | Buffalo | 83 | 8t |
| 8 | Western Michigan | 87 | 8t |
| 9 | Ball State | 91 | 10 |
| 10 | Central Michigan | 98 | 7 |
| 11 | Miami | 120 | 12 |
| 12 | Bowling Green | 129 | 11 |
Central Michigan fell to tenth after being maybe a little overrated last week at seventh. The Chips played a great first half in Provo as both teams went into the locker room tied at 44. BYU pulled it out in the end though, winning by 13. For a CMU team almost back at full-strength, this was a positive showing. Chris Fowler is starting to look like himself again, and it would be stupid to write off this team before MAC play begins.
Bowling Green looked absolutely lost in yesterday's loss to Wright State, and those who thought the Falcons were on the verge of a turnaround had to be puzzled about that performance. Surprisingly Miami ended up jumping them, even though they lost at Tennessee Tech. These two teams are very inconsistent, and who knows if they'll be spoiler teams during MAC play or just flat out poor.