MAC Football

2016 MAC Football Power Rankings Week Six

Western Michigan has rowed its way to 6-0, first AP ranking in school history. Stays at number one.

By Justin Coffin Oct 11, 2016, 10:00am EDT

Rank	Wk 5 Rank	Team	Record	Points	Notes from Week Six
1	1	Western Michigan Broncos	6-0	10 (10)	The list of what P.J. Fleck likes to call "nevers" is growing shorter every day. The Broncos are 6-0 for the first time since the 1940's and find themselves ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time in program history. All this after a win over an NIU team WMU hasn't beaten in eight years in front of a packed Waldo Stadium. Fleck and company will look to avoid a let down against Akron in week seven.
2	2	Toledo Rockets	4-1	20	The Rockets beat Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti 35-20, keeping pace with WMU and bouncing back after a tough loss at BYU where the defense performed poorly. Logan Woodside and the offense are still clicking at a high level, which is good news for Toledo fans headed into the battle for I75 against Bowling Green
3	4	Akron Zips	4-2	40	No Thomas Woodson? No Problem. Akron handled Miami comfortably and now hopes to get its star quarterback back in time to take on the #24 Broncos at home. If not, the Zips are still in decent shape with Tra'Von Chapman under center throwing to JoJo Natson and Jerome Lane, and should continue to cause problems for defenses if Woodson's absence proves more lengthy.
4	5	Central Michigan Chippewas	4-2	45	The score was probably closer than fans would have liked, but the 24-21 win over Ball State at home was much needed for the Chippewas. The rushing attack seemed to finally get going, which is encouraging going forward, but also important to note it was against a Cardinal defense that gave up over 150 yards rushing to two different players the week before
5	6	Ohio Bobcats	4-2	46	The Bobcats move up a spot this week after beating Bowling Green 30-24, a less impressive win now than it would have been a year ago. The offense looks to be getting back on track, with Greg Windham spreading the ball around at a completion rate of 74 percent, and it will be needed to beat a hungry Eastern Michigan team in week seven
6	3	Eastern Michigan Eagles	4-2	53	The Eagles made it a one score game with just over eight minutes to play against Toledo, but in the end were no match for the Rocket offense, who sealed the deal with a 14 play drive for a touchdown. If Eastern is to get back to its winning ways, it will need to get more production on the ground, though the early season injury to Shaq Vann is making that quite difficult.
7	8	Northern Illinois Huskies	1-5	77	The Huskies fought hard behind a strong performance from Anthony Maddie, but were eventually no match for Western Michigan, losing 45-30 in Kalamazoo. NIU strung some successful drives together in the second half, but too many of them ended in field goals to take a lead. 1-5 is not a place you want to be, but the six time defending MAC West champions are far from the same team that lost to Western Illinois and Wyoming in the out of conference schedule.
8	7	Ball State Cardinals	3-3	79	The Cardinals held the Chippewas to zero offensive points in the second half in week six, but it was a Riley Neal pick six that made all the difference in the fourth quarter, allowing CMU to score on defense. James Gilbert would make it a three point game with 11:40 to play, but the Cardinals could not get back on the board. Ball State has been a bit of a surprise team in 2016, but will continue to struggle in close games if the offense wilts down the stretch.
9	9	Kent State Golden Flashes	2-4	82	Nick Holley is really something. The change at quarterback has made all the difference for the Flashes offense, helping them score 37 points (44 as a team on a fumble recovery for a touchdown). Sure, it was against Buffalo, but would any of us picture this team scoring 37 points? Holley only threw the ball 13 times, but rushed another 24 times for 224 yards and four touchdowns. The Flashes are a whole different team when they're scoring the football.
10	T10	Bowling Green Falcons	1-5	105	The Falcons lost a road game to Ohio on Saturday by six points, which is a step in the right direction, but apparently not enough to ease the fears of the fan base. At times the Falcons looked unbeatable in 2015, but have now been relegated to the MAC cellar. James Morgan had issues keeping the ball in the hands of his own team, but has a chance to be pretty good going forward.
11	T10	Buffalo Bulls	1-4	110	After beating Army out of nowhere, the Bulls have regressed back to their previous form. Lance Leipold's team again looks much more like the team that lost to Albany, and it seems to not know which version of Tyree Jackson it will get each week.
12	T10	Miami RedHawks	0-6	113	Miami's losses this season have at times been of the close variety, leading many to believe this team was close to turning the corner. After a 35-13 loss to Akron, it looks like there may not be a corner to turn. Of course, the injury to quarterback Billy Bahl hasn't helped the RedHawks' consistency, either. It will be interesting to see how Chuck Martin's team fares against Kent State in week seven.