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MAC Football Storylines
– The story around the MAC continues to be stability. As totally lame as that sounds to open up a preview piece about the 2024 MAC college football season, stability can actually be fun. There is no conference realignment going on in the MAC. It keeps on doing what it’s doing, and on the flip side, it’s actually adding a program with UMass coming aboard starting next season in 2025.
So while the rest of the college football world continues jumping around everywhere, trying to figure out who it is and what it’s doing, you still have the MACtion to count on.
– In case the concept of stability overall wasn’t exciting for you, even most of the coaching is staying the same. Buffalo’s Maurice Linguist chose to ditch life as a head man to be an assistant under Kalen DeBoer at Alabama and former Ball State coach Pete Lembo is taking over. That is the only head coaching change in the conference.
𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗯𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 = 𝙊𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘽𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨
— Eastern Michigan Football (@EMUFB) June 22, 2024
All smiles from @crosbymaxx as the new playing surface inside Rynearson Stadium, Crosby Field, was unveiled today!#EMUEagles ⛓️ #ETOUGH ⛓️ #BET pic.twitter.com/hAZNYKt99x
– It’s not all vanilla, there is one big problem – talent. The transfer portal is hitting the MAC hard, because the conference does a great job of weeding out players for the bigger, richer schools. MAC stars like former Ohio QB Kurtis Rourke going to Indiana and Toledo QB Dequan Finn now at Baylor are just part of the talent drain.
There’s a lot to like, though, with Miami QB Brett Gabbert back and healthy, Bowling Green is bringing back some exciting offensive parts, and Toledo, Western Michigan, and Northern Illinois all improving there starting 22s.
Predictions
– No more divisions is one big difference. With no more MAC East and MAC West the conference race might not be quite as thrilling. It has always been fun with more teams getting to stay alive in a smaller division rather than a big conference, but it’ll be more representative of the how good the overall conference is. And it’s the MAC, which means there’s almost always a team that goes from zero to hero on a yearly basis, more so than any other conference.
– Toledo will be deep in the hunt. Miami might be the best team in the MAC, however…
1) The RedHawks are playing the Rockets in Toledo. 2) Toledo only plays one Power Five program, and beating Mississippi State in Starkville isn’t out of the question. 3) There’s an honest shot Jason Candle’s squad will be favored in at least ten out of the team’s 12 games.
13 Rockets chosen for @philsteele042 preseason All-MAC team. #ONErocket #TeamToledo https://t.co/nUbZd0ayTh
— Toledo Football (@ToledoFB) June 13, 2024
Could a MAC team be in a surprise running for the coveted Group of Five College Football Playoff spot?
10 Best MAC Players
1. Brett Gabbert, QB Miami Univ. Sr.
2. Maxen Hook, S Toledo Sr.
3. Antario Brown, RB Northern Illinois Sr.
4. Brian Ugwu, EDGE, Miami Univ. Sr.
5. CJ Nunnally, EDGE Akron Sr.
6. Harold Fannin, TE Bowling Green, Jr.
Northern Illinois RB Antario Brown is one of my favorite RB’s returning for the 2024 college football season. #NIL #Soar #CFB #NFLDraft2025 pic.twitter.com/Oi3FVi8bq3
— College Football Buzz (@CFBBUZ) May 5, 2024
7. Ty Wise, LB Miami Univ. Sr.
8. Connor Bazalak, QB Bowling Green Sr.
9. Jerjuan Newton, WR Toledo, Sr.
10. Kenneth Womack, WR Western Michigan, Sr.
10 Biggest MAC Games
MAC vs MAC action …
1. Miami University at Toledo, Oct. 5
2. Central Michigan at Toledo, Nov. 12
3. Toledo at Northern Illinois, Oct. 19
4. Ohio at Toledo, Nov. 20
5. Northern Illinois at Miami University, Nov. 19
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭. ✅
— Miami Football (@MiamiOHFootball) March 5, 2024
We'll see you there.
🎟️: https://t.co/JwCHKGdXYx#RiseUpRedHawks | 🎓🏆 pic.twitter.com/3Xi56yX2ej
6. Miami University at Bowling Green, Nov. 29
7. Ohio at Miami University, Oct. 19
8. Western Michigan at Bowling Green, Nov. 12
9. Eastern Michigan at Ohio, Nov. 13
10. Northern Illinois at Bowling Green, Oct. 12
10 Top MAC Transfers
1. Cole Snyder, QB Eastern Michigan (Buffalo)
2. Delbert Mimms, RB Eastern Michigan (NC State)
3. Ben Finley, QB Akron (Cal)
4. Jadarrius Perkins, CB Toledo (Florida)
5. Popeye Williams, EDGE Western Michigan (Louisville)
He's not afraid of a little contact…
— Eastern Michigan Football (@EMUFB) February 7, 2024
Delbert Mimms has joined the 𝐄𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐒!#ETOUGH ⛓️ #24OURS pic.twitter.com/NG2cVdNJq9
6. James Djonkam, EDGE Eastern Michigan (Arizona State)
7. Conner Muldowney, TE Kent State (Tiffin)
8. Marquese Williams, RB Akron (Minnesota)
9. Porter Rooks, WR Eastern Michigan (NC State)
10. Anthony Tyus III, RB Ohio (Northwestern)
New MAC Head Coaches
– Pete Lembo – Buffalo
Again, it’s sort of strange that there wasn’t more turnover in the conference, but the only new head coach in the MAC is a former Ball State head coach. Lembo has a bunch of work to do at Buffalo to get them turned around.
"It should be hard to leave a place…and it was hard to leave them."
— Matt Vereen (@MattVereen) January 23, 2024
An emotional introductory press conference for former @GamecockFB special teams coordinator Pete Lembo (@Pete_Lembo) now taking over at Buffalo, especially thanking @CoachSBeamer @wachfox | #Gamecocks pic.twitter.com/HMKUZhpCLT
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