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| Rank | Team | PR | Δ | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BGSU | - | NA | Bowling Green shocked the conference by destroying NIU in last years MAC Championship. This year nobody will get caught napping on the the Falcons. |
| 2 | Toledo | - | NA | Toledo, Ball State and NIU will have to tussle for the MAC West and for the first time in a long while NIU does not have a clear advantage |
| 3 | NIU | - | NA | NIU weathered the loss of Chandler Harnish and had their best years ever; will they manage to survive the loss of Jordan Lynch? |
| 4 | Ball State | - | NA | Another great season by Ball State and the Cards might start celebrating the "Lembo Leap". Once again BSU is all around one of the best teams in the MAC |
| 5 | Ohio | - | NA | Can Frank Solich continue to keep Ohio's bowl streak alive? The Bobcats limped into the end of last season but Ohio has been a strong September / October team |
| 6 | Buffalo | - | NA | UB lost a lot of talent. But while the focus of the media has been on the guys lost the focus for the UB coaching staff is Joe Licata and the entire returning offensive line |
| 7 | Akron | - | NA | Akron's strong finish last season bodes well for the Zips this year. They have been slowly, and smartly rebuilding the team since the departure of i-coach. |
| 8 | CMU | - | NA | Whether it's fair or not this will be another year where Dan Enos is on the hot seat. Two straight 6-6 records do not build a lot of cushion when the fans still remember owning the MAC |
| 9 | Kent | - | NA | KSU lost Dri Archer and have to deal with the tragic death of teammate Jason Bitsko. The Flashers return a promising young Quarterback but they are something of a mystery. |
| 10 | WMU | - | NA | Nothing about PJ Fleck's coaching gives me hope for WMU. His recruiting on the other hand is putting more high target talent in Kalamazoo than any other team in the MAC. |
| 11 | Miami | - | NA | The RedHawks should show some marginal improvement this year. I believe that Chuck Martin is one of the better coaching hires the conference has seen in recent years. |
| 12 | EMU | - | NA | Will "the factory" mentality pay off for EMU? It's going to take a lot more than a new turf and a neat theme to turn around the Eagles. Maybe Chris Creighton can get it done. |
| 13 | UMass | - | NA | UMass has a promising new/old coach. But they lost a ton of talent and you can't just sign transfers from other schools for success, believe me, we know! |