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MAC Football Power Rankings, Week 1: Buffalo moving on back

Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Well, after an awful FCS loss to Albany the Bulls shuffle down to the bottom of the standings. The biggest winner this week is Ball State. Their quality win over a Sun-Belt team vaulted the Cardinals up five spots. Here are the rest of the rankings:

Rank Team Score LW CH Comment
1 WMU

1.0

1 0 The boat is still rowing as Fleck and co. eked out a huge win over Big-Ten opponent Northwestern
2 TOL 2.0 2 0 The only other consensus pick by our editors, the Rockets are coming off a 31-10 rout over Arkansas State.
3 CMU 3.5 5 +2 CMU put an absolute smackdown over FCS opponent Presbyterian, allowing them to take a few spots from teams that were rated too high.
4 NIU 4.8 3 -1 NIU losing to Wyoming is a red flag that Huskies fans should watch out for. The Cowboys have been one of the worst FBS programs in the last few years.
5 BALL 5.5 10 +5 Under a new head coach, the Cardinals brought home a solid win over Georgia State and took back a lot of points from the editors this week.
6 AKR 5.8 7 +1 Akron destroyed their FCS opponent VMI, but that was expected and as a result it didn't move them up too much.
7 OHIO 7.8 6 -1 Ohio had to go to three overtimes with Texas State for the game to end, but it didn't end in their favor.
8 BG 8.3 4 -4 It's no shock that the Falcons lost to THE Ohio State Buckeyes but being smashed by 67 points is no excuse. This could be a much different year for BG.
9 EMU 8.5 12 +3 EMU WON A GAME and in dominating fashion. The Eagles took down FCS opponent Mississippi Valley State in a 61-14 crushing.
10 KENT 8.8 9 +1 Kent State's game versus Penn State was a lot like Buffalo's matchup with the Nittany Lions a year prior. Coincidentally, this one also ended in a loss for the MAC team involved.
11 M-OH 10.8 11 0 The RedHawks didn't pose any threat to the #17 team in the nation but still managed to put 21 points on the board. They could be a dark horse in the MAC East.
12 BUFF 11.3 8 -4 They lost to an FCS school.


Notable picks from the editors

  • John thinks Buffalo is good enough for 10th in the power rankings, ahead of Miami and EMU.
  • Matt was the harshest on Bowling Green and their 77-10 loss, placing them 11th out of the 12 teams.
  • Ohio is still the biggest question mark among editors. They're as high as 3 (Tim) but as low as 10 (Matt, Robby) in everyone's rankings.