Just as predicted, week nine for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) showcased a huge shake-up in the standings with a new name finally reaching the top, while others suffered hardships that changed the outlook thus far.
Here are the new leaders for ‘Around The MAC’.
Miami claims the top spot
The Miami RedHawks (5-3, 4-0) remain as the only undefeated team in conference play after defeating the Western Michigan Broncos (4-4, 3-1) on their home turf, 26-17. With the victory, the Chuck Martin-led group finds itself out in front of the pack, but is still not satisfied moving forward.
“It was kind of how I thought it was going to be,” Martin said, postgame. “There’s so much we need to get better at still.”
The dominant four-game winning streak for the Broncos has now come to a screeching halt, dropping to fifth in the overall standings. The second-ranked defense, which came into the weekend only allowing seven and a half points the last four weeks, would give up 408 total yards of offense on the day.
The RedHawks’ schedule will hit a new challenge in week ten, as a rematch of last year’s title against the Ohio Bobcats (5-3, 3-1) will take place in Athens, Ohio.
The Bulls flounder against the Zips
The Akron Zips (3-6, 2-3) managed to play spoiler yet again, this time against the previous leaders, the Buffalo Bulls, on the road, 24-16.
The Bulls have been seen to tend not to put games away against opponents who are 10 or more points favorites. In the game, the Blue and White were leading at halftime, 10-3, but the fourth-ranked defense in the MAC would give up 21 unanswered points in the second half that would have Akron take complete control the rest of the day.
“I have got to do a better job of solving very specific problems that we are having,” Head coach Pete Lembo said, postgame. “The head scratcher for me is how we can play so well for the first 30 minutes of the game, then give up two drives for touchdowns to start the third.”
Lembo and the Bulls will look to have a rebound game against the Bowling Green Falcons (3-5, 1-3) on Saturday, Nov 1, at 12:00 P.M.
Momentum builds for the Chippewas
For the Central Michigan Chippewas (5-3, 3-1), they now sit second in the standings after their dominating win against the Massachusetts Minutemen (0-8, 0-4), 38-13. A spot they have not seen since the 2021 season.
While first-year head coach Matt Drinkall was very happy with the performance after the game clock struck zero, he let his aggressive squad know very well that there are greater goals afoot week after week.
“We can easily win one more game to get a bowl game, but that’s not what we want,” Drinkall said, postgame. “We want the championship. Every year we have been urging for the championship, and we never got there; what we want is the championship.”
The next step in achieving the goal will come on a road game against their in-state opponent, WMU in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the following week.
Ohio is on another streak
The new winning streak for the Ohio Bobcats (5-3, 3-1) continued on the road Saturday against the Eastern Michigan Eagles (2-7, 1-4), 28-21.
With the win, the Bobcats move back inside the top three while still boasting the second-best offense in the conference with senior quarterback Parker Navarro averaging 223.3 yards per game, even having 315 yards in the close matchup.
Like Miami, Ohio will look to continue its run against its opponent from last year’s title matchup, which will once again change the paradigm of the MAC standings.
