The Mid-American Conference has been quite competitive in recent years with multiple teams competing in both divisions for their division title. 2019 should be no different in the West Division, but this could be a year where Ohio easily wins the East. After the Bobcats, the other five teams have glaring weaknesses that can easily be exploited by a roster and coaching staff at Ohio, and the Western Division competitors.
The West Division is a four-team race. Western Michigan returns more starters than any other team in the FBS Football. The Broncos finished a game behind division winner Northern Illinois, and WMU is the team to beat in the West. However, Toledo, Eastern Michigan, and Northern Illinois have enough talent to get a piece of the division flag, and all four teams could finish at 6-2 or 5-3 if they beat up on each other.
Here is the way the MAC Media representatives voted at the preseason media poll.
| Mid-American Conference Media Poll | |||
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| East Division | |||
| Pos. | Team | 1st Place Votes | Overall Votes |
| 1 | Ohio | 24 | 144 |
| 2 | Miami (O) | 0 | 107 |
| 3 | Buffalo | 0 | 100 |
| 4 | Kent St. | 0 | 62 |
| 5 | Akron | 0 | 54 |
| 6 | Bowling Green | 0 | 37 |
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| West Division | |||
| Pos. | Team | 1st Place Votes | Overall Votes |
| 1 | Toledo | 15 | 127 |
| 2 | Western Michigan | 5 | 112 |
| 3 | Northern Illinois | 3 | 103 |
| 4 | Eastern Michigan | 0 | 83 |
| 5 | Ball St. | 0 | 43 |
| 6 | Central Michigan | 1 | 36 |
| Championship Game Winner | |
| Ohio | 13 |
| Toledo | 7 |
| Western Michigan | 2 |
| Northern Illlinois | 1 |
| Central Michigan | 1 |
Here are our preseason PiRate Ratings for the MAC.
| Preseason PiRate Ratings–Mid-American Conference | ||||
| East Division | ||||
| Team | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average |
| Ohio U | 96.3 | 95.2 | 97.8 | 96.5 |
| Miami (O) | 90.5 | 89.0 | 90.9 | 90.1 |
| Buffalo | 88.0 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 88.6 |
| Kent St. | 84.8 | 85.5 | 85.0 | 85.1 |
| Akron | 83.1 | 83.4 | 83.3 | 83.2 |
| Bowling Green | 78.3 | 78.5 | 78.7 | 78.5 |
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| West Division | ||||
| Team | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average |
| Western Michigan | 99.4 | 98.2 | 99.7 | 99.1 |
| Northern Illinois | 94.3 | 93.2 | 94.4 | 94.0 |
| Toledo | 91.2 | 90.8 | 92.3 | 91.4 |
| Eastern Michigan | 88.8 | 89.2 | 89.6 | 89.2 |
| Ball St. | 85.6 | 85.4 | 85.1 | 85.4 |
| Central Michigan | 78.3 | 79.2 | 78.4 | 78.6 |
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| MAC Averages | 88.2 | 88.1 | 88.7 | 88.3 |
Note: These preseason ratings are accurate as of August 1, 2019, and subject to change before the first week of the season due to personnel changes prior to the first week of the season.
Predicted Won-Loss Records
The PiRate Ratings were not created to forecast won-loss records like other ratings might attempt. Our ratings are valid for just the next game on the teams’ schedules, and we have pre-set adjustments built into our ratings on many teams. For instance, if a team has exceptional starting talent but little depth, their rating has a pre-set reduction per week of the season, so that even if they win or lose a game by the exact expected margin, they will lose some of their power rating due to their depth issues.
If a team has exceptional, but inexperienced talent, their rating will have a pre-set addition per week of the season, and even if their performance may be exactly what was expected, their power rating will rise.
What you see in these predicted won-loss records are our opinion and not calculated from the ratings. These are the estimated records based on a vote, with the Captain having 50% of the vote and the crew having the other 50%. The Captain then rounded up or down those teams picked to have an average wins that were not whole numbers.
| PiRate Members Predicted Won-Loss | |||
| East Division | |||
| Pos | Team | MAC | Overall |
| 1 | Ohio | 7-1 | 9-4 |
| 2 | Miami (O) | 5-3 | 6-6 |
| 3 | Buffalo | 5-3 | 6-6 |
| 4 | Akron | 3-5 | 4-8 |
| 5 | Kent St. | 3-5 | 4-8 |
| 6 | Bowling Green | 1-7 | 2-10 |
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| West Division | |||
| Pos | Team | MAC | Overall |
| 1 | Western Michigan | 7-1 | 10-3* |
| 2 | Toledo | 6-2 | 8-4 |
| 3 | Eastern Michigan | 5-3 | 7-5 |
| 4 | Northern Illlinois | 5-3 | 6-6 |
| 5 | Ball St. | 1-7 | 2-10 |
| 6 | Central Michigan | 0-8 | 2-10 |
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Western Michigan picked to win MAC Championship Game |
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| Bowl Predictions | |
| Bahamas | Western Michigan |
| Boca Raton | Ohio |
| Camellia | Eastern Michigan |
| Dollar General | Northern Illinois |
| Idaho Potato | Toledo |
| Also Bowl Eligible |
| Buffalo |
| Miami (O) |
Coaches That Could Move To FBS Power 5 Conferences
Lance Leipold, Buffalo
Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan
Jason Candle, Toledo
Tim Lester, Western Michigan
Coaches On The Hot Seat
Mike Neu, Ball St.
Top Quarterbacks
Nathan Rourke, Ohio
Jon Wassink, Western Michigan
Mitchell Guadagni, Toledo
Best Offense
Western Michigan
Toledo
Ohio
Best Defense
Northern Illinois
Ohio
Buffalo
Coming Tomorrow: The Sun Belt Conference
The Pi-Rate Ratings 