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College Football Recruiting, Opinion, and Analysis

MACtion Is Back: What to Expect From the 2025 Season

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Junior Vandeross III
Toledo Rockets wide receiver Junior Vandeross III (2) makes a catch to get the first down against Pittsburgh Panthers defensive back Cruce Brookins (12) that lead to a tying field goal, in the fourth quarter of the 2024 GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024.

Photo Credit: Kimberly P. Mitchell/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Miami (Ohio) won the Mid-American Conference in 2023 and 2024, and now a new team could emerge as champions for the 2025. 

1. Toledo Rockets (Prediction: 10-2, 8-0)

Whatever’s in the water in Toledo, Ohio, has worked for Jason Candle’s Rockets over the previous nine seasons. Under Candle, Toledo has a record of 73-40 and two conference titles. Last season, Toledo struggled after it was predicted to finish second in the MAC coaches’ poll before the season.

The season began with a disappointing road loss in the fourth game against Western Kentucky, and then a road loss to Buffalo in their second conference game. Three more losses would occur against Bowling Green and Ohio at home and Akron on the road. Ohio and Akron were back-to-back losses to end the season. This year, a fired-up Toledo team returns 10 starters, five on offense and five on defense. Toledo had the 56th-ranked offense and 54th-ranked defense. Toledo comes in first in the coaches’ poll this year. Can they live up to the hype this year?

2. Buffalo Bulls (Prediction: 10-2, 7-1)

Buffalo’s last double-digit win season came back in 2018 when wide receiver KJ Osborn finished the year with Second-Team All-MAC honors, before transferring to Miami for 2019. Buffalo was a Cinderella story in the MAC last season after being predicted to finish 10th in the coaches’ poll—the Bulls went on to finish third in the MAC with new head coach Pete Lembo, who hadn’t been in the hot seat since 2018 when he was with MAC foe Ball State. This year, the Bulls could have a chance to play for the conference title for the first time since 2020. Lembo returns five offensive players who ranked 95th last season and nine defensive players, a unit that ranked 91st. With all those players returning and a light schedule, Buffalo and Toledo for the MAC title will be an intriguing matchup, with a possible College Football Playoff birth on the line.   

3. Miami (Ohio) Redhawks (Prediction: 8-4, 6-2)

Coming off back-to-back conference championship game appearances, Miami (Ohio) is only returning four players to its defense. This will be an entirely different offense for head coach Chuck Martin. Seventh-year quarterback Dequan Finn transfers from Baylor, where he opened as the starting quarterback, but only played in three games before applying for a medical redshirt.

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Before playing his sixth year of eligibility at Baylor, Finn played his first five years at Toledo, throwing for 7,083 yards and 63 touchdowns, and was the 2023 MAC Player of the Year. In 2022, Finn won the MAC with Toledo. The following year, his Rockets would lose the title to Miami in the MAC championship game, and with the Redhawks predicted to be the second-best team in the MAC coaches’ poll, Finn will attempt to bring a third title back to Martin’s trophy case.

4. Central Michigan Chippewas (Prediction: 7-5, 6-2)

In his first season as a head coach at the FBS level, Matt Drinkall leads Central Michigan to what its fanbase hopes will be a memorable era. Drinkall comes over from the Army football program, where he most recently served as the offensive line coach, but in his six years at West Point, Drinkall held various positions. He was the offensive quality control coach in 2019, the tight ends coach from 2020-22, the co-offensive coordinator in 2023 and the offensive line coach in 2023-24.

In his six years in Jeff Monken’s system, Drinkall saw what it takes to retool a program. The reason to be optimistic about this upcoming season is that the conference schedule is manageable—Eastern Michigan, UMass and Buffalo are winnable home games, and Toledo at the end of the season will be a huge test for the Chippewas. The away games that Central Michigan should win are against Akron, Bowling Green and Kent State. They also play Western Michigan, but that matchup should favor the Broncos. Central Michigan is pegged to finish ninth in the coaches’ poll. I’d keep the Chippewas as a fun story in the MAC.

5. Ohio Bobcats (Prediction: 6-6, 5-3)

This will surprise many MAC fans that Ohio is No. 5 in my predictions. Returning quarterback Parker Navarro led the ninth-ranked total offense in the country last season, which is no surprise why Ohio is ranked No. 3 in the MAC coaches’ poll. However, Ohio will promote former assistant Brian Smith to the head coaching position after former head coach Tim Albin left to become the head coach at Charlotte. With the returning starters it’s fair to believe that Smith will have overall smooth sailing in his first season.

The first three games are gauntlets against the Power Four teams—Rutgers on the road, West Virginia at home and Ohio State on the road. An 0-3 start could hurt morale. Then, a tough road game against Eastern Michigan, back home against a good Miami (Ohio) team, and finally a home game against Buffalo to end the season will lead to them

6. Eastern Michigan Eagles (Prediction: 5-7, 4-4)

Eastern Michigan is returning five offensive players to a group that ranked 75th in total offense. It’s presumed sixth-year quarterback Noah Kim, who started his career in East Lansing, Mich., where he played from 2020-23 before transferring to Coastal Carolina last year, will be the starting QB. Despite all this experience, he’s never been a full-time starter. The Eagles’ defense ranked 83rd in total defense last year, and they’ll be returning five starters. For Eastern Michigan, they’ll finish ahead of Ohio and Northern Illinois simply because they play them at home, and they matchup well against both teams. Eastern Michigan, like Central Michigan, is predicted to be in the bottom half of the MAC, according to the coaches’ poll, where the Eagles rank No. 8.

7. Northern Illinois Huskies (Prediction: 6-6, 4-4)

A mix of three returning players and a tough overall schedule, specifically the Huskies’ conference schedule, that will unfortunately derail a young Huskies team. A total of five underclassmen will make up the offense, an offense that ranked 93rd in scoring. Defensively, NIU should be among the best in the conference, but if the name of the game is to score points, that could be an issue for the Huskies. The backend of the season will open up for NIU to collect wins and gain experience.

8. Western Michigan Broncos (Prediction: 5-7, 3-5)

Western Michigan should be among the top teams to start conference play, but once late October hits and the Broncos face Miami (Ohio) on the road, Ohio at home, Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan on the road. This is a veteran group, and perhaps things will turn out differently, but right now, Western Michigan is an unproven team that has something to prove.

9. Ball State Cardinals (Prediction: 4-8, 3-5)

For the first time since 2016, someone new will be leading the Cardinals onto the field in Muncie, Ind. Now the program is in the hands of head coach Mike Uremovich, who comes over after three years as the head coach of the Butler Bulldogs in the FCS.

At Butler, Uremovich’s teams won 23 games, but never finished higher than third in the standings. Now in his first season at Ball State, the biggest thing for the Cardinals will be to show improvement throughout the year. It’s going to be a long haul for a learning team that’s looking to establish a winning culture.

10. Akron Zips (Prediction: 5-7, 3-5)

It’s becoming clearer by the season that perhaps head coach Joe Moorhead is better suited as an offensive coordinator, a role he held for two seasons at Penn State from 2016-17. He’s had just one winning season as an FBS head coach, which came in 2018, his first at Mississippi State. Now, in his fourth season at Akron, Moorhead has yet to establish any kind of consistency. This year will be much of the same, aside from winning their final two games of the season, the final game a Senior Day thriller against Toledo, Akron will only return six starters, and unless Akron finds a way to get on a roll, it will be five straight seasons that Moorhead will encounter a losing season.

11. Bowling Green Falcons (Prediction: 3-9, 2-6)

This is going to come as a surprise to many, especially with Bowling Green being slated to finish sixth according to the coaches’ poll. However, with former head coach Scott Loeffler leaving the program to become the quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, and with a first-time FBS head coach in Eddie George, coming over from FCS Tennessee State.

The program also returns six players on offense and defense. This could be a difficult season for the Falcons. The hope is that, like many teams that are welcoming a new, unproven head coach, will be to set a culture of hard work and build for 2026.

12. Kent State Golden Flashes (Prediction: 2-10, 1-7)

After two seasons as an offensive assistant coach at Kent State, the program is now in the hands of Mark Carney. Carney has never been a head coach at any level. The learning curve will be difficult, and with a program returning six players, there could be an opportunity for a few wins, but at the same time, a lot of growing pains. The hope for Carney’s Golden Flashes will be to learn from those growing pains.

13. UMass Minutemen (Prediction: 2-10, 1-7)

After a successful third season at Maine, head coach Joe Harasymiak makes the trip to Amherst, Mass. in hopes of recording the first plus .500 12-game season since 2008, when UMass was still playing in the FCS. That’s right, the Minutemen have never had a winning season playing FBS football since their ascension in 2012. That will have to be a long-term goal for Harasymiak. This season will provide plenty of growing pains for the Minutemen, but perhaps an installment of hard work and commitment will be established at UMass.

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