2019 MAC Football POWER TIERS Week Four: EMU Keeps The MAC’s B1G Streak Alive
Only two MAC schools have FBS wins out of conference headed into week four. Ranking everyone 1–12 seemed like a pointless exercise as a result. We’re all about power tiers now.
Free on Saturday’s Week Four Power Tiers
Brandon Fitzsimons and I (Justin) exchanged power rankings this week and we realized that something just wasn’t quite right. A tiered approach to grouping teams isn’t a new or even creative idea, but we decided it works better than a straight 1–12 ranking. After all, what’s the use in trying to decide whether Bowling Green or Akron is 12th? It’s all the same in the cellar.
Each week going forward we’ll tier the teams by whatever makes sense that week, usually with a focus on going from best to worst teams, regardless of their chances to win a MAC title. Does Ohio really belong in tier one right now because it plays in the MAC East? We certainly don’t think so, and we are never wrong.
TIER ONE: HAS FBS WINS OVER NOT AKRON
Here’s the list of teams the MAC has beaten through three weeks of non conference football:
FCS: Morgan State, Robert Morris, Kennesaw State, Tennessee Tech, Rhode Island, Albany, Monmouth, Murray State, Fordham, Illinois State
FBS: Illinois, Georgia State, Coastal Carolina
Gotta feel nice for Illinois to be on this list. It was fun for a week watching everyone think the Illini had somehow turned a corner because they beat UConn.
Eastern Michigan (2–1)
EMU beat Illinois, overcharged it for an oil change and successfully upsold it on an air filter it definitely could have waited another month or two on getting.
Three straight years beating schools that are part of the Big Ten, even if two of them are only technically good enough to be a part of the conference, is impressive for Eastern Michigan. Mike Glass looks like he can win the Eagles some important games in MAC play. Next up is Central Connecticut State, meaning 3–1 Eastern Michigan is becoming a reality.
Western Michigan (2–1)
Want to feel old? WMU’s 51–17 loss to Michigan State was 15 years ago. The Broncos were two-score favorites over Georgia State, sure, but did anyone expect a 57–10 destruction of the Panthers at Waldo Stadium? If WMU is able to put up these types of numbers against teams with shaky defenses, it should have no problem getting to bowl eligibility and having a shot in the MAC West race come November.
TIER TWO: REPUTATION IS YOUR NON CONFERENCE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES NOT MATTERING A DAMN BIT
Despite the MAC’s reputation as a fluky outfit where the impossible can happen any given week, it’s incredibly consistent year to year. One division always comes down to the winner of NIU-Toledo and the other is decided by whether or not Ohio shits the bed and to which team it does it in front of.
That’s why tier two is occupied by the usual mainstays from the top of the standings. Would Toledo losing to Colorado State really convince you of anything? NIU started 0–4 in 2016 and nearly made it to bowl eligibility anyway. These teams are always hanging around, whether you like it or not.
Toledo (1–1)
The Rockets haven’t had much of a chance to show what they’re made of yet, but they’ll get one against Colorado State and then BYU in the next two weeks. 1–3 is a real possibility for Toledo, but they should expect to be 2–2 headed into MAC play.
Ohio (1–2)
Now that all of the potential New Years Six hype has fizzled out rather quickly, we can focus on whether or not Ohio can win the MAC. Do the Bobcats still have Nathan Rourke? Yes? Well then yes, of course they can.
Northern Illinois (1–2)
Nothing NIU does matters until November, but it was still a little jarring to see the Huskies lose the way they did to Nebraska this weekend. If you’re a Huskie fan the best case scenario is that Nebraska’s recent loss to Colorado and the fact that 2017 meant you had all of Lincoln’s attention for a week created a perfect storm that Ross Bowers and friends could never overcome. The worst case scenario is that there’s actually a problem and the defense gets lit up by Riley Neal and Vanderbilt, so, yeah, it’s probably fine.
TIER THREE: HOT SEATS AND ROSTER ATTRITION
Buffalo’s offseason looked like if a rival fan specifically took over its roster in a video game and removed the players that would have the greatest negative impact on the team. Their explanation for current affairs is much more forgivable than the other two teams on this list, who are probably beginning to think about their next head coaches if things don’t turn around quickly.
Ball State (1–2)
The Cardinals’ next three games are against NC State, Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan. It’s likely they’ll be underdogs in all three of those contests, and it’s unthinkable that at 1–5 there would be any light at the end of the tunnel for the program under Mike Neu. However, there’s enough experience on this team to hold out hope that one or two of the first conference games could shake out favorably.
Miami (1–2)
Chuck Martin may have gotten picks 86 and beyond at recess, but his team still figures to be in contention for a bowl game as the season goes on. Ohio State is next up, so Miami will almost certainly be 1–3 headed into the MAC season, and will need to steal a game or two to go bowling and maybe play for a MAC title.
Buffalo (1–2)
The Bulls were impressive in the first half at Penn State two weeks ago, but just as we all started to feel good about them they went and took one on the chin at Liberty. To make matters worse, the Bulls have to play a Temple team that was quite impressive in an upset of Maryland in week three.
TIER FOUR: PURGATORY
Hi, Central. Nobody at big kids table is inviting you to sit with them, but you’ll be damned if you sit near Akron.
Central Michigan (2–1)
2–1 is 2–1, and had the Chips struggled in a win against Akron maybe we’d feel differently about them, but it doesn’t feel right for CMU to be listed in the same tier as Akron, so Jim McElwain and his indifference to enjoying his time in Mount Pleasant will have to hang out by the cellar door and wait for someone to unlock it.
TIER FIVE: AT LEAST THE CELLAR HAS GOOD WINE
Welcome to the rebuild zone, where things get worse before they get better, and everyone is subjected to slide shows about Tom Brady.
Kent State (1–2)
The jury’s kind of still out on Kent State until the schedule lightens up. It’s fun to make jokes about the Flashes struggling to beat Kennesaw State but, at this point, that’s a damn good win — maybe the best FCS win in the conference and almost certainly more difficult than beating Akron. A convincing win over Bowling Green could maybe promote the Flashes to a slightly more comfortable MAC purgatory.
Bowling Green (1–2)
9.5 point underdogs against Kent State is the answer to your question. Your question is “how are things at Bowling Green?”
Akron (0–3)
Football is the worst sport to endure a losing season in, and I hope for the sake of everyone at Akron there’s some bright spots left in this season. Losing big to a short-handed CMU team is not encouraging though.
