MAC football preseason poll picks Michigan teams to finish in middle of pack

Posted by author July 19, 2024 Football

It’s a little over a month till college football gets some MACtion.

The Mid-American Conference held its football media day Friday at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and released its preseason poll, with voting by the coaches.

In the voting, in which coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams, Miami (Ohio) was the clear favorite to win the championship, with nine first-place votes, followed by Toledo, with three.

The three Michigan teams — Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and Central Michigan — were picked sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, out of the 12-team conference.

This is the first year of a new alignment for the MAC, which eliminated the East and West divisions, in an effort to assure each team plays every other team at least once home and away over a three-year period, while protecting annual rivalries.

Eastern Michigan, led by head coach Chris Creighton, has made six bowl games since 2016, tied for most in the MAC.

Western Michigan is looking to make strides in Lance Taylor’s second year as head coach, while Central Michigan, led by head coach Jim McElwain, is out to bounce back from a 9-15 record over the last two years.

Here’s the complete preseason poll:

1. Miami (nine first-place votes), 119 points

2. Toledo (three), 109

T3. Bowling Green, 92

T3. Northern Illinois, 92

5. Ohio, 81

6. Eastern Michigan, 64

7. Western Michigan, 60

8. Central Michigan, 59

9. Ball State, 42

10. Buffalo, 37

11. Akron, 24

12. Kent State, 13

Miami received 10 votes to win the conference championship game, while Toledo received two. The MAC championship game will be played at Detroit’s Ford Field for the 21st time, at noon on Dec. 7.

The Michigan teams will play a total of four games against power-conference opponents, with WMU playing at Wisconsin on Aug. 30 and Ohio State on Sept. 7, EMU playing at Washington on Sept. 7, and CMU playing at Illinois on Sept. 14.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984