MAC Bowl Snapshot

[PoopyRhinoPickle]

Bowl Game Eligible

Team	Record	Remaining Opponents
Bowling Green	7-3	Ohio, Toledo
Miami (OH)	7-3	at Kent State, at Ohio
Northern Illinois	7-3	UMass, Ball State
Central Michigan	6-3	Eastern Michigan, Oregon, Western Michigan
Ball State	6-5	at Northern Illinois

Miami and Northern Illinois are the surprise teams here as both have exceeded a lot of people's expectations and locked up their first ever bowl game. Bowling Green and Central Michigan shouldn't really surprise anyone, given they both competed in the Playoffs last season but they both probably have 1 or 2 more losses than they'd like at this point in the season. Ball State is now eligible for a bowl game in 2 consecutive seasons, a solid accomplishment for the Cardinals.

Not secured, but likely

Team	Record	Remaining Opponents
Akron	5-5	Toledo, Kent State
Western Michigan	5-5	at Buffalo, at Central Michigan

I know Akron has lost 4 in a row but I believe they're favorites in their 2 remaining games. Do I think they'll win both? It's possible they won't but I think they'll win at least 1. Western Michigan is definitely the favorite going into their game against Buffalo, and I would say it's a 50-50 matchup against Central Michigan. We'll see if OG Torres can do what Theo Scribner never could and defeat the Chippewas.

Possible, but unlikely

Team	Record	Remaining Opponents
Ohio	5-5	at Bowling Green, Miami (OH)
Kent State	4-6	Miami (OH), at Akron

This will go down as bulletin board material for Ohio, a team still competing for a division championship, but they'll likely be underdogs in both their remaining games. They only need to win 1 but if I had to bet they'll lose both. I hope that doesn't come back to haunt me. Kent State needs to win against Miami and Akron. They've pulled off some upsets this season (ask Central Michigan and the fake Miami), but I think they drop both.

Eliminated from Bowl contention

Team	Record	Remaining Opponents
Toledo	3-7	at Akron, at Bowling Green
Buffalo	2-9	Western Michigan
Eastern Michigan	2-9	at Central Michigan

Not a lot of surprises here. I thought Toledo would win more games than they did (they have a surprising amount of talent on their roster), but reaching bowl eligibility is still a bit of a stretch for the losingest MAC team of all-time. Buffalo continues to struggle to find any success and even have taken a step backwards from 5-7 last season. Speaking of taking a step backwards, no team has done so more than Eastern Michigan. The Eagles went 8-5 last season and even had a bowl win. Back to the drawing board for them.

Edited August 17, 2023 by PoopyRhinoPickle