Mid-American Football Conference Betting Online
You really have to feel for the Ohio Bobcats. They have been one of the most successful teams in the MAC over the last decade and change with 11 bowl appearances over the last 14 seasons. Ohio has won the MAC East five times since 2006, but the Bobcats haven’t won a conference championship since 1968. They were clearly the best team in the conference last year with Kurtis Rourke under center, but the MAC MVP tore his ACL on November 15, and the Bobcats once again lost in the MAC Championship Game as a result. Toledo pulled out a gritty 17-7 victory over Ohio, and the oddsmakers expect those schools to meet in Detroit once more.
Mid-American Conference Current Champion: Toledo Rockets
Mid-American Championship Game: W 17-7 vs. Ohio
Boca Raton Bowl: W 21-19 vs. Liberty
College Football Betting Lines
Toledo +200
Ohio +270
Buffalo +700
Miami (OH) +800
Eastern Michigan +800
Central Michigan +2000
Northern Illinois +3000
Akron +3000
Ball State +4000
Bowling Green +4500
Western Michigan +5000
Kent State +12500
The Toledo Rockets bring back their coaching staff and quarterback Dequan Finn along with a boatload of seniors on both sides of the ball. Toledo looks to be one of the most experienced teams in the conference, so it won’t be easy to take down the Rockets.
There’s no doubt that Ohio has the most potential if Kurtis Rourke is healthy though. Rourke had a phenomenal 2022 campaign before tearing his ACL, and CFL teams are already salivating at the prospect of selecting him. He probably isn’t good enough for the NFL, but he could thrive in the CFL like his brother Nathan Rourke, and he doesn’t use an import slot as a Canadian native.
Kent State might not win a game this season after Sean Lewis left to become the offensive coordinator under Deion Sanders at Colorado. Lewis had brought fire to the Golden Flashes over his five years in charge, but it’s clear that he thought he had reached his potential there after leading the program to two bowl games. The Golden Flashes are perennial bottom feeders with an overall record of 225-446-5.
Mid-American Football Conference Format
The MAC is the most stable conference in the FBS with all its current members in place since 1998 when Buffalo joined. The conference is divided into two six-team divisions, the East and West, based on geographic relationships. Each team plays its division rivals and three cross-over games with the other division for a total of eight league contests.
The MAC has held a conference championship game each year since 1997, making it one of the longest running games of its kind in college football. We have seen 11 of the 12 teams in the conference play in the MAC Championship Game with the lone exception being Eastern Michigan. The Eagles have been a perennial doormat, but Chris Creighton has made this program competitive. They have been to a bowl game in five of the last six non-COVID seasons after making a bowl game just one time prior to Creighton’s arrival in Ypsilanti.
There really hasn’t been a dominant team in the MAC, except for maybe Marshall, which claimed all five of its league titles in a six-year run before leaving the conference in 2005 after a nine-year stay. Northern Illinois has done its best to become a powerhouse in this conference though, winning six straight West Division titles from 2010 to 2015. The Huskies have won the MAC five times in the last 11 years, and they have been to the MAC Championship Game eight times in the last 12 seasons. Toledo won three MAC titles from 1969 to 1971, and Miami of Ohio claimed three straight conference championships between 1973 and 1975. Central Michigan won three MAC championships in four years with Dan LeFevour under center in the late 2000s, but long runs of success aren’t a thing in this conference.
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