2023 MAC Football Schedule Review

The stability of the MAC is a comfort given the consistent realignment around the rest of the college football circuit and the 2023 season should provide another great race in the conference. With an eight-game schedule and three division crossover games, the schedule draws can be very impactful in division races that are often decided very late in the season, frequently with tiebreakers. Here is a quick look at the MAC schedule in 2023. 

Ohio is one of the teams playing this weekend in Week 0 to kick off the college season. The Bobcats had by far the best MAC record last season going 7-1 while no other team was better than 5-3 but Ohio failed to win the MAC title game. Ohio is a threat in the MAC East again with a reasonable draw from the West that avoids a title game rematch with Toledo in the regular season. Northern Illinois was just 2-6 last season as one of the MAC West pulls for Ohio, but the Huskies figure to be improved as Ohio’s crossover path may be more difficult than it looks. 

While Miami has not had more than eight wins in Chuck Martin’s nine seasons, they did win the MAC title in 2019. The Redhawks have a lot of appeal as an East threat in 2023 with one of the better returning defenses in the conference. Miami does draw Toledo from the West but that will be a home game and the Redhawks also get games with Bowling Green and Buffalo at home this season. 

The roster from last season’s 7-6 Buffalo squad has turned over significantly but Maurice Linguist has provided competitive results in his two seasons with the team following a great run for the program under Lance Leipold. Buffalo has one of the tougher schedules in league play however with road games at Toledo and at Miami while the big home game with Ohio will close a run of 10 straight weeks without a bye. 

Bowling Green made a leap to 6-7 last season for the team’s first bowl season since 2015 and the Falcons are a threat in the East race in 2023. Bowling Green also must play Toledo, but that game is at home, as is the early season date with Ohio. The Falcons bring in Missouri transfer quarterback Connor Bazelak and could take another step forward. 

Toledo remains a top contender in the West division following last season’s title season. The Rockets have a difficult draw in 2023 however as a repeat will be a challenge. All three East teams on the schedule are decent and the Rockets will play five of seven games on the road to close the season as there may not be much margin for error even if as has often been the case, Toledo appears to have the best MAC roster. 

After finishing in second place in the division last season Eastern Michigan should be considered a threat to finish on top of the MAC West. The Eagles lost by only three to Toledo last season and will have a bye week before facing the Rockets this season. Eastern Michigan plays the weakest East draw by last season’s records facing teams that combined to go 10-14 and the home schedule for the Eagles is very favorable. 

Northern Illinois went just 3-9 last season, but the program won the MAC title in 2021. Quarterback injuries were a great challenge last season, but the roster depth is solid for the Huskies in the fifth season of an uneven run for Thomas Hammock. NIU does draw a crossover game with Ohio at home but also faces Kent State and Akron, likely two of the weaker teams in the East. The Huskies play at Toledo in late September in a critical game for the season aims. 

The MAC West is often a tight race with several teams in the mix and that may not change in 2023. Most project Western Michigan for the basement in the division as the only West team with a coaching change but the offense has a lot of potential for the Broncos. The road schedule features several hurdles, but Kalamazoo may prove to be a tough place to play this season. 

A sleeper in the MAC race is Ball State as the Cardinals have provided steady results the past few years and won the MAC title in the abbreviated 2020 season. The roster has good experience and Ball State avoids Buffalo and Ohio from the East draw. Big division games with Toledo and Miami will be at home though Mike Neu lacks a great home field track record in his seven seasons. 

Given the typical closeness of the MAC West race, Central Michigan needs to be mentioned. Jim McElwain owns a great career record, but things didn’t work out last season in a 4-8 season. The defense returns a lot of experience for 2023 and while the offense has a lot of new pieces, Central Michigan will get to host many of the toughest games and McElwain is 14-7 S/U in home games since taking over in Mt. Pleasant. 

The spotlight on the MAC generally grows in November with the weeknight primetime TV game schedule and most of the league may still be in the division race in those final weeks. This conference has featured eight different teams participating in the MAC Championship over the past four years as anything can happen in MACtion.