Home Conferences FBS 2026 season

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

Mid-American

MACtion

The 2026 Mid-American season is underway — Western Michigan holds the early power lead, but the picture is still open.

Mid-American is more top-heavy than deep. Western Michigan gives the league punch, but the middle tier falls away faster than the top leagues.

#10overall

#10in FBS

+16.2RR50

+20.5upper strength

13teams

1top-25 teams

Mid-American, at a glance.

Top 10 by power rating — 2026 season, through the latest games.

Team Power Record RR50

Western Michigan

1-1 +24.5

Toledo

1-1 +21.5

Ohio

1-1 +20.3

Akron

1-1 +19.1

Miami (OH)

1-1 +16.6

Eastern Michigan

1-2 +13.8

Sacramento State

1-2 +13.6

Kent State

1-1 +13.4

Central Michigan

1-1 +13.4

Bowling Green

0-2 +13.3

Power snapshot Projected 2026 standing

MACtion

The MAC sent three programs to a combined 27-13 in 2025 with average recruiting ranks above #100: Western Michigan went 10-4 with the 104th recruiting class (+82 coaching gap), Ohio went 9-4 with the 121st class (+81), and Toledo went 8-5 with the 73rd class (+60). The same conference where Northern Illinois went 3-9 with a #84 recruiting class. MACtion's identity has always been "more competitive than the rankings say" — the 2025 results proved that again.

1 top-25 team.

The depth argument for this conference rests on how many credible opponents are clustered behind the leader. A wide talent spread separates the haves from the have-nots.

Where things stand right now.

The 2026 Mid-American season is underway — Western Michigan holds the early power lead, but the picture is still open.

Tools Matchup Simulator Compare Teams Playoff Forecast Style map Head to head Power map

The Conference Leader

Toledo Holds the MAC's Highest SP+ Rating at #13

Toledo enters 2026 with the MAC's highest SP+ ranking (#13 nationally) and a +60 coaching premium on a #73 recruiting class. They went 8-5 in 2025, which undersells how good they are by the power metrics. Three MAC titles, a win over Penn State in 2016, and an NFL draft pipeline that starts at the offensive line — Toledo's formula doesn't change and it keeps working. The Tuesday night game that ends with Toledo covering is almost always the one worth watching.

Why it matters →

The Best Record

Western Michigan Went 10-4 With the 104th Recruiting Class

Western Michigan's coaching premium is +82 — a #104 recruiting rank producing an SP+ of #22 and a 10-4 record in 2025. In a conference where most programs overperform, Western Michigan overperformed the most. Ten wins from Kalamazoo, Michigan with a class that ranked in the bottom half of FBS. The program nobody outside the MAC watches closely produced results that deserve national attention.

Why it matters →

The Other Side

NIU Went 3-9 With a Better Recruiting Class Than Toledo's

Northern Illinois went 3-9 in 2025 with a #84 recruiting class — a -30 coaching gap that is the conference's worst. The program that beat Iowa in 2013 and built the MAC's most famous single-game moment holds the second-worst SP+ ranking in the conference entering 2026. Ball State went 4-8 at sp#126. The MAC's MACtion identity runs through programs that overperform — and NIU is currently the argument for why coaching matters more than recruiting.

Why it matters →

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All arcs →

Fan pulse Last 30 days · 1,865 mentions

16% positive 49% neutral 35% negative

Western Michigan

703

↓ negative

Buffalo

198

→ neutral

Ohio

172

→ neutral

Sacramento State

147

↓ negative

Bowling Green

111

↓ negative

Toledo

106

↓ negative

Fan confidence — FBS percentile

Where each Mid-American program stands nationally in fan sentiment (100th = most positive in FBS, 0 = least). Conference median: 75th percentile.

Bullish+30

Bullish+12

Bullish+4

Bullish+5

Bullish-6

Bullish+6

Bullish-12

Leaning-2

Leaning–

Souring-19

Souring-29

Souring-27

Souring-32

⚡

Most volatile: Akron

Fan confidence has swung 90 percentile points in the last 8 weeks — currently at the 93rd percentile nationally.

The coaching premium

Recruiting class rank vs. SP+ performance — where coaches add or subtract value

Above line = coaching premium

Below line = underperforming

Gap = recruiting rank minus SP+ rank

Positive gap means the coaching staff won more than the recruiting class predicted. Data: Mid-American teams, 13 programs.

Coaching premium ↑

Western

+89

Toledo

+73

Akron

+70

Ohio

+51

Miami

+16

Underperforming ↓

Bowling

-43

Buffalo

-36

Massachusetts

-36

Central

-35

Ball

-21

Standings

2026 season, in progress — sorted by power rating. Stature tag = interim Zeitgeist calibration (medium confidence).

#	Team	Record	RR50	Resume
1	Western Michigan Regional Program II#88	1-1	+24.5	+64.7
2	Toledo National Program II#49	1-1	+21.5	+18.4
3	Ohio Regional Program I#79	1-1	+20.3	+54.6
4	Akron Regional Program V#133	1-1	+19.1	+26.9
5	Miami (OH)Regional Program I#81	1-1	+16.6	+47.5
6	Eastern Michigan Regional Program V#125	1-2	+13.8	+16.0
7	Sacramento State Regional Program V#127	1-2	+13.6	+52.1
8	Kent State Regional Program VI#138	1-1	+13.4	+67.2
9	Central Michigan Regional Program IV#110	1-1	+13.4	+21.7
10	Bowling Green Regional Program IV#117	0-2	+13.3	+33.4
11	Buffalo Regional Program IV#113	1-1	+12.5	+32.2
12	Ball State Regional Program V#132	1-1	+11.5	+93.0
13	Massachusetts Regional Program VI#136	2-0	+9.8	+96.6

Projected Standings · Mid-American · 2026

Win Projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. AVG = expected wins; W–L = most-likely record.

#	Team	W–L	PWR	AVG	≥8	≥7	≥6	≥5	≥4	≥3	≥2	≥1
Favorites
1	Western Michigan	6–2	+8.8	5.6	5	24	54	80	94	99	✓	✓
2	Toledo	5–3	+5.8	5.2	3	15	41	70	89	98	✓	✓
3	Ohio	5–3	+4.6	4.9	2	11	33	62	85	96	99	✓
Challengers
4	Akron	5–3	+3.5	4.7	1	8	27	55	80	94	99	✓
5	Miami (OH)	4–4	+1.0	4.2		4	17	41	69	89	98	✓
6	Eastern Michigan	3–5	-1.8	3.5		1	6	22	48	76	93	99
The Field
7	Sacramento State	4–4	-2.0	3.8		2	11	31	59	83	96	99
8	Bowling Green	4–4	-2.3	3.6		1	8	26	54	80	95	99
9	Central Michigan	3–5	-2.2	3.4		1	7	22	48	75	93	99
10	Kent State	3–5	-2.2	3.4		1	7	22	48	75	93	99
Rebuilding
11	Ball State	3–5	-4.1	3.4		1	7	22	47	74	92	99
12	Buffalo	3–5	-3.2	3.3		1	5	19	45	73	92	99
13	Massachusetts	3–5	-5.9	3.0		1	3	14	35	64	87	98

How they play

Six advanced-stat dimensions per team, ranked against all 134 FBS programs, 2026 season. Every column reads higher-is-better. Click a column to sort.

ScoringConvertsBig playsDefensePacePass rate

Team	Scoring	Converts	Big plays	Defense	Pace	Pass rate	Identity
Western Michigan	+0.21	40.6%	+1.20	-0.12	62.0	37.1%	Balanced
Toledo	+0.32	36.6%	+2.01	+0.12	58.5	44.4%	Big-play offense
Ohio	+0.08	37.4%	+1.15	-0.37	65.5	39.7%	Defense is the problem
Akron	+0.21	52.5%	+0.97	-0.14	70.5	46.8%	No explosive plays
Miami (OH)	+0.30	45.6%	+1.33	-0.11	56.0	46.4%	Balanced
Eastern Michigan	+0.04	37.9%	+1.10	-0.12	62.7	56.9%	Balanced
Sacramento State	+0.07	40.6%	+1.08	-0.10	66.0	53.5%	Balanced
Kent State	+0.09	33.8%	+1.38	-0.17	60.0	42.5%	Can't sustain drives
Central Michigan	-0.01	29.9%	+1.26	-0.10	55.5	33.3%	Can't sustain drives
Bowling Green	+0.07	35.7%	+1.06	-0.37	57.5	40.0%	Defense is the problem
Buffalo	+0.10	32.0%	+1.47	-0.07	73.0	60.3%	Can't sustain drives
Ball State	+0.02	30.5%	+1.42	-0.38	64.0	53.9%	Defense is the problem
Massachusetts	+0.39	49.9%	+1.22	-0.03	51.5	34.9%	Grind-it-out

Identity is the single dimension where a team is most above or below the FBS average (pace, defense, big plays, or converting drives) — "Balanced" means nothing stands out either way. CFBD 2026 advanced stats, excludes garbage time.

Top players

Mid-American's highest CFB Index Scores, 2025 season.

#	Player	Team	National
1	Nadame TuckerEDGE	Western Michigan	#1 of 420
2	Michael HeldmanEDGE	Central Michigan	#6 of 420
3	Adam TrickLB	Miami (OH)	#9 of 583
4	Martez PoynterIDL	Toledo	#7 of 330
5	Eli BlakeyS	Miami (OH)	#7 of 544
6	Jordan KwiatkowskiLB	Central Michigan	#16 of 583
7	CJ YoungS	Kent State	#13 of 544
8	Silas WaltersS	Miami (OH)	#15 of 544
9	Junior VanderossWR	Toledo	#11 of 485
10	Nathan VoorhisEDGE	Ball State	#24 of 420

Where Mid-American stands nationally

Conference strength by RR50 (round-robin adjusted power).

1 SEC SEC

+22.8

2 B10 Big Ten

+21.7

3 IND FBS Independents

+20.4

4 P12 Pac-12

+20.2

5 B12 Big 12

+19.5

6 ACC ACC

+19.2

7 AAC American Athletic

+17.3

8 SB Sun Belt

+17.0

9 CUSA Conference USA

+16.6

10 MAC Mid-American

+16.2

Mid-American title odds

Best available American odds · sportsbook consensus.

#	Team	Odds
1	Western Michigan	+165
2	Miami (OH)	+425
3	Toledo	+350
4	Ohio	+600
5	Central Michigan	+1000
6	Eastern Michigan	+1200
7	Bowling Green	+2000
8	Buffalo	+3000
9	UMass	+1500
10	Akron	+3000