Every summer since 2007 I have created an intricate set of college football predictions for each upcoming season.  This year is no exception, as I will be using my blog over the next few hours to publish my 18th annual college football preview guide which will contain 19 entries in all. The records below reflect each team’s predicted regular season overall record followed by their conference record.  These records include conference title games for the top two teams but exclude bowl games which will be previewed later on in a separate column on this blog.  The teams marked in bold font are the ones predicted to gain bowl eligibility.  Without further ado, here are my predictions for the Mid-American Conference in 2024, which has becomes the beacon of stability in this age of conference expansion and destruction.

1	Miami-OH (9-4, 6-2)– conference champion

Last Year’s Record: 11-3 (My 2023 prediction: 9-3)

Positional Strength: Defensive Back

Positional Weakness: Running Back

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Cincinnati (September 14)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Bowling Green (November 29)

Bottom Line: The Redhawks pulled off one of the biggest upsets of championship weekend last year, as they knocked off the then 11-1 Toledo Rockets in the MAC title game to claim their second MAC championship in the past five seasons. Brett Gabbert now returns for what seems like his 15th season in Oxford and with three of their top four tacklers coming back as well, I am calling for Chuck Martin’s squad to become the first repeat MAC champion since 2011-12.

———————————————————————————————————–

1	Toledo (11-2, 7-1)– conference runner-up

Last Year’s Record: 11-3 (My 2023 prediction: 11-2)

Positional Strength: Wide Receiver

Positional Weakness: Offensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: at Mississippi State (September 14)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Northern Illinois (October 19)

Bottom Line: The Rockets lose a lot from last year’s division championship squad, but they have a good enough roster, coaching staff, and schedule to make it to a third straight MAC Championship Game. In fact, I am calling for the Rockets to avenge their conference title game loss to the Redhawks on October 5th and then win the regular season in the league before ultimately dropping the conference title game to Miami, just like they did in 2023.

———————————————————————————————————–

3	Central Michigan (7-5, 5-3)

Last Year’s Record: 5-7 (My 2023 prediction: 6-6)

Positional Strength: Wide Receiver

Positional Weakness: Defensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: at Northern Illinois (November 30)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Eastern Michigan (October 19)

Bottom Line: I am calling for Jim McElwain to take the Chippewas to a bowl game for the first time in his three year tenure thanks an an experienced offense that returns its top four pass catchers, top two running backs, and brings in a new quarterback from the Big Ten.

———————————————————————————————————–

4	Northern Illinois (7-5, 5-3)

Last Year’s Record: 7-6 (My 2023 prediction: 5-7)

Positional Strength: Running Back

Positional Weakness: Quarterback

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Toledo (October 19)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Ball State (October 26)

Bottom Line: The Huskies return a ton of experiences on both sides of the ball, but they need to find a quarterback if they are going to be challenge for a conference crown in 2024.

———————————————————————————————————–

4	Eastern Michigan (8-4, 5-3)

Last Year’s Record: 6-7 (My 2023 prediction: 7-5)

Positional Strength: Quarterback

Positional Weakness: Running Back

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: at Ohio (November 13)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Western Michigan (November 30)

Bottom Line: I don’t think Chris Creighton gets enough credit for converting a team that was a perennial Group of Five cellar dweller into a program that has played in 5 bowl games in the past six seasons. This year, many experts are calling for EMU to take a step back, but I think with the addition of Rutgers’ Cole Snyder at QB along with seven other starters with Power 5 experience, the Eagles will be soaring as high as ever in 2024.

———————————————————————————————————–

6	Western Michigan (6-6, 5-3)

Last Year’s Record: 4-8 (My 2023 prediction: 2-10)

Positional Strength: Running Back

Positional Weakness: Defensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Eastern Michigan (November 30)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Central Michigan (November 19)

Bottom Line: The Broncos actually exceeded my low expectations for them last season, and I believe that the new coordinators they are bringing in both sides of the ball will boost production even more in 2024. This is an experienced team with a favorable schedule that I think will go bowling in 2024.

———————————————————————————————————–

7	Ball State (5-7, 4-4)

Last Year’s Record: 4-8 (My 2023 prediction: 2-10)

Positional Strength: Offensive Line

Positional Weakness: Wide Receiver

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Northern Illinois (October 26)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: vs. Western Michigan (October 5)

Bottom Line: The good news for the Cardinals is that they return eight starters on offense including their starting quarterback, best receiver, and entire offensive line. The bad news is they only return one defensive starter on a unit that was the strength of the team last season. As a result, I think Ball State will fall just short of a bowl bid this season.

———————————————————————————————————–

8	Bowling Green (6-6, 4-4)

Last Year’s Record: 7-6 (My 2023 prediction: 6-6)- another dead-on prediction!

Positional Strength: Defensive Line

Positional Weakness: Wide Receiver

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Miami-OH (November 29)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Ball State (November 23)

Bottom Line: The Falcons finished last season on a tear winning five of their final seven games with their two losses coming in close games to really good teams. This season they return 15 total starters and bring in former Missouri starter Connor Bazelak to take over at QB. The schedule is tough, featuring games against Penn State and Texas A & M, but Scott Loeffler has slowly but surely built Bowling Green into a winning program and I am calling for them to reach bowl eligibility for the third straight season in 2024.

———————————————————————————————————–

9	Ohio (4-8, 3-5)

Last Year’s Record: 10-3 (My 2023 prediction: 7-6)

Positional Strength: Running Back

Positional Weakness: Linebacker

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Ball State (November 29)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Kent State (November 6)

Bottom Line: For the first-time since 2016, the Bobcats will not have a Rourke brother at quarterback. In fact, Ohio only returns two offensive starters and loses its top three rushers and top seven pass catchers. Needless to say, it will be a rebuilding year in Athens. (And by Athens, I mean Athens, Ohio, of course. It is never a rebuilding season in Athens, Georgia.)

———————————————————————————————————–

10	Kent State (3-9, 2-6)

Last Year’s Record: 1-11 (My 2023 prediction: 2-10)- my 2-10 prediction was too optimistic last season, lol

Positional Strength: Wide Receiver

Positional Weakness: Defensive Back

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Ohio (November 6)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Buffalo (November 26)

Bottom Line: Everyone knew 2023 was going to be a disastrous season for the Golden Flashes, as virtually the entire team left the program following Sean Lewis’ departure after the 2022 season. This year Kent should be much improved this year, but it will take several seasons for the Flashes to be competitive again after the mass exodus of ’22.

———————————————————————————————————–

11	Akron (2-10, 1-7)

Last Year’s Record: 2-10 (My 2023 prediction: 4-8)

Positional Strength: Linebacker

Positional Weakness: Offensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Buffalo (November 2)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Kent State (November 19)

Bottom Line: Head coach Joe Moorhead is a great X’s and O’s coach as evidenced by his tremendous offensive coordinator work over the years. The problem is he can’t seem to get enough good players in this program to get it going in the right direction and be competitive in MAC play.

———————————————————————————————————–

12	Buffalo (2-10, 1-7)

Last Year’s Record: 2-10 (My 2023 prediction: 4-8)

Positional Strength: Linebacker

Positional Weakness: Offensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Buffalo (November 2)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Kent State (November 19)

Bottom Line: I firmly believe new head coach Pete Lembo was a great long term hire for the Bulls, but this program is currently in rebuild mode after the departure of their quarterback, top two rushers, top five pass catchers, and top two tacklers from last season.

———————————————————————————————————–