MAC West power rankings: Toledo still at the top
Western Michigan rises one spot
9/27/2017Here is a look at the MAC West power rankings. Not a ton of movement this week, but Western Michigan vaults into the No. 3 spot.
1. Toledo (Last week: 1) — The Rockets suffered their first loss of the season in a 52-30 defeat at Miami (Fla.). There is no shame in losing to the No. 14 Hurricanes on the road. Toledo is off this week before opening its MAC schedule with a home game against Eastern Michigan.
2. Northern Illinois (Last week: 2) — The Huskies got the marquee win for the MAC so far in the non-conference schedule with a 21-17 victory at Nebraska, but were off this past week. Northern Illinois will return to action with a trip to San Diego State, one of the top Group of Five teams in the country, on Saturday.
3. Western Michigan (Last week: 4) — The Broncos were impressive in a 49-14 rout of Wagner and evened their record at 2-2 after a tough non-conference schedule. Western Michigan is a team that no one wants to play during the conference slate.
4. Eastern Michigan (Last week: 3) — The Eagles lost a heartbreaker to MAC East favorite Ohio in a 27-20 overtime game. Eastern Michigan is now 2-1 and will travel to Kentucky this week to take on the Wildcats.
5. Central Michigan (Last week: 5) — The Chippewas stay in the same spot after a 31-17 loss to Miami in their conference opener. Central Michigan travels to Boston College this Saturday. After dominating Kansas, 45-27, the Chippewas have not looked good in losses to Syracuse and Miami.
6. Ball State (Last week: 6) — The Cardinals are coming off of a 33-21 loss at Western Kentucky on Saturday. They are now 2-2 and will host Western Michigan in a big MAC West matchup this Saturday in Kalamazoo.
Click here to check out John Wagner’s MAC East power rankings for this week.
Contact Brian Buckey at bbuckey@theblade.com, 419-724-6110, or on Twitter @BrianBuckey.