To properly appreciate the scale of college football and its all-encompassing allure, one must also appreciate just how bad the worst team in the country will be. Looking at you, Kent State.
Life is increasingly difficult for all of the MAC, but no one is failing to handle modern roster management worse than the Golden Flashes, while Toledo and Buffalo look to have somewhat solved the attrition inherent to Group of Five competition.
I give you the lowdown on the college football odds in my MAC preview.
MAC best bets for 2025
Read on for our full analysis and MAC breakdown!
Odds to win the MAC
| Team | Odds to win | Win total O/U |
|---|---|---|
 Toledo |
+220 | 8.5 |
 Ohio |
+350 | 7.5 |
 Buffalo |
+500 | 7.5 |
 Miami (Ohio) |
+600 | 6.5 |
 Northern Illinois |
+1300 | 6.5 |
 Bowling Green |
+1300 | 6.5 |
 Western Michigan |
+1500 | 4.5 |
 Eastern Michigan |
+2000 | 4.5 |
 Central Michigan |
+2200 | 5.5 |
 UMass |
+5000 | 3.5 |
 Ball State |
+5000 | 3.5 |
 Kent State |
+30000 | 1.5 |
 Akron* |
N/A | 4.5 |
Odds courtesy of FanDuel.
*Akron is ineligible for postseason play due to academic probation.
MAC preview: Roster Turnover Yields Chaos
One can debate which conference is worse, the MAC or Conference USA. Reasonable minds can disagree. But the MAC’s long-term plight appears to be tougher going, the entire conference returning just 41.1% of production, 12 percentage points lower than the national average, per ESPN’s Bill Connelly.
That leaves already talent-poor teams like Ball State (29%), Western Michigan (33%), and Eastern Michigan (37%) all struggling to build into an up-cycle, while contenders like Miami (33%) and Ohio (47%) are constantly refreshing their rosters through the transfer portal to stay atop the conference.
That roster turnover makes the MAC almost as unpredictable as the more often discussed Big 12. The biggest difference between the two is that the bottom of the MAC is just that much worse. Looking at you, Kent State.
The favorites
Toledo and Ohio lead all MAC championship discussions, the Rockets coming in first in the preseason MAC coaches poll and the Bobcats winning the conference title last year. But Buffalo should be granted as much attention.
While both the Rockets and the Bobcats are replacing their entire defensive fronts, the Bulls return 10 defensive starters. Furthermore, the scheduling matrix broke Buffalo’s way, getting its two toughest MAC games at home, against Miami and Ohio. Perhaps just as important, the Bulls face two of their three easiest conference foes on the road.
Would you rather go on the road to face UMass and Kent State or host them like Toledo does? That is effectively wasting homefield advantage on what should be sure wins for the Rockets, leaving them a bit more exposed in the meat of their schedule. There is a lot of faith in Toledo, but too much of that seems to be based on head coach Jason Candle, who regularly falls short of expectations, and Ohio State transfer (by way of Kentucky) running back Chip Trayanum, who is more genuinely a converted linebacker.
The rest of the field
Chuck Martin and Miami will receive plenty of preseason hype. They finished second in the preseason MAC coaches poll, receiving three first-place votes (out of a possible 12). But the RedHawks need to replace a bounty of production, something overlooked because of the arrival of quarterback Dequan Finn.
Finn led Toledo to the 2023 MAC title before an injured season at Baylor. He may be the best quarterback in the conference, but that thought alone does not justify the Miami praise.
That ends the title contenders in the MAC. Bowling Green lucked out in the scheduling matrix, while it worked against Northern Illinois, but the gap between the top four teams in the MAC and the next few is sizable enough to rule out any thoughts of betting the Falcons or the Huskies at +1,300, no matter how much fun it would be to watch Northern Illinois hop over the wall with the title on its way to the Mountain West in 2026.
Pick to win the MAC: Buffalo (+500)
First of all and most importantly, Buffalo has the best offensive line in the MAC as well as the best defensive line. Add in a quality backfield and a strong second level of its defense, and there should be little doubt in the value of betting on the Bulls to win the MAC.
That defense is why Buffalo should be favored in 10 of its first 11 games, the only exception being the season opener at Minnnesota, the Bulls currently 16.5-point underdogs on Aug. 28. Buffalo should also be about a pick’em, at worst, in its regular-season finale against Ohio, which could quite possibly be a play-in game to reach the conference title in Detroit.
Notice that will be the Bulls’ toughest MAC game, immediately preceded by their second toughest, also at home against Miami (OH). The schedule not only did Buffao the favor of playing both those games at home; it also set them to close to the season, at which point the Bulls should have all sorts of chemistry between Kansas State transfer quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson and returning receivers Nik McMillan and Victor Snow.
In other words, Buffalo has every edge to reach the MAC title game, and sitting on a +500 ticket at that point will be quite delightful.
Favorite win totals bet: Kent State U 1.5 (+152)
A preseason moment will come when an article is written predicting a national champion. In other words, a preseason moment will come when the No. 1 team in the country is discussed at length.
Proper college football coverage will also spend time discussing the No. 136 team in the country, and that team is unquestionably Kent State. Rather than dwell on the many negatives, let’s simply rattle them off rapidfire:
The Flashes were more than a touchdown worse than the second-worst team in the country last year, per the final SP+ ratings. They are already considered a touchdown worse than FBS newcomer Missouri State and 11 points worse than FBS newcomer Delaware.
Firing a coach because of off-field financial issues and landing on an interim coach in April worsened Kent State’s roster continuity, a roster that lost its top two running backs and four of its five starting offensive linemen. Even with those players, a full 25% of the Flashes' rushing attempts last season did not get past the line of scrimmage.
Thus, Kent State has the worst offensive line in the MAC, along with the worst defensive line, not returning a single starter on the defensive front.
The Flashes play all three of the other teams in the MAC’s cellar, but they have to head to both Ball State and Akron. In order to top this win total, Kent State may need to beat both UMass and FCS-level Merrimack. Note: Merrimack was measurably better than Kent State last season and now returns its quarterback, No. 2 running back, and top two receivers. That season opener could be an ignominious moment for the Flashes.
Bonus bet: Central Michigan at San Jose State Under 50.5
Bet early-season Unders on Central Michigan games, as the Chippewas have a terrible offensive line with a bad quarterback situation, though also a quality defense.
Similarly, bet early-season Overs on Northern Illinois. The Huskies brought in Quinn Sanders as offensive coordinator, pulling him away from the No. 1 offense in Division II at the College of Charleston. Sanders likes to lure in defenses with a repetitive run game before cashing in with an explosive passing play. This deviation from Northern Illinois’s past should provide September value on totals, though you may have to wait until just before kickoff for the season opener against FCS-level Holy Cross.
Best MAC player prop bet
Drew Pyne, Bowling Green QB, rushing TDs props
New Falcons head coach Eddie George pulled in a Power Four quarterback with an 11-6 record in games in which he attempted at least 10 passes. Bowling Green will lean on Pyne for most of its offense.
He may not be physically suited to dominate at the Power Four level, but Pyne’s worthwhile mobility could shine behind a Falcons offensive line returning three starters.
Pyne has only two rushing touchdowns in his career, but his improvisational mobility should be more of an asset at the MAC level than it was in the ACC, Pac-12, or SEC.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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