The Mid-American Conference football standings are a thing of beauty.
The MAC teams have all played six conference games. Four teams are tied for first place at 5-1 in conference play: Western Michigan, Toledo, Buffalo and Ohio.
There’s still plenty of football to be played, but it’s creating quite the possibilities atop the standings — much like last year, when some wacky tiebreaker scenarios had to be considered in the final weeks of the regular season.
The top-two teams in the MAC end up at the conference championship game, and so there are really two things up for grab: a MAC regular season title, and the chance to compete for the conference championship after the regular season is over.
With all that in mind, let’s take a look at what you need to know as this all comes toward the stretch run.
MAC Football Standings
These are how the standings look through the conclusion of action on Wednesday, Nov. 11:
| Team | MAC | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| Toledo | 5-1 | 8-2 |
| Western Michigan | 5-1 | 7-3 |
| Buffalo | 5-1 | 7-3 |
| Ohio | 5-1 | 7-3 |
| Miami (OH) | 4-2 | 6-4 |
| Central Michigan | 3-3 | 5-5 |
| Eastern Michigan | 3-3 | 4-6 |
| Bowling Green | 3-3 | 3-7 |
| Massachusetts | 2-4 | 5-5 |
| Kent State | 2-4 | 3-7 |
| Ball State | 2-4 | 3-7 |
| Sacramento State | 1-7 | 2-9 |
| Akron | 0-6 | 1-9 |
The teams in this table are currently sort by overall records in the case of ties, but that’s not necessarily how the tiebreakers work in the MAC. We’ve got more details right here.
MAC Football Tiebreaker Rules
The MAC football tiebreaker rules work in two different ways depending on whether it’s two teams tied or more than two teams.
If two teams are tied:
- Head-to-head result
- Win percentage against common opponents
- Win percentage against common opponents ranked by their conference finish
- Combined conference win percentage of all conference opponents (strength of schedule)
- SportSource Analytics Team Rating Score
- A random draw
If more than two teams are tied:
- Combined head-to-head win percentage among the tied teams, or a team sweeping the others
- Win percentage versus all common opponents
- SportSource Analytics Team Rating Scores
- Win percentage versus common opponents ordered by finished
- Combined conference win percentage of all conference opponents
- A random draw
It can get quite complicated.
Key Remaining Games on MAC Schedule
Toledo will play Ohio in the final week of the regular season, so that could serve as a pseudo-playoff game. That comes after UT’s rivalry game with Bowling Green next week.
Western Michigan doesn’t play any of the others at 5-1 still. They’ve got Eastern Michigan and then Miami (Ohio), which is lurking with a 4-2 MAC record.
Buffalo closes with Central Michigan and then bottom dweller Akron. Those are two games the Bulls will feel they should win.
Ohio hosts Ball State and then has that aforementioned Toledo game.
It’s safe to expect Toledo at Ohio on Black Friday at 12 noon to have a lot of meaning.
MAC Football Standings, Tiebreaker: Records, Rules for WMU, Toledo, Buffalo, Ohio