MAC Football Championship Odds Preview

It’s that time of year when we start handing out our conference College Football picks. Today we focus on the MAC Championship Conference odds. 2022 was the seventh straight season a new MAC champion was crowned when the Toledo Rockets took down the Ohio Bobcats, 17-7, in the title game. Not since the Northern Huskies’ six straight conference titles (2010-215) has there been a repeat champion. Let’s go through each team and their MAC Conference Championship odds, followed by our 2023 prediction.

West: Rockets As High As +200 to Repeat

The consensus has the Rockets around +170, but there are better numbers to be had on Toledo after winning their fourth conference title. Only Northern Illinois (5) and Marshall (5) have more titles. Jason Candle’s team finished off their season with a win in the Boca Raton Bowl with a 21-19 win over Liberty. It was a nice end to a season that seemed to be falling apart at the end with consecutive losses to Bowling Green at home (42-35) and at Western Michigan (20-14). At 5-3 inside the MAC, they won a tie-breaker over Eastern Michigan after their 27-24 head-to-head win. The Rockets will be led by DL Judge Culpepper, LB Dallas Gant, S Maxem Hook, and CB Quinyon Mitchell, making the Rockets the top defensive team in the eyes of many.

East: 2022 Runner-Up Bobcats +270, Second Choice

The transfer portal has always been tricky for mid-major conferences with the MAC being no exception. While others are treated like a minor league stem for the power five, it would be fair to give Tim Albin and his staff credit for managing his offensive talent while adding some transfers of his own (11) while losing seven.

The most interesting addition is wide receiver Jailen Hammer who spent two seasons at JUCO Butte College. Hammer had 800 receiving yards in 10 games, averaging 19.04 yards per reception. Ohio was 9-3 ATS (+522 units) in 2022, the first time they turned a profit for bettors in three seasons.

East: Buffalo Bulls +650

It was a season of feast or famine for Maurice Linquist’s Buffalo Bulls who started the season 0-3 after dropping road games at Maryland (31-10) and Coastal Carolina (38-26), and a home loss to FCS Holy Cross (37-31) sandwiched in between. Then Buffalo won five straight conference games followed by three straight conference losses. At 7-6/5-3, Buffalo finished two games behind Ohio but did manage to win the Camellia Bowl (23-21) against Georgia Southern. It was the program’s first bowl win. The Bulls have turned a profit for bettors in five of the last six seasons (40-28, +848 units).

West: Eastern Michigan Eagles +700

Had it not been for a head-to-head loss with Toledo, the Eagles would have represented the West in MAC Title Game, but their defeat was too much to overcome despite sweeping the rest of their NCAAF schedule (3-0) followed by a win at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (41-27) over San Jose State. The Eagles will lean on senior running back Samson Evans who finished with 1,166 yards rushing in 2022. Eastern Michigan was barely profitable last season with 146 units won. Over the last five seasons, the Eagles are 30-26 ATS (+213 units).

East: Miami-Ohio RedHawks +900

The Redhawks couldn’t find an ounce of consistency until it mattered the most. Miami won their final two regular season games at Northern Illinois (29-23) and at home against Ball State (18-17) to give Chuck Martin’s team the sixth win they need to become bowl eligible. Despite a 6-6 record, the Hawks were invited to play in the Bahamas Bowl, losing to UAB 24-20 after holding a lead (13-10) heading into the fourth quarter. Ohio is 12-12 ATS over the last two seasons, making them a difficult handicap from game to game, but you may want to consider playing the Hawks as a dog where they’ve covered 39 of their last 62 games (62.9%,+563 units) dating back to the 2014-15 season.

West: Central Michigan Chippewas +2200

Going through the MAC NCAAF schedule – one thing is certain, the MAC is a top-heavy league with six teams listed as +2000 or more to win the conference. The Chippewas finished 4-8 / 3-5 in 2022 after losing their final two rivalry games to Western Michigan (12-10) and Eastern Michigan (38-19) in two Michigan MAC Trophy games. It was a disappointing season after 2021 that saw Central win nine games, including a Sun Bowl victory (24-21) against Washington State. Jim McElwain’s team was a loser for bettors (4-7 ATS, -343 units) for the first time since 2018-19. The Chippewas were 1-5 ATS as a favorite, which was a direct reflection of why they started home during bowl season.

West: Northern Illinois Huskies +2800

How far the mighty have fallen. The Huskies were once the clear face of the conference but are left trying to pick up the pieces from a 3-9 season. Only Akron had a worse conference and overall record in the MAC. Head Coach Thomas Hammock was the preseason favorite to win the West, but that proved to be false bravado after losing five of their first six games. In their defense, six of their nine losses were by 10 points or less including a double OT loss at Ball State (44-38). Over the last five seasons, Northern Illinois has rotated profitable seasons, losing 343 units last season. Perhaps that means 2023 will be the year to get back on the Huskies.

West: Ball State Cardinals +3000

Mike Neu was on the verge of a bowl bid in 2022, but couldn’t grab a win in their final three games costing them a sixth win. The Cardinals were losers for bettors for the second straight season after a 5-6 ATS record. That brought their two-year total to 9-14 ATS (-579 units). Since 2017-18, Ball State is 30-37 ATS (-938 units). At home, only nine other teams have been worse against the number in that span (11-20 ATS, -992 units).

East: Bowling Green Falcons +3300

A loss to New Mexico State (24-19) in the Quick Lane Bowl was the difference between a winning season and the 6-7 mark they ended with. Scot Loeffler (13-29) is in his fourth season on the Falcons sideline. Despite the disappointing end, there were games the Falcons should have won starting with their seventh OT loss (59-57). In order for the Falcons to find their way back in a bowl game, they must be better than 335 total yards per game. In their last seven seasons, the Falcons have produced a profitable season (21-22) just once. They’re just 27-48 ATS (-2285 units) in that span.

West: Western Michigan Broncos +4500

Going through the Broncos‘ schedule, it’s hard to think that they’ll be anything more than four, maybe five wins for Western Michigan so we’re not going to spend too much time considering we’re focusing on teams that could actually cash a MAC Football Championship odds ticket.

Since the 2017-18 season, Western Michigan is 28-38-1 ATS (-1205 units). The Broncos are 17-27-1 ATS against teams .500 or better in their last 45 games.

East: Akron Zips +5000

The Zips aren’t projected to be the worst team in the MAC this season, like last, but will definitely be not in a MAC title discussion. Despite a 2-10 / 1-7 season, the Zips managed a respectable ATS record of 7-4 (+234 units). It was the first winning season for bettors when tailing the Zips since 2017-18 (9-5, +361 units). Akron was the underdog in all 11 games in 2023.

East: Kent State Golden Flashes +10000

Kent has just four winning seasons since 1987 and it doesn’t look like they’ll reach five after getting pummeled in the world of transfer portal. This is a complete rebuilding project for head coach Kenni Burns who will not only have to replace various starters on offense but it would be reasonable to think that the first-year head coach will also need some time to find himself as the head man, Let’s conclude our MAC Football Championship odds preview with our prediction.

Ohio Bobcats and Eastern Michigan Meet In Title Game

A wager on both of these teams to win the conference title is worth the money, especially with the Eagles at +700. The offensive depth is too much to overcome in our opinion for the Eagles but perhaps there is chaos in the division and the Eagles end up looking at a winnable title game. Ohio won 7 of their last 8 games, including a win over Wyoming in the Arizona Bowl. Let’s bet that the Bobcats ride that momentum to a +270 winner. That does it for our MAC Football championship odds preview. All the best to your wagers in 2023.

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