College Football 2012 Preview - MAC

Jabesblog Projected MAC Standings

MAC East
1.  Ohio Bobcats (12-1, 7-1)
2.  Bowling Green Falcons (8-4, 6-2)
3.  Miami (OH) Redhawks (6-6, 5-3)
4.  Kent State Golden Flashes (5-7, 4-4)
5.  Buffalo Bulls (3-9, 2-6)
6.  Akron Zips (2-10, 1-7)
7.  Massachusetts Minutemen (0-12, 0-8)

MAC West
1.  Northern Illinois Huskies (10-3, 7-1)
2.  Western Michigan Broncos (9-3, 6-2)
3.  Toledo Rockets (7-5, 5-3)
4.  Ball State Cardinals (5-7, 4-4)
5.  Eastern Michigan Eagles (5-7, 3-5)
6.  Central Michigan Chippewas (4-8, 2-6)

MAC Championship Game
Ohio Bobcats over Northern Illinois Huskies

Urban Who?
The best team in Ohio in 2012 may very well be in the MAC.  The Bobcats also may very well represent the best chance for a non-BCS conference to go undefeated in 2012.  Ohio is an experienced team with an experienced quarterback in Tyler Tettleton and should boast one of the top defenses in the MAC.  Non-conference road tests against Penn State and Marshall loom, but with the Nittany Lions predicament heading into the opener and a 44-7 thrashing of Marshall a year ago, Ohio could be poised to enter the conference schedule unbeaten, where the toughest road test will be at Miami (OH). 

Under the Radar D
Lost in all the offensive fireworks of Chandler Harnish and the Northern Illinois offense was the significant strides the defense made as the season went on.  Harnish and several offensive pieces are gone from the Huskies, but the defense will be the difference in getting NoIL back to the MAC title game in a rematch with Ohio.

Other Contenders
Alex Carder is the top throwing quarterback in the MAC and if he finds new weapons to his liking, Western Michigan could easily unseat Northern Illinois in the MAC West.  Toledo figures to have a say in the MAC West title race but may ultimately lack the firepower of the other two in this race.  If Ohio is not as good as I am advertising, Bowling Green has a favorable schedule and Miami (OH) has the talent to take advantage.  Finally, the supersleepers are Ball State and Kent State, both who sport solid defenses but need to make significant offensive strides to contend.