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2022 Advanced Stats for Mid-American Conference Football

The 2022 college football season is fast approaching. We’ll take a look at advanced stats that you’ll need to know for the MAC heading into the new campaign.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 29 Toledo at Fresno State Photo by David Dennis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The MAC is always a tough league to predict given the parity and the slim margins between every team across the conference.Certain elements like returning production and position strength can be what separates a team competing for a conference title in November and a team outright missing a bowl game.

Below, we’ll look at a handful of advanced stats for the MAC ahead of the 2022 season.

SP+ rankings

Toledo enters the season ranked No. 60 in SP+ projections and outclasses the rest of the conference in this regard by a wide margin. The strength is projected to come from its 25th ranked defense, a unit that returns a few All-MAC players from last year like outside linebacker Jamal Hines and safety Maxen Hook.

After the Rockets, the league has a cluster of teams occupying the 85-100 spots in SP+, a lost that includes Miami-OH, defending conference champion Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, and Bowling Green.

2022 MAC Win Totals

Ranking Team Offense SP+ Defense SP+
Ranking Team Offense SP+ Defense SP+
126 Akron 17.7 (124) 37.9 (124)
120 Ball St 19.3 (115) 34.8 (116)
99 BGSU 20.4 (108) 28.5 (77)
101 Buffalo 23.4 (92) 32.3 (102)
94 CMU 27.0 (74) 34.3 (113)
111 EMU 26.1 (77) 37.7 (123)
103 Kent St 28.6 (66) 37.9 (125)
84 Miami-OH 28.2 (67) 32.3 (101)
91 NIU 29.6 (57) 35.1 (118)
105 Ohio 24.1 (89) 34.0 (110)
60 Toledo 24.4 (87) 20.5 (25)
95 WMU 22.4 (96) 29.7 (86)

Returning production

Bowling Green leads the conference in returning production at an outstanding 92%, good for second in the entire nation. Much maligned head coach Scot Loeffler led the Falcons to a 4-8 record last season and if there’s a chance to reach bowl eligibility, it’s with a team where virtually everyone has returned from last season.

At 83%, Northern Illinois will have a strong chance at securing back-to-back MAC titles, especially with starting quarterback Rocky Lombardi returning for another year.

2022 MAC Returning Talent

Team Overall Returning Production National Rank Offense National Rank Defense National Rank Offense Overall Returning QB % Returning OL % Defense Overall Kicker Starts Punter Starts
Team Overall Returning Production National Rank Offense National Rank Defense National Rank Offense Overall Returning QB % Returning OL % Defense Overall Kicker Starts Punter Starts
Akron 71% 34 60% 77 92% 2 7 35.69% 100.00% 8 12 0
Ball State 50% 116 47% 112 43% 125 6 6.59% 61.03% 3 0* 0
Bowling Green 92% 2 95% 1 84% 10 9 100.00% 83.09% 7 0 0
Buffalo 55% 101 42% 120 59% 84 2 33.42% 34.12% 5 12 0
Central Michigan 52% 114 66% 57 44% 122 7 72.99% 66.96% 3 13 13
Eastern Michigan 66% 59 66% 60 65% 58 6 30.43% 80.84% 4 0 0
Kent State 56% 99 42% 122 64% 63 6 5.93% 47.57% 6 14 14
Miami OH 56% 96 71% 41 44% 120 7 70.73% 80.72% 5 13 13
Northern Illinois 83% 6 88% 5 85% 6 8 99.80% 100.00% 9 14 0
Ohio 70% 40 65% 63 71% 33 3 83.44% 72.84% 8 0 11
Toledo 67% 48 55% 89 74% 24 7 66.67% 63.06% 8 13 0
Western Michigan 45% 126 28% 129 64% 65 4 1.63% 43.70% 6 7 13

Positional talent data

Toledo’s position at the top MAC team in SP+ is backed up by them possession the top roster in the league at No. 70 in the country. The only other teams cracking the top 100 from the MAC are Miami-OH at 96 and Western Michigan at 99.

2022 MAC Overall Talent

Team Team Talent National Rank Team Talent Player Average Team Composite National Rank Team Composite Player Average 6 Year Average Recrutiing Class Rank
Team Team Talent National Rank Team Talent Player Average Team Composite National Rank Team Composite Player Average 6 Year Average Recrutiing Class Rank
Akron 121 79.95 111 82.22 121.67
Ball State 112 80.77 108 81.21 110.17
Bowling Green 116 79.41 119 82.1 102.00
Buffalo 115 80.31 76 83.61 110.17
Central Michigan 114 80.33 99 82.63 102.50
Eastern Michigan 113 80.54 126 82.68 115.50
Kent State 110 80.43 102 81.53 109.50
Miami OH 96 81.36 89 83.57 96.50
Northern Illinois 106 81.06 103 81.42 97.33
Ohio 119 79.96 135 83.14 115.17
Toledo 70 83.64 100 83.15 76.33
Western Michigan 99 81.16 124 82.05 92.83

Latest win totals from DraftKings Sportsbook

2022 MAC Win Totals

Team Over Under
Team Over Under
Akron Over 2.5 +125 Under 2.5 -145
Ball State Over 5.5 +130 Under 5.5 -150
Bowling Green Over 3.5 -150 Under 3.5 +130
Buffalo Over 5.5 -110 Under 5.5 -110
Central Michigan Over 7.5 -125 Under 7.5 +105
Eastern Michigan Over 6.5 +135 Under 6.5 -160
Kent State Over 5 -125 Under 5 +105
Miami OH Over 6.5 -135 Under 6.5 +115
Northern Illinois Over 6.5 -150 Under 6.5 +130
Ohio Over 5.5 -110 Under 5.5 -110
Toledo Over 8 -105 Under 8 -115
Western Michigan Over 6.5 +125 Under 6.5 -145

Returning production and positional talent data compiled by Seth Varnadore. You can find him on Twitter and YouTube at Varnadore Films where he does game film breakdowns of teams all over college football.

SP+ data compiled by ESPN’s Bill Connelly.