2 MAC Teams Who Will Regress in 2025

Quarterback CJ Ogbana is gone, and the quarterback room is full of inexperience. Ta'Quan Roberson transferred in from Kansas State and will most likely be the starter. Roberson is entering his seventh year of college football but has only attempted a total of 376 passes. True freshman Jason Wright may push for playing time during the season, but the job is Roberson’s to lose.

Running back Al-Jay Henderson was 2024's leading rusher and is back for his senior season. Henderson finished with 1,078 yards and nine touchdowns. Henderson is also a weapon in the receiving game, finishing fourth on the team in both receptions, with 19, and receiving yards, with 238.

Unfortunately, depth is not strong for the Bulls in the run game. Ogbana was the second leading rusher, and none of the returning backs had more than 155 rushing yards in 2024. No running backs were brought in via the transfer portal, either.

Leading receiver Victor Snow is back. He finished 2024 with 55 catches for 651 yards and six touchdowns. There will be issues with inexperience with the passing game as a whole. The Bulls did not bring any receivers in via the transfer portal and the next highest returning receiver had five catches in 2024. The tight ends are not any better in the production category. Evan King had the most catches by a returning Buffalo tight end in 2024, with two.

On defense, the Bulls are in better shape than the offense. While they lose leading tackler, linebacker Sean Dolac, they return a number of players who contributed in 2024. 

The next four leading tacklers are back, including second leading tackler Red Murdock. Murdock was second in the nation with 156 tackles and led the nation with seven forced fumbles.

The secondary needs to get better. The Bulls ranked 108^th in the nation in passing defense, surrendering 245.2 yards per game. The cornerback position seems to be the one with the most depth, as the Bulls may rotate several players during the season. If Buffalo is going to reach 2024’s nine wins, they will need to get better against the pass.

In the out-of-conference schedule, playing at Minnesota is going to be tough, but at home against Saint Francis, PA should be a win. Troy is a lower-level Sun Belt Conference team and should be a win, while UConn will be a toss-up. In conference, the Bulls get Ohio and Miami both at home, but are back-to-back games to end the season. Games with Akron, UMass, and Kent State should all be wins. Central Michigan and Bowling Green have new coaches and will be toss-ups, as will Eastern Michigan.

Miami Redhawks 9-5 in 2024

The 2025 Redhawks will be a “sign of the times” team in college football. Almost one third of the roster was not part of the team in 2024. Most of the players who are gone were starters in 2024. Replacing that kind of production will ultimately result in a down season for the Redhawks.

“We lost 11 starters on offense, lost over half our defense: [It’s] a lot,” head coach Chuck Martin said while speaking with the media during spring practices. “25 of our 80 kids out here weren’t even here at the bowl game. Welcome to the portal era.”

Miami brings in Baylor transfer, and former Toledo quarterback, Dequan Finn.

Finn led the Rockets to back-to-back MAC Championship games, winning in 2022 and losing to Miami in 2023. Finn gives the Redhawks an experienced quarterback, one who has been successful in the MAC. Learning the Miami offense and new teammates will be his biggest hurdle.

Running back Jordan Brunson is the leading returning rusher with 299 yards and four touchdowns. Brunson will battle Kenny Tracy for carries, as Tracy is coming off a season ending injury suffered prior to week 1 of the 2024 season. The running back room is currently made up of three redshirt seniors and three redshirt freshmen.

There was a major overhaul with the wide receivers and tight ends. Of the 13 transfer players signed by Miami, seven are from those two position groups. All five wide receivers come from Power 4 conference teams.

The entire 2024 starting offensive line will be replaced. The Redhawks brought in two transfer offensive linemen and have a number of players who played backup roles in 2024 with the program. Getting a starting five together, then getting them to gel, is of the utmost importance. The longer this process takes, the more likely Miami will struggle on offense.

On defense, star linebacker Matt Salopek has exhausted his eligibility. He led the Redhawks in tackles in 2024 with 122. As Martin pointed out, half of his defensive starters are gone. However, there are pieces in place returning from 2024 who will play key roles for Miami in 2025.

Redshirt senior DB Silas Walters returns. Walters was second on the team with 95 tackles and second with 12 passes broken up. Safety Eli Blakey , the third leading tackler, is also back. The front seven will be mostly replaced, with a number of younger players vying for playing time.

The 2025 out of conference schedule may be a second straight 1-3 start for Miami, with games at Wisconsin and Rutgers, then at home against UNLV and Lindenwood. The conference schedule has toss-ups with Buffalo, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, and Western Michigan. Games against Akron and Ball State should be wins, while Ohio and Toledo will be tough games.

The theme with both of these teams regressing in 2025 is roster turnover. Whether through graduation or the transfer portal, each team has lost a lot of production from their successful 2024 season. That production is difficult to replace, especially for the replacements on the offensive line. The longer it takes these players to gel as a unit, the more the losses will pile up.