South Alabama Jaguars wide receiver Jeremy Scott (9) celebrates a first down catch as South Alabama takes on Western Michigan during the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. South Alabama Jaguars defeated Western Michigan Broncos 30-23. Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

MAC Football: Who Will be the Best Michigan Team in 2025?

Originally posted on G5 Football on SI | By Lucca Mazzie | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 11:00 AM ET

MAC football is back in action in just two months.

In the Mid-American Conference, the level of competition rises every season, and new teams bounce to the top. Obviously, the conference championship is a big deal for every team in the conference, but within the race for it, there are some crucial rivalry games.

The trio of Western Michigan, Central Michigan, and Eastern Michigan is one of the most interesting rivalry trios in the country. Since 2020, each team has played each other five times. In matchups against each other, the results are as even as can be.

Eastern Michigan is 5-5 against their in-state rivals, Central Michigan is 5-5, and Western Michigan is 5-5.

In the transfer portal, Western dominated the Michigan MAC schools, according to 247Sports rankings. The Broncos finished second in the MAC in incoming talent, picking up 27 commits. CMU is far down the list at ninth, bringing in 11 incoming transfers. Eastern is just behind at 10th, bringing in 22 recruits. However in returning talent, things look much different. In terms of returning production, but Central leads the trio with 53%. Eastern comes in second with 47% and Western is last with 37%

Finally, in high school recruiting, Eastern takes the crown, finishing fourth in the conference in incoming talent. Western takes the second spot in eighth place and Central follows in ninth.

At this point, it looks like these three teams are about as even as possible. So to find the final indicator of who the better team is, we have to look at recent program history and prestige.

Last season, Western had a solid 6-7 season where they finished 5-3 in conference play. Eastern and Central fell way further, both going 2-6 in conference play, and 5-7 and 4-8 overall, respectively.

After taking a look at numbers from the returning production, the transfer portal, incoming recruiting, and recent prestige, it is fair to assume that Western Michigan will just edge the others as the top Michigan program in the MAC?

With the second ranked portal in the MAC, and a decent recruiting class along with a solid previous season, the Broncos will be the team to beat in the Michigan MAC rivalry. Lance Taylor will hope to lead his team to back-to-back bowl games this season, opening the 2025 season on August 29 at Michigan State.