Falcons picked to finish fourth in MAC East - Sent-trib

Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler’s Falcons are picked by coaches to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference East Division. (Sentinel-Tribune file)
DETROIT — Toledo and Ohio have been selected to win their respective divisions in the 2023 Mid-American Conference football head coaches’ preseason poll.
Bowling Green was picked to finish fourth in the MAC East behind Ohio (63 points), Miami (52), Buffalo (51), and the Falcons had 35 points in the coaches’ voting. Akron (26) and Kent State (19) rounded out the division. Ohio had nine first place votes, Miami had two, and Buffalo had one.
In the MAC West, Toledo garnered 11 of 12 first place votes and totaled 66 points, followed by Eastern Michigan (55), which had the other first place vote, Northern Illinois (38), Central Michigan (37), Ball State (27), and Western Michigan (23).
As far as the MAC championship, Toledo led with seven votes, Ohio had four and Buffalo one vote.
Head Coaches were not allowed to vote for themselves in the poll. The poll was announced today as the MAC held its annual kickoff ceremony at historic Fox Theater in downtown Detroit.
The Rockets also received seven votes to win the MAC Football Championship Game title, while the Bobcats received four votes when it came to selecting who will take home the MAC crown. Buffalo claimed the other Championship vote.
Toledo, MAC West Division champions in 2022, defeated East Division champion Ohio, 17-7, in the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit. The Rockets went on to defeat Liberty in the Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl on their way to a 9-5 record.
Head Coach Jason Candle’s Rockets return seven All-MAC players from last year’s team, including junior quarterback Dequan Finn and All-American cornerback Quinyon Mitchell.
Ohio finished the 2022 season 10-4 overall, 7-1 against MAC opponents and 6-0 at home. They wrapped up their record-setting performance with a 30-27 overtime victory against Wyoming in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl.
The 2022 season marked the Bobcats’ first 10-win season since 2011 and the fourth in program history.
The 77th season of MAC football kicks off on Saturday, August 26th and concludes with the 2023 MAC Football Championship Game at Ford Field on Saturday, December 2 at Noon ET (ESPN).