Biggest MAC Football Questions In 2024

The 2024 season will likely look very different in the Mid-American Conference. It's going to change even more in 2025 and beyond. The changes start at the new

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The 2024 season will likely look very different in the Mid-American Conference. It's going to change even more in 2025 and beyond. The changes start at the new pod scheduling format and only get more complex from there. 

Aside from that, what other immediate changes can we expect?

When August rolls around, these and other questions will be on our minds when it comes to the present and future of MAC football.

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Who's the next expansion domino?

Starting in 2025, the UMass Minutemen will be a full member of the MAC. That puts the MAC at 13 teams for the 2025 season. 

Maybe the league doesn't have to get to an even number as far as football members, but it would sure make things easier given the pod scheduling system that's being implemented, starting with this season. That could take a few different forms. 

UConn are still independent, much to Jim Mora's chagrin. Western Kentucky have previously expressed interest in the league. FCS teams have more incentive to move to FBS than any other time in recent history. With Conference USA also potentially having reason to add a team in the same time frame, things on this front could get interesting.

How Will Brett Gabbert's Curtain Call Go?

Past his freshman season in 2019, Gabbert's career with the Miami RedHawks has unfortunately been riddled with injuries, the latest of which was a gruesome broken leg in 2023. Despite that, Gabbert is still third in program history in passing yards and touchdown passes. 

Miami had the benefit of Aveon Smith backing Gabbert up the last two years, with largely positive results, including Smith finishing a MAC championship run. Smith has since transferred to Alabama A&M. 

2023 will be Gabbert's sixth and final season in college football. He'd need 25 touchdown passes to pass Ben Roethlisberger's program record. He hit that number in a single year one other time in the 2021 season, in which he played in ten games.

Can Toledo's Momentum Continue?

In the last three seasons, Toledo has made three trips to the postseason. They made back-to-back trips to the MAC title game in 2022 and 2023, taking home the trophy in 2022. Jason Candle also led the Rockets to an 11-win season in 2023, the second time he's done so.

The problem for Candle this season will be replacing starting quarterback DeQuan Finn (Baylor transfer, top running back Peny Boone (Louisville), and handful of very strong defensive players, including cornerback Quinyon Mitchell who will likely be a top-20 pick in this April's NFL Draft.

Candle and his staff have proven to be quite adept at dealing with less-than ideal circumstances, but replacing that production is an extremely unenviable task.

Can Ohio Replace Kurtis Rourke?

Kurtis Rourke had a tremendous career for the Bobcats, including the 2022 MAC Player of the Year Award. While his production took a dip in 2023 as he healed from an ACL injury in 2023, the Canadian quarterback's contributions to the program will be sorely missed after his transfer to Indiana earlier this offseason.

So, how do Tim Alpin and the Bobcats replace him? There are a few options.

2022 Arizona Bowl MVP C.J. Harris is still around, as is UCF transfer Parker Navarro who led the Bobcats to a win in the 2023 Myrtle Beach Bowl. Both have fairly similar skillsets as largely effective scramblers.

The Bobcats also have another highly anticipated Canadian QB prospect in redshirt sophomore Callum Wither, who hasn't seen game action yet. Whoever gets the starting nod, it might be one of the more underrated QB battles in the G5 this year.