Is the MAC a two-horse race between Toledo and Ohio? Exploring battle for supremacy at top of the conference & how Rockets & Bobcats come out on top

The Toledo Rockets and Ohio Bobcats met in the 2022 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship Game. While the Rockets were able to emerge victorious, the Bobcats were without starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who tore his ACL in Ohio's 11th game of the season.

Rourke threw for 3,257 yards, 25 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He completed 69.1% of his passes while adding 245 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Rourke led the Mid-American Conference in passing yards, touchdowns and completion percentage, while throwing the least interceptions in the conference.

Ohio finished with a 10-4 record, and a 7-1 conference record, both of which were the best in the MAC. Meanwhile, Toledo, who finished 9-5 with a 5-3 conference record, will return 16 starters from last season's conference championship-winning team.

The teams finished the season as the top two teams in the conference in scoring. Can another team challenge the Bobcats and Rockets for the conference title?

Which teams can challenge Toledo and Ohio for the MAC?

The Toledo Rockets and Ohio Bobcats could once again be on a collision course to meet in the MAC Championship Game. The top threat to them is the Miami (OH) RedHawks, who allowed a conference-low 22.6 points per game.

While the RedHawks were just 6-7 last season, they played much of the year without starting quarterback Brett Gabbert. After finishing the 2021 season among the best quarterbacks in the conference, he played just four games in 2022.

Gabbert threw for 2,648 yards, 26 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 59.5% of his passes across ten games when he was last healthy.

He led the conference in passing touchdowns and passer efficiency rating, while finishing fourth in yards. Gabbert was able to be among the league leaders despite playing three, and in some cases, four games less than all of his contemporaries.

If he is able to recover from his injury better than Bobcats quarterback Kurtis Rourke, the RedHawks could represent the East division in the MAC Championship Game.

In the West division, the biggest threat to the Rockets are the Eastern Michigan Eagles, who were 9-4 with a 5-3 conference record. The Eagles were tied with Toledo for the division's best conference record, however, a 27-24 head-to-head loss prevented them from appearing in the championship game.

While Eastern Michigan is the only team that hasn't appeared in the conference championship, that could change if they are able to beat the Rockets in 2023.

MORE: MAC Power Rankings 2023