Western Michigan beat Miami (OH) for the MAC crown last December. Now the RedHawks get a shot at revenge on the Broncos' own turf.
Bush’s Picks
M-OHWMU
M-OHWMU
OverUnder
Best BetWestern Michigan
Western Michigan brings back its championship quarterback and a stacked group of returning starters, which is exactly the kind of continuity that shows up as MAC favorites in November. Miami is still figuring out life without answers at a few key spots after a tough finish to 2025. Until Miami proves it replaced what it lost, the defending champs are the play at home.
Miami (OH)
+Reached 2025 MAC title game despite 0-3 start
+Chuck Martin brings 12th-year staff stability
+Showed capable of 44-point offensive outbursts
−Finished 7-7, lost title game and Arizona Bowl
−Incoming 2026 QB recruit unproven at this level
−Trailed WMU into the fourth quarter of last meeting
Western Michigan
+Reigning MAC champs, first title since 2016
+10 returning starters including QB Broc Lowry
+Defense delivered in title game via Tucker's two sacks
−Own 0-3 start last year shows early vulnerability
−History works against MAC teams repeating as champs
−Beat Miami by single digits after a late scare
This one carries real weight for a midweek MAC game. Western Michigan and Miami (OH) met in the 2025 MAC Championship Game, with the Broncos claiming their first conference title since 2016 in a 23-13 win. Nearly a year later, they're set to run it back in Kalamazoo, this time with the regular season on the line instead of a trophy.
Western Michigan brings back the engine of that championship run. Quarterback Broc Lowry returns to a roster loaded with 10 returning starters, giving Lance Taylor's group as much continuity as any team in the conference heading into 2026. Miami, meanwhile, is retooling after a rocky finish, with longtime coach Chuck Martin entering year 12 and leaning on a 2026 recruiting class built around incoming quarterback Andrew Bellisari, who won't be ready to walk in and start Week 1 of his career against a MAC contender like this.
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M-OH Miami (OH)
WMU Western Michigan
Both programs know how to survive an ugly start and still be playing in November. Miami opened 2025 at 0-3 and still made the title game. Western Michigan did the same and still won it. That kind of resilience is exactly why a late-season MACtion matchup like this one tends to mean something in the standings, even before a betting market takes shape around it.
Miami (OH) RedHawks
Nov 17?@ Kent State—
Nov 10?vs Ohio—
Nov 3?vs Buffalo—
Oct 16?vs Akron—
Oct 9?@ Massachusetts—
Oct 2?vs Bowling Green—
Sep 25?vs UConn—
Sep 19?@ Cincinnati—
Sep 12?vs Holy Cross—
Sep 5?@ Pittsburgh—
Western Michigan Broncos
Nov 17?vs Eastern Michigan—
Nov 10?@ Akron—
Oct 31?vs Bowling Green—
Oct 16?@ Central Michigan—
Oct 9?vs Kent State—
Oct 2?@ Buffalo—
Sep 25?vs Boise State—
Sep 19?@ Rice—
Sep 12?vs Monmouth—
Sep 5?@ Michigan—
Recent form.
The storyline that'll hang over this whole rematch is Miami's response. The RedHawks pushed Western Michigan into the fourth quarter of that title game before the Broncos pulled away, and Chuck Martin's teams have a track record of playing their best football late in the year. Whether that late-season identity survives roster turnover is the real question in Oxford this offseason.
For Western Michigan, the challenge is different: staying hungry after a breakthrough season. History isn't kind to reigning MAC champs trying to repeat, and Lance Taylor's blunt read on last year's team, that it was gritty rather than pretty, suggests he knows this group has to earn it again rather than coast on the banner. A rematch against the team they just beat for the title is as good a measuring stick as the MAC schedule offers.
