Western Michigan enters November as the team every MAC contender has to catch. Akron is just trying to figure out who's taking snaps.
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WMUAKR
WMUAKR
OverUnder
Best BetWestern Michigan
Western Michigan brings back the reigning MAC Offensive Player of the Year and a title, while Akron is still sorting out its starting quarterback. That's a wide enough talent gap to lean on the road side here even before accounting for anything else. Akron's Gant and Williams give it some juice, but that's not usually enough against a team that knows exactly who's throwing the ball.
Western Michigan
+Defending MAC champs, Lowry back at QB
+Buckley surging, 8.5 YPC in November games
+4 returning offensive line starters
−Lost DC and star pass rusher to NFL
−9 defensive players with 200+ snaps gone
Akron
+Jordan Gant, 1,000-yard back, returns
+Moorhead beat projections in 7 of 10 late games
+Marcel Williams, Kyan Mason give it playmakers
−No settled starting QB, Roggow vs. Poffenbarger
−Top 5 linebackers all gone from 2025 defense
The headline matchup here is a quarterback who's already won a MAC title against a quarterback battle that hasn't been settled. Broc Lowry, the reigning MAC Offensive Player of the Year, is back under center for Western Michigan after leading the Broncos to a MAC championship in 2025. Akron, meanwhile, is choosing between Brayden Roggow and journeyman Reese Poffenbarger to run its offense, with nothing decided as of this writing.
Both defenses took a beating this offseason, which changes how this one could play out. Western Michigan lost defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary and star pass rusher Nadame Tucker to the NFL's Chargers, and with them 9 linemen and linebackers who logged 200-plus snaps a year ago. Akron's version of that problem is its top 5 linebackers all gone. Neither program is walking into Akron's stadium with much certainty up front.
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Where Western Michigan pulls ahead is the stuff that doesn't need a depth chart to figure out. Jalen Buckley was the engine of the Broncos' title run, and he got dramatically better as the season went — 8.5 yards per carry in November games compared to 3.9 earlier in the year. Four starting offensive linemen are back to clear his lanes, and Lowry has his top two returning receivers, Aveion Chenault and Baylin Brooks, still on campus.
Western Michigan Broncos
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—
Akron Zips
Nov 3?vs Ohio—
Oct 16?@ Miami (OH)—
Oct 10?vs Eastern Michigan—
Oct 2?@ Central Michigan—
Sep 25?vs UNLV—
Sep 19?@ Minnesota—
Sep 12?vs Robert Morris—
Sep 3?@ Wake Forest—
Recent form.
Akron isn't hopeless, even if the projections say otherwise. Jordan Gant ran for 1,000-plus yards a season ago and returns as a preseason first-team All-MAC pick, and sophomore receiver Marcel Williams joins him on that list. Joe Moorhead, now in his 4th year running the program, got more out of a 5-7 team late last season than the numbers said he should have — Akron beat its projection in 7 of 10 games down the stretch. That's a coach worth watching even when the roster isn't loaded.
Western Michigan Broncos
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Akron Zips
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Add it all up and this is a MAC power trying to defend a title with half its defense gone, on the road against a team that beat expectations last year but still doesn't know its starting quarterback. Western Michigan's floor is higher. Whether Akron's fight under Moorhead is enough to make it interesting is the real question here.
