The Miami Redhawks take on the Western Michigan Broncos in the MAC Championship Game. The game kicks off at 12:00 PM EST at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.
The Broncos are listed as 1.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at O/U 43.5 points. Below is my full preview, prediction, and best bet for the MAC Championship Game.
Miami (OH) vs. Western Michigan prediction, preview
Miami (OH) Preview
This marks the third consecutive trip to the MAC Championship Game for Miami. The Redhawks won the 2023 MAC title before losing the championship game to Ohio in 2024. They would love to make it two conference titles in three seasons and establish themselves as the top program in this conference. However, this has been a bizarre final few weeks of the season for Miami.
The Redhawks started the season with Dequan Finn at quarterback. Finn spent several seasons as one of the best quarterbacks in the MAC at Toledo, also winning a conference title in 2022. Finn then spent a season at Baylor, but was unable to win the starting job. That caused him to transfer back to the MAC, this time with Miami. Finn was playing well, and this team was in contention to make this game, but Finn decided to leave the team to prepare for the NFL Draft with three weeks left in the regular season. Miami turned to freshman Thomas Gotkowski for the final two games and Gotkowski got them back-to-back wins, getting them into this title game.
Western Michigan Preview
Western Michigan has been the best team in the conference all season. In Week 2, Western Michigan went to overtime with a great North Texas team, then proceeded to go 7-1 in conference play. The Broncos last won the MAC in 2016, when P.J. Fleck was the head coach and Corey Davis was a record-setting wide receiver. After nearly a decade of waiting, Lance Taylor would love to bring this program another conference title. This team is led by its strong defense, but dual-threat quarterback Broc Lowry has done a great job leading the offense as well.
Miami vs. Western Michigan pick, best bet
My best bet for this game is for the Redhawks to cover as short underdogs. This team is full of players who have experience in this game, having been to the conference title game three-straight years. The preparation, travel and outside distractions are much different in the MAC Championship Game compared to a normal week. The MAC famously has some of the smallest stadiums in college football, often with below-par field and locker room conditions. This weekend, they will be playing on a perfect field in a high-end stadium, normally occupied by the Detroit Lions. All of those factors can change how teams prepare and execute, giving Miami a big experience edge.
Losing Dequan Finn was a blow for Miami, but freshman Thomas Gotkowski has emerged as a real talent. This team has a good run-pass balance with Gotkowski. It also makes it harder for Western Michigan to prepare, since there are only two games of tape on how the offense runs with Gotkowski. When these teams faced off in the regular season, a game that Miami won by nine points, Finn was running the offense. Miami will be able to look at that tape and learn a lot to make adjustments for this matchup. Meanwhile, a lot of that tape will be useless to Western Michigan as the offense operates much differently with the quarterback change. For all of these reasons, I’m backing the Redhawks to get it done and win their second conference title in three years.
