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Topic: CBS Sports Preseason Power Rankings - Teams & Conferences
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cbarber357
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Posted: 8/14/2026 11:17 AM
Found this of interest - ranking us at 120 seems wildly low, but to be fair it’s probably hard to gauge G6 teams in the NIL/portal era for the national media heading into a new season.

Also of note that the MAC is ranked higher than the C-USA, and that it’s being dragged down by the bottom 3 teams.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/rankings/cbs-s... /

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-s... /
BryanHall
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Posted: 8/14/2026 11:25 AM
cbarber357 wrote:expand_more
Found this of interest - ranking us at 120 seems wildly low, but to be fair it’s probably hard to gauge G6 teams in the NIL/portal era for the national media heading into a new season.

Also of note that the MAC is ranked higher than the C-USA, and that it’s being dragged down by the bottom 3 teams.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/rankings/cbs-s... /

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-s... /
It's rough seeing us ranked lower than Eastern Michigan--even though it's fairly meaningless. I'm guessing somebody spent a limited amount of time on this and thought the loss of the coach and a lack of an experienced QB made the Cats #7 in the conference (by my quick count).
cbarber357
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Posted: 8/14/2026 11:27 AM
BryanHall wrote:expand_more
Found this of interest - ranking us at 120 seems wildly low, but to be fair it’s probably hard to gauge G6 teams in the NIL/portal era for the national media heading into a new season.

Also of note that the MAC is ranked higher than the C-USA, and that it’s being dragged down by the bottom 3 teams.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/rankings/cbs-s... /

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-s... /
It's rough seeing us ranked lower than Eastern Michigan--even though it's fairly meaningless. I'm guessing somebody spent a limited amount of time on this and thought the loss of the coach and a lack of an experienced QB made the Cats #7 in the conference (by my quick count).
I checked the two different models ESPN has and we are 109/96 in those.

I have a feeling we will be finishing the year ranked a lot higher.
cbarber357
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Posted: 8/17/2026 12:22 PM
One of the Fox Sports power rankings has us at 77 so opinions seem all over the place.

Western Michigan is starting the year with one vote in the AP Top 25.
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 8/17/2026 3:09 PM
cbarber357 wrote:expand_more
One of the Fox Sports power rankings has us at 77 so opinions seem all over the place.

Western Michigan is starting the year with one vote in the AP Top 25.
I wonder what their payroll is going to be. I suspect it's tops in the MAC, unless those rumors about That School in Oxford turn out to true.
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Diamond Cat
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Posted: 8/17/2026 3:13 PM
I can't keep track of the moving parts of the new college landscape. I also do not have the desire to. I will follow The Cats and The MAC as best I can but the WMU situation is interesting. Is it safe to day WMU is spending some of the donor money on the football roster? I know the roster from last year had some players looking for 1-2 years of cash.
cbarber357
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Posted: 8/17/2026 8:20 PM
Diamond Cat wrote:expand_more
I can't keep track of the moving parts of the new college landscape. I also do not have the desire to. I will follow The Cats and The MAC as best I can but the WMU situation is interesting. Is it safe to day WMU is spending some of the donor money on the football roster? I know the roster from last year had some players looking for 1-2 years of cash.
Looks like WMU is losing their AD, will be interesting to see if their trajectory changes at all.
M.D.W.S.T
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Posted: 8/18/2026 9:40 AM
cbarber357 wrote:expand_more
One of the Fox Sports power rankings has us at 77 so opinions seem all over the place.

Western Michigan is starting the year with one vote in the AP Top 25.
Some guys see new coach and end their research right there.

Other guys see new coach and realize it was an internal promotion, they lost zero assistants, return one of the most tenured staffs in all of college football and understand the bottom didn't fall out.


As for Western, sure man. Hard to knock the POY, but I'm not as high on Parker-lite Brock Lowery. Doesn't make mistakes though. Very strong runner. Their RB is a beast. That combo is tough, as we know. A strategy we've also been a beneficiary of, but that team just doesn't jump out at me. Lowery isn't a good enough thrower to really elevate the team over where its at. And maybe thats enough. They beat us - but the D held him to under 50 yards passing until the 4th quarter. Unfortunately, they also held Parker under 100 yards. Cause their defense is tough. And will probably be tougher. Top MAC team, for sure. Top 25? Absolutely not.
Bobcat1996
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Posted: 8/19/2026 7:52 PM
M.D.W.S.T wrote:expand_more
One of the Fox Sports power rankings has us at 77 so opinions seem all over the place.

Western Michigan is starting the year with one vote in the AP Top 25.
Some guys see new coach and end their research right there.

Other guys see new coach and realize it was an internal promotion, they lost zero assistants, return one of the most tenured staffs in all of college football and understand the bottom didn't fall out.


As for Western, sure man. Hard to knock the POY, but I'm not as high on Parker-lite Brock Lowery. Doesn't make mistakes though. Very strong runner. Their RB is a beast. That combo is tough, as we know. A strategy we've also been a beneficiary of, but that team just doesn't jump out at me. Lowery isn't a good enough thrower to really elevate the team over where its at. And maybe thats enough. They beat us - but the D held him to under 50 yards passing until the 4th quarter. Unfortunately, they also held Parker under 100 yards. Cause their defense is tough. And will probably be tougher. Top MAC team, for sure. Top 25? Absolutely not.
The Bobcats do have one of the most tenured staffs in the conference. However they did lose a few assistants including the OL coach, WR coach and the newly created GM position.
cbarber357
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Posted: 8/19/2026 8:04 PM
Meanwhile, ESPN writer David Hale now has us listed as 1/16 G6 contenders.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49574597...
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