Bilo's College Football PASS/FAIL Reports Week 9: MAC

PASS: Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Buffalo
Kent State is not in the MAC East race by any means at 2-3 in conference play. The big deal about their 27-24 win over Central Michigan is that the win likely put off any firing of Paul Haynes another week.
Miami's win is a bit bigger, because it puts the Red Hawks at 3-2 in conference play, and they now trail Akron by only one game in the East standings. Chuck Martin also needs these wins to save his job, and Miami has not been eliminated from bowl consideration just yet. They're still alive.
Ohio controls their own destiny at this point after a 31-26 win over Toledo. The Bobcats are now 4-1 in the East, and they have already beaten Miami this season, who trails by one game. Only Akron stands in the way right now, and they play in the season finale. The good news is that Akron was destroyed by a miserably bad Buffalo squad this week.
Buffalo picked up a huge confidence building win by hammering Akron 41-20. The Bulls are not in the race by any means, but this was a builder win for the rest of this season, and heading into next season. Lance Leipold isn't going anywhere.

FAIL: Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Akron
CMU lost to Kent State, and that was not a good loss for the Chippewas. It dropped them to 2-3 in the West, and drops them from the race. The Chippewas could still qualify for a bowl with a win next week, but they are headed in the wrong direction with a 2 game losing streak intact.
Eastern Michigan is a little bit all over the place right now. Their offense completely disappeared in a 28-15 loss to Miami, and the Eagles are also now just 2-3 in the West, and like CMU, they have a a 2 game losing streak going. However, still like CMU, they could still qualify for a bowl with a win next week.
Toledo no longer completely controls their own destiny in the West race with Western Michigan. The Broncos are off this week, but Toledo's loss to Ohio drops the Rockets back by a game. The Rockets and Broncos still play in the finale, but the Rockets absolutely have to win as things stand now.
Akron is in a bad position now as well, having gotten wrecked by Buffalo. Ohio still looms large on the schedule, but they are a full game out in the East now.

Bowl Eligible: Ohio, Western Michigan, Toledo
Eliminated: Bowling Green