1. Tiffin.
They are returning 2 All-Americans in Walton at Defensive end and and Blackmon at running back. Walton was the D2 statistical champion in sacks, leading the country and Blackmon was 3rd in the country in rushing and as Findlay knows all too well, he can take any run to the house. Nobody in the conference returns as much firepower as the dragons. Expect tiffin to only be challenged in 1 or 2 conference games this fall and I do not think they will lose in conference play. Tiffin had the #1 statistical offense and defense in the conference last year and I have not seen them lose anybody in the portal. They will have to replace production at wide receiver as they lost Thomas who had over 1,000 yards receiving last year. I would not be surprised if they play Ferris State close in week 2, we will learn a lot about how good this team is that weekend.

2. Ashland
Coming off of a strong ‘24 campaign, the eagles return a lot of talent and experience on defense. However, replacing Bycznski at quarterback is a tall task. He played extremely well in the biggest spots last season and losing that experience will be the difference in the tiffin game this fall. I expect Ashland to content for a conference title again in ‘25. They also play a tough non conference schedule and we will see what the ‘25 squad is made of early.

3. Hillsdale
Hillsdale looks like a strong team with a strong finish to the ‘24 campaign. This team is ready to make a jump with a lot of experience up front and on the defense. I think the conference is a clear cut 3 team race this year between Hillsdale, Ashland and Tiffin.

4. Northwood
Another intriguing team, I do not believe they have lost much and they are looking on building off of a good ‘24 season. I expect north wood to shock some people and put some teams on upset watch early in the season. The question will be can the compete with Tiffin and Ashland upfront, that will be decided on the turf.

5. Findlay
Findlay will take a step back this year, they have question marks at quarterback, wide receiver, upfront and their backend defensively. They have lost a lot of players and there will be a lot of new starters. They will most likely be average but I would not be surprised to see them as high as 3 or as low as 7. They aren’t as bad as the bottom but aren’t as strong as tiffin or Ashland this year

6. Kentucky Wesleyan
Let’s see if they can compete this year, they have been at the bottom of the conference as of late but I expect them to take a step forward this year.

7. Walsh
big losses at quarterback and middle linebacker with Molk and 2 time conference DPOY Cam Hollobaugh will prove to be detrimental to this squad. It’s a shame they left, they could have contented with those two guys

8. Thomas Moore
they do not have much firepower and it will be tough for them to compete with the big dawgs in the league. I would not be surprised to see them as high as 3 to be honest. The middle of the league is largely up for grabs

9. Lake Erie College
I expect coach price to help this program take a step up this fall and at least be competitive.

10. Ohio Dominican
basically their whole defense hit the portal and went to Division 1 schools, they had a top defense in the league last year but this will not continue. There is word on the street they are struggling to field a team. It’s a long way from the glory days.