Return of the MAC 2026: MR. UNLIMITED
If you're a fan of Ohio State, Oregon, Miami, Texas, or somewhere similar, you should probably pay attention to BGSU because this might be your starting RB in 2027.
That’s not a knife... THIS is a knife.
- Mick Dundee, Crocodile Dundee (1986)
A converted safety who played WR in high school, what better profile could you ask for in a collegiate RB prospect? You get the physicality with the pass-catching profile—win, win. Furthermore, at 6’1, 225 pounds and playing in the world renowned Mid-American Conference, who among us is saying no to this?
And if all of that weren’t enough, the kid is playing under one of the greatest collegiate running backs of all time in Eddie George who is the head coach. The player I’m speaking about, of course, is Bowling Green’s Austyn Dendy.
Dendy became a well-known name in the CFF community around late October/early November this past fall when he began—seemingly out of nowhere—handling grown man work out of BGSU’s backfield. Starting on Oct. 25 vs. Kent State, after previously not appearing in any games prior in the season, Dendy saw 20 carries, accumulating 93 yards and one score in the process. He then averaged over 20 carries per game during the next four games to close out the season. Pretty good stuff.
I don’t know how or what it took for BGSU to retain Dendy’s services this offseason, but whatever they did I think we all need a little bit of that magic in our lives. Maybe it was just the promise that if he returned for one full season with another offseason of RB training, that the offers he’d be getting next winter would be vastly superior to whatever interest he garnered this past offseason.
Who knows? For now, all we know is that he’s back for 2026, and ready to stunt on those unsuspecting nerds in the Mid-American. It’s swirly time, you feel me? And Dendy is the big man on campus.
For some reason, every time I see his name I think about the movie Crocodile Dundee, which I think is just because the names are similar. If he wants to start rolling with the nickname Austyn “Crocodile” Dendy then I hope he at least directs some kick backs from his NIL earnings into the VP fund. Frankly, it would be the least he could do. “MR. UNLIMITED” works as well, though not as specific to the individual.
Coming back to how BGSU retained him, maybe the vision from George—an OSU alum—was that with a full year under his belt, Dendy could potentially be the RB1 at Ohio State in 2027 just like George was? That would be fucking epic. I know they have Bo Jackson, but he already flirted with the portal once, so who’s to say he won’t do it again next year?
Or even Texas? Dendy comes from the SEC footprint and was already in an SEC program for one year (Mizzou) before transferring to the MAC. And the Horns will likely be in the market again for a transfer once Hollywood and Raleek move next offseason.
Anyways, let’s do the thing that we usually do and take a look at the staff/system.
COACHING & SYSTEM: I wouldn’t focus on this too much
If you’re a reader of this publication, then you already know my modus operandi and perhaps you too are a subscriber to the ‘follow the volume’ doctrine yourself. Most of the time to prognosticate volume, and therefore production, we focus on systems.
In this case, however, I think that the player supersedes the system and is likely going to be pummelled with carries (and hopefully targets) until the cows come home. The head coach, Eddie George, knows a thing or two about this:
Here’s hoping he pays it forward from his 1995 season and unloads a similar volume of touches onto his protégé (fingers crossed).
Anyways, since we’re here, we might as well take a look at the staff. The first thing to know is that while there was a head coaching change last offseason, Eddie retained the OC, Greg Nosal, from the previous three seasons.
Nosal has been with BGSU since 2019, first joining as the TE coach, and then being promoted to OC in 2022. Below is a summary of his RB1/2s between 2022 and 2024:
Obviously, there’s nothing particularly impressive there. But the kicker is that we already saw him and Eddie #PIG Crocodile Dendy late last year, and it just seems unlikely—after discovering fire via this greek god runner from the transfer portal—that this staff will change up the plan in 2026.
One of the things that is most appealing about the MAC is that because it’s by far the worst FBS conference talent-wise, it is the closest thing we have as CFF managers to high school football, which is ideal because that’s a format where the best players dominate and routinely put up massive numbers. Mostly because there’s a large talent discrepancy.
The closer a conference is to the NFL—with high levels of talent and uniformity across the league (e.g., the SEC)—the worse it is for CFF purposes, in my (and I think in a lot of others’) opinion.
Austyn Dendy (6’1, 225)
Dendy was a transfer from Missouri in the 2025 offseason. The redshirt sophomore was listed as an ATH/WR prospect in high school, with a versatile projection including positions of RB, S, and WR. Dare I say, the BGSU staff convincing him to return after his late-season finish last season may be one of the greatest coups of 2026.
He enrolled as a safety prospect at Missouri, but did not make an appearance, redshirting in 2024. Ultimately, he appears to have landed at RB playing for BGSU, and if his final five games are any indication for 2026, he’ll be a focus in this system under head coach Eddie George.
I imagine George’s presence was probably a selling point for Dendy, and also part of how BGSU managed to retain him this offseason, which is nothing short of a miracle in my opinion.
Dendy wears #14 currently, but it would be pretty gangster if he swapped to Eddie’s old number (while also playing in Ohio, go figure).
Of course, like many MAC programs, there was a lot of attrition for the Bowling Green Falcons during 2026’s great migration. RBs Cameron Pettaway and Mar’Kel Porter saw the writing on the wall and defected to Iowa State and Northwestern, respectively. That leaves Nakai Amachree as the primary competitor for touches out of the backfield.
Elsewhere, QB Lucian Anderson transferred to South Carolina. WR RJ Garcia to FAU. TE Jacob Harris to Wisconsin. Other receivers like Caleb Goodloe are still in the portal.
Unfortunately, like most MAC programs, BGSU opens the season with somewhat of a murderer’s row (relatively speaking): Nebraska, Iowa State and USF round out the September schedule after opening against FCS school Tarleton State, who are usually one of the stronger teams in the lower division.
After that, however, the flood gates should open. Thinking about some of the most productive RBs that originated from the MAC in recent years, Peny Boone’s 2023 output of 1400 yards, Carson Steele’s 1556 yards in 2022, and Lew Nichols’ legendary run in 2021 that netted him 1800+ yards round out the most prolific runners since COVID.
On average, the MAC produces 4.6 RBs per season that hit 1000+ rushing yards, though the top rusher has been less productive lately relative to the earlier 2020s. Sieh “Bang Man” Bangura led the way in ‘25 with 1300 yards, and his predecessor Anthony Tyus did so in 2024 with 1200 yards.
The redshirt freshman Austyn Dendy averaged just shy of 100 rushing yards per game in his five appearances in 2025, and a rushing TD per game. Extrapolate that out to 12 games and the picture looks bright.
Coincidentally, Eddie George also scored five rushing TDs in his (true) freshman season. Though, in Eddie’s case, this proved not to be an antecedent for a breakout performance the following season. It wasn’t until his junior year when he hit 1353 yards rushing and 12 scores on 261 carries, while also catching 16 passes for an additional 117 yards over the course of 12 games.
That was Eddie’s third season in CFB, a symmetry that maps neatly onto this piece should Dendy follow a similar path nearly 30 years later, entering his own third collegiate season in Fall 2026.
So, with that in mind, I’m going to make a bold prediction: I think Dendy will outpace the previous two MAC leaders in rushing and hit ~1400 rushing yards in 2026. He’ll average over 100 yards rushing per game just like Eddie did, and finish the season with a similar workload figure.
The RB room cleared out around him, and there should (hopefully) be enough juice in the passing game to move the chains and keep defences honest to provide necessary space in the run game. BGSU should be able to move the ball well enough versus USF and Tarleton, maybe even versus ISU, and then the MAC schedule awaits.
I also believe that we will see a more advanced receiving profile from Dendy in 2026. His final three appearances previewed an ability to provide value in this regard, catching passes of 11, 27, and 16 yards. As was mentioned previously, this player occupied many roles in HS including WR, so there should be good clay for Eddie to sculpt.
It’s never reasonable to predict that a player will hit 1800+ rushing yards and another 300+ in receiving like Lew Nichols did in 2021, but that is the upper bound of my vision for what Dendy could be. I think 1400-1500 is well within the range of outcomes. ◾
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