Uniform Nation's 2014 Mid-American Conference uniform rankings

Unlike the heavily traditional power conferences, the Mid-American Conference is full of cookie cutter designs and endless piping. A handful of teams still have a traditional home and road look, but add in a crazy or black for black's sake alternate to keep with the times. Taking every team's home, road, and alternate uniforms into consideration, my #MACtion rankings are below:

1. Ohio (Kevin Hoffman - USA TODAY Sports)

As timeless as the conference can possibly look, OU's traditional style improved with the addition of a green helmet. If not for the brick and black alternate uniforms, the Bobcats could aesthetically compete with the nation's best.

2. Toledo (Stacy Revere - Getty Images)

While I'm not always a fan of piping, Toledo's streamlined set is unique to major college football and seemingly fits with the rocket motif. I'm not a fan of the breast cancer awareness set, but the throwback-inspired alternate helmets are absolutely gorgeous.

3. Miami (OH) (Jamie Sabau - Getty Images)

My sentiments about Ohio could be echoed for Miami, but I'll always believe that the Redhawks would look better in the modern template worn during the Ben Roethlisberger era. Miami would likely come in second in these rankings if it weren't for the alternate uniform and helmet, which looks like a bowling ball.

4. Kent State (Evan Habeeb - USA TODAY Sports)

After a receiving national attention on the way to an 11-3 record in 2012, the Golden Flashes received new uniforms prior to last season. Kent State's uniforms are rather plain compared to the previous year's, and the team's logo could use an update, but are a welcome sight in such a flashy conference. Using the Chargers-inspired helmet full time would be a plus.

5. Ball State (Pat Lovell - USA TODAY Sports)

Like Muncie, Indiana, Ball State is pretty "meh". The team isn't outfitted in something ridiculous, but doesn't stand out in the conference, either. As they'll do this season, though, the Cardinals are one of the few teams that can add a black alternate to the rotation without complaint.

7. Buffalo (Kevin Hoffman - USA TODAY Sports)

Without the unnecessary underarm panels and addition of black, Buffalo would have a solid uniform. I would welcome a return to the horned-helmet, but as it stands currently, "The State University of New York at Buffalo" can only hope top five NFL Draft pick Khalil Mack can donate some money for new uniforms.

8. Bowling Green (Kirk Irwin - Getty Images)

Leading the pack of cookie-cutter Adidas uniforms, Bowling Green gets the nod thanks to the orange and brown scheme and reluctance to add a uniform or helmet outside of those colors. Unfortunately, BGSU's uniforms have the same wing pattern that is used by every other team with a bird mascot under the Adidas umbrella.

9. Eastern Michigan (Jim O'Connor - USA TODAY Sports)

Same uniform, different colors. The Eagles (wings on sleeves!) have simple white and green color scheme, but have unnecessarily added gray to their uniforms and their field. An alternate helmet that featured a sublimated state outline has potential, but combined too many elements for my liking.

9. Western Michigan (Mike Carter - USA TODAY Sports)

Had Western Michigan remained with the previous UCLA-striped set, the team would have been among the conference favorites. Outside of color and fonts, however, the current set mimics that of BGSU and EMU. Additionally, the Broncos debuted one of the worst alternate uniforms I've ever seen in a late-season matchup with Northern Illinois.

10. Northern Illinois (Mike DiNovo - US PRESSWIRE)

In that same game, the Huskies wore an alternate uniform that would be among the conference's best had they been worn full-time. Especially the helmet. The team is rumored to be receiving a new set this season, including a special DeKalb Corn Fest uniform, so here's to hoping they're better than last year's piping-heavy look.

11. Central Michigan (Mike Carter - US PRESSWIRE)

Central Michigan wore some pretty unique uniforms for the 2012 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, but returned to another uniform with pointless piping, which I can understandably assume is due to a small budget. If I was in charge, I'd model the team's look after this throwback set.

12. Massachusetts (Mark L. Baer - US PRESSWIRE)

The Minutemen would likely be ranked with the other cookie-cutter Adidas designs had the team not worn black for almost every home game. The helmet logo is an upgrade over the last set, but I'd rather see a return to the Denver Broncos-esque stripes than these plain uniforms.

13. Akron (Gregory Shamus - Getty Images)

The Zips have one of my favorite mascots in all of college football, but their uniforms have been among the worst. Akron has essentially been a mix-and-match of every fad in today's game, with obnoxious piping and strange helmet designs. The team is dropping the piping, however, in favor of the same Adidas catalog uniforms as mentioned before.