Rick Osentoski, USA TODAY Sports Perfection is so infrequently attained in college football that it demands some historical perspective: Western Michigan is just the seventh team in the past six seasons to complete an undefeated regular season, and the first to do so from the Group of Five. Just seven teams in the past decade have concluded an entire season unbeaten. Yet the rankings are not in the Broncos’ favor. Western Michigan was 17th in the most recent College Football Playoff standings, two spots ahead of Navy, the top-ranked team from the American Athletic Conference — in other words, the best team from what is without question the strongest non-Power Five league. The Broncos did all they could do.

Thirteen games, all wins. Two victories against Big Ten foes in Northwestern and Illinois. Just two wins by fewer than two touchdowns. Western Michigan was given a schedule, rolled through its schedule and stood as perhaps the best team in the history of the Mid-American Conference. And it may not be enough. That the Midshipmen sit just two spots behind the Broncos in the penultimate Playoff rankings is telling: Navy stands within very close striking distance with two games left to play.

Both of those games come against bowl teams, beginning with a fringe top-25 opponent in Temple to decide the American. Then comes rival Army, which already has clinched a bowl berth.

Those wins would give Navy six victories against bowl teams, with another win coming against Notre Dame. The Broncos’ strength of schedule, which the Sagarin ratings have as the 118th-most difficult in the country, includes just three wins against teams with a winning record. In this case — as in just a select few other instances in the history of college football — perfection may be ignored.

Western Michigan can be upset, but the Broncos should still hold their heads high. The team did everything that was asked of it from a middling schedule, rolling through the opposition at a clip nearly unparalleled across the FBS. Where the Broncos faltered was through no fault of their own. The big issue is the comparison of the MAC and the American, and in comparing the road Navy would take to 11-2 compared to the Broncos’ run to perfection.

It’s simply not an even comparison: The American is so far ahead of the MAC in 2016 that 11-2 might trump 13-0, particularly when given the Midshipmen’s four potential victories against teams with at least eight wins — Houston, Memphis, Tulsa and, with a win on Saturday, Temple. Yet it begs a question: If the Broncos can go 13-0 with two wins against the Big Ten and not be given an access-bowl bid to the Cotton Bowl, will a team from the MAC ever reach a New Year’s Six game? 'To me, it would be a sad state of affairs for Western,' said Central Michigan coach John Bonamego. 'To do what they've done, if they can't make it into a New Year's (Six) bowl, then basically they're telling us that there's no way anybody (from the MAC) will ever make it. What more can they do? They haven't lost.'

It’s a depressing concept for the MAC to consider. If not Western Michigan, then who? But in placing the two teams in such close proximity in this week’s top 25, the selection committee has already set the table for a Navy surge. Perfection, such an infrequent accomplishment in major college football, may not be enough.

Follow Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg.

The Bobcats (8-4) face the undefeated Broncos (12-0) in the MAC championship game at. The Bobcats finished 6-2 in winning the MAC East Division, while the Broncos went 8-0 in winning the West.

Unbeaten Western Michigan Beats Ohio For Macbeth

Terrell has completed 71.7 percent of his passes for 3,086 yards, 30 touchdowns and just a single interception. 'He's a very composed football player,' Solich said. 'He does not get rattled. He makes great decisions. When he's in the pocket and people are flying around him, he still zeroes in on the coverages and his receivers and where the ball has to go and has great timing on his release.

'Very, very accurate thrower. He's got, I think, the mental makeup, too. He makes great decisions with the ball. He's able to run enough that he's going to hurt you if you're not taking care of that responsibility. He knows when to scramble, how to scramble. There's not a phase of the game that he's not really proficient at.

He's a complete player at the position.' Terrell has gained 222 yards and six touchdowns on 67 carries, too. The stage is set. See you at Detroit's Ford Field on Friday, December 2nd at 7 p.m. For all the — #MACtion (@MACSports) Terrell's favorite target is Corey Davis, who has 83 catches for 1,283 yards and 17 touchdowns. The Broncos also have a potent running attack that the Bobcats will have to try to stop.

RELATED: 'No one has been able to stop their ground game,' Solich said. 'And so, you can try to double Corey all you want. He'll still make some plays, and the ground game will kill you. So you gotta try and pick your poison a little bit and try to be as sound as you can be and try to be at the right spots at the right time. It comes down to really tackling well. 'That offensive line is so big that they create some holes, so your secondary has to fill in and make a lot of plays. If you're not careful, all of a sudden, a little sloppiness in your approach, your tackling, and now big plays hurt you on the ground.

That's kind of the problem everybody faces when they play them. They do not have a weakness. Their ground game is exceptional.

Their passing game is exceptional.' The Bobcats rank fifth nationally in rushing defense, allowing 105.1 yards per game.

The Broncos rank 13th in rushing offense, averaging 247.3 yards per game. Ohio linebacker Quentin Poling said stopping the run has been a 'must' for the Bobcats to win games this season. RELATED: 'That's one thing we've excelled at,' Poling said.

'We need to continue that or else we won't have a chance in this game. We need to stop the run and make them as one-dimensional as possible.'

Poling said Ohio's secondary has done well for being inexperienced. 'We try to make a lot of calls to help them out and take a little less pressure off of them,' Poling said. 'Our run defense has been able to put a lot of predictable passing downs and passing situations. That's really helped us alleviate pressure from the secondary.'

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