Two guaranteed opponents every year, rotate the rest of the nine in three groups o' three. It's practical.
Last year, we had four teams in the West finish with 6-2 in-conference records, and the one with the most amount of wins was duped out of the conference title game. In 2007, we had three teams in the East go 4-2 against the rest of the division. 2005, Akron won a 3-way tie at 5-3 over Ball State and Bowling Green and Northern Illinois over Toledo at 6-2 to be East and West champions. There were four teams in the East that went 5-3 in MAC play in 2000, but it was Byron Leftwich and the Championship Game-hosting Thundering Herd that played (and won) the title instead of a 6-1 Toledo team getting a shot.