MAC
East
Akron
|
Bowling Green
|
Buffalo
|
Kent
State |
Miami Univ.
|
Ohio
West
Ball State
|
Central Mich
|
Eastern Mich
|
No.
Illinois |
Toledo
|
West
Michigan
Past MAC Predictions:
Week 1 |
Week 2 |
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Week
5
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Week 11 |
Week 12
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How'd we do so far? 67-18 straight
up, 41-36-2 ATS
MAC Game of
the Week
Western
Michigan
(7-4) at
Akron
(5-6) 3:30 PM ESPNU EST Saturday, November
25th
Why to Watch: Western Michigan is
jockeying for bowl position looking for
its eighth win of the season after
battling Florida State in a 28-20 loss
last weekend. On a two-game losing
streak, the Broncos have to prove they
deserve a 13th game by officially ending
the defending MAC champion's season. The
Zips lost to Ohio last week to make the
Bobcats the East champion, but they can
technically be bowl eligible with a win
this weekend.
Why Western Michigan Might Win:
The Akron offensive line has had issues
in pass protection all season long and
should have a nightmare of a time with
Ameer Ismail and the Bronco defensive
front. It'll be this simple for Akron:
if it can't pass, it can't win. Dennis
Kennedy and the Akron ground game will
be lucky to get 100 yards on WMU, so if
the Bronco offense can get up early,
Akron might start to panic and start
bombing away. That's what the Broncos
want.
Why Akron Might Win: WMU tends to
play up or down to its competition and
doesn't blow anyone out. For whatever
reason, the Broncos struggled against
Eastern Michigan and Miami University,
yet pushed Florida State. The team isn't
good at putting games away with issues
letting down even after getting all the
momentum. This isn't a WMU offense built
on comebacks, so a couple of early big
pass plays, if Akron can get them,
should mean everything.
Who to Watch: Luke Getsy led
Akron to a MAC title, but he hasn't had
the big senior year expected of him.
Despite throwing for 2,530 yards and 18
touchdowns, he's been inconsistent and
hasn't been efficient enough. In his
final home game, look for him to throw,
throw and throw some more. If Akron is
going to go down, it's going to go down
doing what it does best on offense.
What Will Happen: Western
Michigan has been good on the road this
year and will be motivated enough to
turn up the defensive heat and come up
with a close win to get the eighth
victory.
CFN Prediction:
Western Michigan 27 ... Akron 24 ..
Line: Akron -1.5
Must See Rating: (5 skip the
birth of your first born - 1 Deck the
Halls)
... 2
Bowling
Green
(4-7) at
Toledo
(4-7) 7:30 PM EST ESPN2 Tuesday,
November 21st
Why to Watch: What many though
might be a MAC title preview a few
months ago now is just for a confidence
booster going into the off-season. These
are two relatively young teams in key
spots that should bounce back to be
major players next year, but one team
will go home with an ugly 4-8 season and
a lot to work on. The other will go home
with a 5-7 record with a lot to work on.
Toledo lost a tough 20-17 battle to Ball
State with no offensive consistency,
while Bowling Green is on a four-game
losing streak after missing a
last-second field goal against Miami
University.
Why Bowling Green Might Win:
Toledo's run defense was mediocre all
year long, and it got rolled over by
Larry Bostic and Ball State last week.
In a workmanlike performance, the
Cardinal ran 33 times for 143 yards
controlling the clock and the tempo.
Bowling Green's ground game wasn't
effective against Miami, but it's still
the MAC's best with QB Anthony Turner
and RB Chris Bullock able to run inside
or out. The Toledo linebackers aren't
playing well enough to keep the Falcons
to under 200 yards.
Why Toledo Might Win: Outside of
the Miami loss, Bowling Green runs a
break, but don't bend, defense. It
rarely comes up with the clutch play and
never comes up with the stop whenever
the offense makes mistakes. If field
position is an issue, Toledo should win
with one of the MAC's stronger punting
games. Bowling Green has been awful in
punt returns, worse in punt coverage,
and even worse at getting any sort of
net yards off the kicks.
Who to Watch: Let the quarterback
battle begin. Aaron Opelt was being
brought along at times this year to be
the quarterback of the future while
fighting through several mistakes. He
started off the Miami game relatively
well completing two of his first three
passes, but he was still dumped for
sophomore Clint Cochran as the coaching
staff looked for even more of a spark.
Cochran only completed 12 of 23 passes
for 136 yards and a touchdown, but his
team still lost at home. Final
impressions are big, so the one who
plays better this week, if they both get
to play, might have the big edge going
into the off-season.
What Will Happen: Bowling Green's
ground game will be more effective than
it's been over the last several weeks,
but it's still not going to be enough as
Toledo uses the home field to come out
with the win.
CFN Prediction:
Toledo 20 ... Bowling Green 13 ..
Line: Toledo -6
Must See Rating: (5 skip the
birth of your first born - 1 Deck the
Halls)
... 1.5
Northern Illinois
(6-5) at
Eastern
Michigan
(1-10) 11 AM EST Saturday, November
25th
Why to Watch: Northern Illinois
can all but seal a bowl bid somewhere
with a seventh win of the year, but it
has to prove it can be consistent after
breaking a two-game losing streak with a
resounding 31-10 win over MAC West
champion Central Michigan. It might be
the last game in the great career of NIU
star RB Garrett Wolfe, who leads the
nation with a 157.82 yard per game
average going against an Eastern
Michigan team looking for its second win
of the season. Having been close all
year with seven losses by eight points
or fewer, it will try to go into the
off-season on the right side for the
first time since a win over Toledo in
mid-October.
Why Northern Illinois Might Win:
After weeks of being held in check,
Wolfe finally broke out against Central
Michigan with 203 yards and a touchdown
as the offensive line finally got him
room to move. That shouldn't be a
problem against the nation's third worst
run defense that played well against
Kent State last week, but has been
consistently motored on all season long.
Even though linebacker, at times, has
been a relative strength for the Eagles,
the quickness isn't there to handle
Wolfe if he gets into a groove.
Why Eastern Michigan Might Win:
The Eagles have to give the Huskies long
fields to work with as much as possible,
and they should be able to with one of
the nation's best punting games. While
NIU has been decent at returning punts,
it's been lousy on kickoff returns and
does nothing with its own punting game.
The defense has hardly been consistent
with the secondary struggling all season
long and the defensive front getting
ripped up at times against effective
ground attacks.
Who to Watch: EMU leading passer
Andy Schmitt wasn't sharp against Kent
State, and then he got knocked out with
a dislocated shoulder meaning Tyler
Jones, who's been part running back,
part quarterback, will have to get the
full-time nod. He's had his moments
getting the passing game moving,
highlighted by a 260-yard day against
Bowling Green, but he's at his best on
the move. The better he is through the
air, and the more he can limit his
interceptions, the better chance the the
Eagles have of pulling off the upset.
What Will Happen: Wolfe needs 264
yards to hit the 2,000-yard mark. The
NIU coaching staff isn't going to be
afraid to feed their star the ball to
get him the mark.
CFN Prediction:
Northern Illinois 23 ... Eastern
Michigan 13 ..
Line: Northern Illinois -7.5
Must See Rating: (5 skip the
birth of your first born - 1 Deck the
Halls)
... 1.5
Ohio
(8-3) at
Miami
University
(2-9) 12 PM EST Saturday, November
25th
Why to Watch: Ohio is already in
the MAC title game winning the East
title after beating Akron last week for
the sixth straight win of the season.
While the motivation might not be there
with nothing to play for, and a bowl
game already assured, it'll have to
guard against going into the title game
down and losing the momentum built up
over the last few weeks. For Miami, this
is the end of one of the most
disappointing seasons in the MAC even
after beating Bowling Green last week in
a lifeless 9-7 game. Beating Ohio, even
an unmotivated Bobcat team, would be a
plus going into the off-season.
Why Ohio Might Win: If Ohio's
heart is in it, Miami's run defense
won't be able to slow down the Bobcat
offense. The offensive line has been
terrific over the winning streak doing a
great job in pass protection while
paving the way for six straight 100-yard
Kalvin McRae rushing days. Ohio's
defense has been fantastic in MAC play
and is only allowing 15.45 points per
game helped mostly by a stingy secondary
that's been a rock over the second half
of the season. MU has to throw to win,
but consistency has been a major
problem.
Why Miami University Might Win:
How much rest will the Ohio coaching
staff get its stars? While the team will
certainly try, McRae isn't going to get
the ball 31 times like he did last week.
The Bobcats don't have the type of
offense that'll throw points up on the
board in bunches, so if this stays tight
into the fourth quarter, MU should be
able to pull away against several Bobcat
backups.
Who to Watch: This will be the
final game in the fantastic career of
Miami receiver Ryne Robinson before he
gets a tryout somewhere in the NFL.
Known more throughout his career as a
punt returner, he has spent most of his
time as the team's top target turning in
an All-MAC caliber season saving some of
his best games for the last month
highlighted by a ten-catch, 180-yard,
one touchdown day two weeks ago at
Western Michigan. He'll get the ball in
his hands in a variety of ways to get
the offense moving.
What Will Happen: Ohio is the far
better, far more consistent team, but
Miami will keep the mediocre Bobcat
offense in check until late when the
RedHawk offense will come up with one
big play from the passing game to put it
away.
CFN Prediction:
Miami 16 ... Ohio 13 ..
Line: Ohio -4
Must See Rating: (5 skip the
birth of your first born - 1 Deck the
Halls)
... 1.5
Kent
State
(6-5) at
Ball State
(4-7) 12 PM EST Saturday, November
25th
Why to Watch: Kent State can all
but secure a bowl appearance somewhere
by getting its seventh win of the
season, but it has to face a Ball State
team fired up to make this its bowl
game. The Cardinals beat Toledo last
week after pushing Michigan to the wall
the week before, and with a young team
with plenty of solid prospects, going
into the off-season with a win would be
a huge confidence boost going into 2007.
The Golden Flashes struggled with
Eastern Michigan last week after losing
three straight games including a 41-14
gack against Buffalo, but it'll all be
forgotten about with a win.
Why Kent State Might Win: The
Golden Flash strength smacks dead into
Ball State's strength; efficient
passing. KSU is fourth in the nation and
fist in the MAC in pass efficiency
defense while allowing just 149 yards
per game thorough the air. Granted, the
secondary hasn't faced many, if any,
sophisticated passing attacks, but the
corners are good enough to make life
hard for BSU QB Nate Davis. The
Cardinals are a pure passing team, so if
that gets shut down, the offense will
sputter.
Why Ball State Might Win: Why has
Kent State hit such a wall over the last
month? The running game has stopped and
the mistakes have kicked in with five
lost fumbles in the last month and 39
balls put on the turf (though most were
recovered) on the year. Every time it
seems like the offense is about to get
going, something stalls the drive. While
the Cardinal defense gives up yards in
chunks, it's doing a solid job of not
breaking all too often over the last
several weeks. KSU's offense is hardly
sharp enough to explode.
Who to Watch: Ball State might be
a passing team, but RB Larry Bostic has
been a key player providing balance at
times. He ran over Toledo for 143 yards
on a workmanlike 31 carries and was
effective against Miami University. The
more pressure he takes off Nate Davis,
the better the offense has been running.
Kent State is getting rushing production
of its own with Eugene Jarvis coming off
a 155-yard day against Eastern Michigan.
He should roll for at least 100 on the
porous Cardinals.
What Will Happen: Kent State
needs this, Ball State wants this. The
Cardinals have played far better over
the last few games and will come up with
just enough offense to pull it off.
CFN Prediction:
Ball State 23 ... Kent State 17 ..
Line: Ball State -4
Must See Rating: (5 skip the
birth of your first born - 1 Deck the
Halls)
... 1.5
Central Michigan
(7-4) at
Buffalo
(2-9) 1 PM EST Saturday, November
25th
Why to Watch: Central Michigan
clinched the West Division already, but
it would like to go into the title game
against Ohio on a high note after
getting ripped apart by Garrett Wolfe
and Northern Illinois last week. Buffalo
has played better, at least in MAC play,
as the season has gone on showing a
little more pop and better play from
several young players. Beating CMU would
show that Turner Gill's program is on
the right track going into the
off-season.
Why Central Michigan Might Win:
While CMU doesn't need to win this game
considering it's going bowling
somewhere, a loss to Buffalo might put
the Chippewas at the bottom of the MAC
bowl game pecking order. In other words,
it'll try. Buffalo's offense hasn't been
nearly productive enough to suggest it
can hang punch for punch with CMU is Dan
LeFevour gets things rolling, but the
big key will be turnovers. KSU lost to
UB by turning it over five times, so if
CMU can simply hang on to the ball, it
should be able to win.
Why Buffalo Might Win: Will CMU's
head already be focused on Ohio? An
unfocused performance against Northern
Illinois meant a blowout loss, and while
BU doesn't have a Garrett Wolfe, it has
an active enough defensive front that
could force a few mistakes. CMU turned
it over three times against the Huskies,
and if the Bulls can get into the
backfield and force a few mistakes, the
offense should be able to capitalize.
Who to Watch: The CMU running
game needs to get back on track, and
that means Ontario Sneed and Marcel
Archer need more carries. After getting
down early against NIU, LeFevour had to
start chucking it around with the two
top backs finishing with just ten
carries. The Chippewas aren't going to
be able to just turn it on against Ohio
next week, so look for the ground game
to be established early on against the
Bulls.
What Will Happen: Buffalo will
come up with the effort, Central
Michigan come up with the production.
CFN Prediction:
Central Michigan 30 ... Buffalo 14 ..
Line: Central Michigan -16.5
Must See Rating: (5 skip the
birth of your first born - 1 Deck the
Halls)
... 1.5
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