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Nick's 2007 MAC Football Picks - Week #1 Recap

The MAC opened the 2007 with a 4-7 non-conference record (3-7 against Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A) conferences) and 2-6 versus the BCS conferences. Kent State led the weekend highlights with a quality 23-14 victory at Iowa State while Bowling Green jumped out to a 21-0 lead at Minnesota before pulling out a thrilling 32-31 overtime victory against the Gophers. For Kent State, this victory was their first over a BCS conference foe since 1987 when Glen Mason’s KSU squad won at Kansas. Meanwhile, Akron had a nice non-conference victory over Army in a game played at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

This weekend also had its share of lowlights with MAC favorite Western Michigan getting hammered at #3 ranked WVU 62-24; Kansas thumping the defending MAC champ Central Michigan 52-7 and Toledo getting embarrassed at home in the Glass Bowl 52-24 to Purdue. Ironically, the strength of the MAC over the past several seasons has been in the West division but this past weekend the entire division lost and every team stands at 0-1.

Here are some other MAC notes before reviewing some quick snippets from this past weekend’s MAC games.

TURNSTILE RECORD:
The average attendance of 28,254 for the six home games hosted by MAC schools on opening weekend established a league record for a weekend with four or more home games. Northern Illinois drew a MAC home-game record 61,500 (at Soldier Field); new league member Temple attracted 30,368; Toledo 26,100; Ohio 19,823; Akron 17,865 (at Cleveland Browns Stadium); and Ball State 15,488. The previous standard was 22,190 for games on Sept. 5, 1998 hosted by Akron, Eastern Michigan, Toledo and Western Michigan. On Sept. 4, 1993, Western Michigan and Central Michigan were the only home MAC teams as they combined to average 29,145.

FIRST CONFERENCE CONTEST:
Temple University will play its first-ever game that counts in the MAC standings when the Owls host Buffalo Saturday at 1 p.m. Temple played six MAC schools last year as part of a scheduling component, compiling a 1-5 record that did not count in league standings. One of those games in 2006 was a 9-3 overtime loss at Buffalo.

SUPER BLOCK:
Ohio special teams player Joshua Abrams hit the trifecta in the Bobcats win over Gardner-Webb as he blocked three punts, which is one shy of both the NCAA and MAC records. Abrams now has six career blocked punts. The 6-foot senior from Dunwoody, Ga., is a running back when not called on for his specialty.

MY NAME IS:
Bowling Green sophomore Tyler Sheehan made his first career start with the nerve of a veteran at the controls. In the Falcons’ 32-31 overtime victory at Big Ten foe Minnesota, Sheehan completed 34-of-51 attempts for 388 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a two-point conversion pass for the game’s final points. He also caught a 24-yard TD pass from Corey Partridge.

HE’S BACK:
After being limited to just 81 carries in 2006 due to a persistent ankle injury, Miami RB Brandon Murphy showed flashes of his 2005 form when he dashed for over 1,000 yards. In the RedHawks season-opening 14-13 win at Ball State, Murphy rushed for two touchdowns and 123 yards on 19 carries, an average of 6.5 yards per carry.

Buffalo @ Rutgers

Actual Score: Rutgers 38 - Buffalo 3

Nick’s Pick: Rutgers 35 – Buffalo 6

Notes: Buffalo could not hold down Heisman candidate Ray Rice who rushed for 184 yards and three TDs as Rutgers controlled this game from beginning to end.

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Miami @ Ball State

Actual Score: Miami 14 - Ball State 13

Nick’s Pick: Ball State 35 – Miami 28

Notes: Miami’s Brandon Murphy scored a TD with just 17 seconds left in the game for the RedHawks to spoil the newly renovated Ball State Stadium’s dedication game. Miami held BSU’s powerful offense to just 338 yards of total offense and the winning TD was set up by Eugene Harris' terrific 56-yard punt return that gave Miami the ball on the Ball State 23 yard line with 1:54 left.

Kent State @ Iowa State

Actual Score: Kent State 23 - Iowa State 14

Nick’s Pick: Kent State 23 – Iowa State 20

Notes: Kent State scored 14 points in the third quarter to pull away from Iowa State for a rare win over a BCS school. KSU rushed for 202 yards in this contest and outgained ISU 363-306 in total offense.

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Navy @ Temple

Actual Score: Navy 30 - Temple 19

Nick’s Pick: Navy 31 – Temple 16

Notes: Temple officially played their first game as a MAC member in front of over 30K in an entertaining loss to a solid Navy football team. Navy rushed for 361 yards but Temple trailed by just eight points in the 4th quarter before the Midshipmen pulled away.

> Browse our online selection of Temple Owls hats & apparel!

Western Michigan @ West Virginia

Actual Score: West Virginia 62 - Western Michigan 24

Nick’s Pick: WVU 38 – Western Michigan 23

Notes: WVU rolled up 542 yards and cruised to a win over Western Michigan. Pat White rushed for 97 yards and threw for 192 to break open a game that was just 28-14 at the half.

Iowa @ Northern Illinois (@ Soldier Field in Chicago)

Actual Score: Iowa 16 - NIU 3

Nick’s Pick: Iowa 26 – NIU 17

Notes: Albert Young rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown to lead the Hawkeyes to a 16-3 victory over Northern Illinois in the season opener at Soldier Field. Iowa held a commanding lead in total offense over NIU 383-235.

Eastern Michigan @ Pitt

Actual Score: Pittsburgh 27 - Eastern Michigan 3

Nick’s Pick: Pitt 38 – EMU 3

Notes: After EMU took an early 3-0 lead, Bill Stull completed his first seven passes in his first college start to prop up a Pittsburgh offense that couldn't run the ball until the second half. Pitt held EMU to just 8 first downs and 145 total yards.

Army vs. Akron (@ Cleveland Browns Stadium)

Actual Score: Akron 22 - Army 14

Nick’s Pick: Akron 20 – Army 10

Notes: Reggie Corner's 74-yard interception return and Chris Jacquemain's 19-yard touchdown pass to Jabari Arthur highlighted Akron's strong first-half and the Zips held on for a 22-14 victory over Army in a game played at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Central Michigan @ Kansas

Actual Score: Kansas 52 - Central Michigan 7

Nick’s Pick: Kansas 26 – Central Michigan 14

Notes: Todd Reesing threw four touchdown passes in his debut as Kansas quarterback and six different Jayhawks scored touchdowns in a rout of defending MAC champ Central Michigan. Reesing was 20 of 29 for 261 yards and no interceptions as the Jayhawks rolled up 538 total yards to CMU's 294.

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Purdue @ Toledo

Actual Score: Purdue 52 - Toledo 24

Nick’s Pick: Toledo 34 – Purdue 30

Notes: Purdue overcame some early mistakes to dominate Toledo in the Glass Bowl. Purdue had over 300 yards of total offense in the first half and finished with 488 while Toledo managed just 326 yards. Curtis Painter threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers for the Boilermakers.

Bowling Green @ Minnesota

Gardner Webb @ Ohio

Actual Score: Ohio 36 – Gardner Webb 14

Nick’s Pick: Ohio 34 – Gardner Webb 9

Notes: GWU trailed by just ten points early in the 4th quarter before Ohio pulled away and scored twelve straight points. OU had a very balanced offensive attack rushing for 206 yards and passing for 226.

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by Nick Gerogosian

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