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Nick's 2007 MAC Football Picks - Week #7 Picks

> Nick's MAC Football Recap of Week #6 is now live!

Eastern Michigan @ Ohio

Eastern Michigan (2-4, 1-1 MAC West, 1-1 MAC Overall) at Ohio (2-4, 0-2 MAC East, 0-2 MAC Overall) - Noon

SITE: Peden Stadium (24,000/Field Turf) - Athens, Ohio

TELEVISION: ESPN Plus/ESPN Game Plan

SERIES RECORD: Ohio leads 14-11-1 ... the Bobcats have won the last two meetings and five

of the last six ... Ohio won last year 16-10 ... EMU’s most recent triumph was in 1999, 27-26.

COACHES: EMU-Jeff Genyk (11-29, fourth season); OU-Frank Solich (15-15, third season at

OU; 73-33, ninth season overall).

EMU @ Ohio - GAME NOTES:
The Bobcats have dropped four in a row after last week’s 31-10 loss at Buffalo ... the Eagles have lost two games in a row following a 33-22 defeat at the hands of Michigan ... Kalvin McRae became Ohio’s career leader in all-purpose yards with 4,223 as he gained 96 rushing yards and added eight yards receiving last week ... McRae’s eight rushing TDs is tied for first in the MAC and his 85 ypg rushing is fourth ... the Bobcats played two QBs last week – Theo Scott (12-of-24, 93 yards, 1 int.) and Brad Bower (11-of-17, 93 yards, 1 int.) ... the OU offense ranks 11th in the MAC, averaging 315 ypg ... EMU safety Ryan Downard leads the MAC with four interceptions ... the Eagles are third in the MAC in scoring defense, allowing 27.0 ppg, but rank 13 th in total offense (265.2 ypg) ... LB Daniel Holtzclaw leads the MAC in tackles per game (11.3) and third in solo tackles (32).

Nick’s Pick: Eastern Michigan 17 – Ohio 16

Line: Ohio by 5

Comment: Eastern has been playing much better football of late and has a lot of confidence after playing Michigan tough. Ohio seems to be shell-shocked after blowing a big lead at home two weeks against Wyoming and then losing two straight MAC East games. Expect a close game with EMU pulling out a close contest.

> Browse our online selection of OU Bobcats hats and EMU Eagles merchandise!

Kent State @ Ohio State

Kent State (3-3, 1-2 MAC East, 1-2 MAC Overall) at Ohio State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) - Noon

SITE: Ohio Stadium (102,329/Field Turf) - Columbus, Ohio

TELEVISION: Big Ten Network

SERIES RECORD: OSU leads 1-0, winning 51-17 in 2002 in Columbus.

COACHES: KSU-Doug Martin (15-25, fourth season); OSU-Jim Tressel (68-14, eighth season at school; 203-71-7, 23rd season overall).

Kent @ Ohio State - GAME NOTES:
The Buckeyes have blitzed through the first half of its schedule without a loss and have outscored its opponents by a 202-43 score ... the No. 3 ranked Buckeyes are the highest ranked opponent ever for KSU ... the Golden Flashes, after its 20-13 loss to Miami last week, have not had two consecutive wins nor two consecutive losses this year ... OSU has forced more punts by its opponents (57) than it has allowed points (43) ... the Golden Flashes lead the MAC in rushing (230.5 ypg) and feature the league’s top running back in Eugene Jarvis (141.8 ypg) ... last week Jarvis was held to 82 yards, snapping a string of five consecutive games with 100-plus rushing yards ... QB Julian Edelman has more interceptions (8) than scoring passes (6) ... this marks KSU’s fifth road game in seven outings this season ... KSU paces the MAC in rushing defense (143.8 ypg), scoring defense (24.8 ppg allowed) and total defense (332.7 ypg) ... Ohio State ranks first nationally in scoring defense (7.1 ppg allowed) and second in total defense (210.0 ypg) ... the Buckeyes hold a 20-2 win over MAC member Akron from earlier this year.

Nick’s Pick: Ohio State 28 – Kent State 13

Line: Ohio State by 31

Comment: This Kent State team is one of the most talented MAC teams to play Ohio State since the Buckeyes began scheduling MAC schools in the early 1990s. Sadly for Kent State, OSU’s defense may be the best in the land and the offense certainly has enough firepower to score at least 20+ points. If KSU does not have any turnovers, this may actually be a game since Tressel has a history of not running up the score on in-state teams. If KSU continues to be generous and give up the ball three or four times, it will be blow-out city.

> VanDelay Sports and our partners feature a great online selection of Kent State hats and Ohio State apparel & hats!

Toledo @ Buffalo

Toledo (2-4, 0-2 MAC West, 0-2 MAC Overall) at Buffalo (2-4, 2-0 MAC East, 2-1 MAC overall) - 1 p.m.

SITE: UB Stadium (29,013/Sportexe Momentum) - Buffalo, N.Y.

TELEVISION: None.

SERIES RECORD: Toledo leads 5-2 ... the schools have met twice since the Bulls joined the MAC in 1999, with UT winning both games ... the Rockets were victorious in 2003 (56-29) and 2005 (38-15) with both games played in the Glass Bowl ... UB last won in 1934, 8-0, in Buffalo.

COACHES: UT-Tom Amstutz (52-28, seventh season); UB-Turner Gill (4-14, second season).

Toledo @ UB - GAME NOTES:
Both teams are coming off of wins ... UB stopped defending MAC East Champion Ohio, 31-10 last week ... Toledo edged Liberty 35-34 when Jalen Parmele scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to fuel a 13-point comeback by the Rockets ... Parmele had 259 all-purpose yards (169 rush, 33 receiving, 57 kickoff returns) in the game ... freshman D.J. Lenehan made his first career start and completed 19-of-23 attempts for 226 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions ... the Bulls will be going for a school-record third MAC win ... UB’s emergence is anchored by its defense, which ranks third in the MAC with 380.2 ypg allowed ... last week the Bulls limited Ohio to 276 yards of total offense despite four true freshman starters for the Bulls ... both team feature strong running backs with Toledo’s Jalen Parmele (620 yards, 6 TDs) and UB’s James Starks (380 yards, 7 TDs) ... UB’s Drew Willy is in his third year as a starting QB and has completed a league-leading 67.8 percent (120-of-177) of his pass attempts for, 1215 yards ... UT frosh LB Derrick Summers made his first career start last week and led the team with 10 tackles.

Nick’s Pick: Buffalo 30 – Toledo 17

Line: Buffalo by 3

Comment: My goodness, how far and how fast the mighty have fallen. Just two short seasons ago the Rockets were easily 20 to 30 point favorites over the Bulls and now they are three-point underdogs. UB is a team on the rise and has a chance to win two-straight MAC games in consecutive weeks for the first time EVER! Look for UB to run the ball at will against the Rockets and to for UT to continue to be error-prone in a season most Rocket fans will want to quickly forget.

> VanDelay Sports has partnered up to offerUB Bulls hats & merchandise andUT Rockets hats & apparel.

Western Kentucky @ Ball State

Western Kentucky (3-2, Independent) at Ball State (3-3, 1-1 MAC West, 2-2 MAC Overall) - 2 p.m.

SITE: Scheumann Stadium (22,500/Field Turf) - Muncie, Ind.

TELEVISION: ESPN Plus/ESPN Game Plan

SERIES RECORD: WKU leads 1-0 ... the Hilltoppers won the only meeting, 13-0 in 1929 in

Bowling Green , Ky.

COACHES: WKU-David Elson (33-19, fifth season); BSU-Brady Hoke (18-34, fifth season).

WKU @ Ball State - GAME NOTES:
The Cardinals dropped a 58-38 home contest to Central Michigan last week ...the Hilltoppers were idle and last played Sept. 29 in a 41-21 loss to Bowling Green ... BSU has allowed 144 points (36.0 ppg) over the last four games ... this is the final of three consecutive home games for the Cardinals ... BSU will follow with three straight road games starting next week (Western Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana) ... Dante Love returned a kickoff 100 yards for a TD last week and is the league’s all-purpose yardage leader with his 200.5 ypg ... QB Nate Davis leads the MAC in pass efficiency (141.7) by completing 120-of-214 attempts for 1,640 yards, 15 TDs and two interceptions ... Chris Miller also tops the MAC charts in punting (47.9 ypk) ... this is the second of three consecutive road games for WKU ... the Hilltoppers are in a transition year from I-AA to joining the Sun Belt Conference, which they will compete in beginning in 2008.

Nick’s Pick: Ball State 51 – Western Kentucky 33

Line: NL

Comment: If this game was on the road, Ball State would win this game by several touchdowns - no problem. But for some reason the Cardinals cannot seem to play well at their new and updated stadium. Ball State does have the better team and after getting embarrassed at home last week to Central Michigan, look for Hoke & Company to right the ship this week against a good Hilltopper team.

Western Michigan @ Northern Illinois

Western Michigan (2-4, 1-0 MAC West, 1-1 MAC Overall) at Northern Illinois (1-5, 0-2 MAC West, 0-3 MAC overall) - 3 p.m. (CT)

SITE: Huskie Stadium (24,000/Field Turf) - DeKalb, Ill.

TELEVISION: CSN Chicago

SERIES RECORD: WMU leads 20-11 ... the Broncos 16-14 win last year snapped a six-game

Huskie win streak in the series ... NIU had taken the six previous meeting (1991-2000).

COACHES: WMU-Bill Cubit (17-13, second season at school; 50-31-1, 8th season overall);

NIU-Joe Novak (62-71, 12th season).

WMU @ NIU - GAME NOTES:
The Huskies have dropped back-to-back MAC road games, losing at Temple last week by a 16-15 score and at Central Michigan the week before ... WMU had a two-game win streak snapped in a 39-38 loss to Akron on the last play of the game ... NIU did not allow an offensive touchdown at Temple, but missed two PATs in the one-point loss ... Huskie RB Justin Anderson rushed for 163 yards at Temple, making it the fourth consecutive game he had with 150-plus rushing yards ... freshman safety Alex Kube led the Huskie defense with 14 tackles as he was on the field for every Temple offensive play ... NIU is second in the MAC in scoring defense (26.2 ppg allowed) but the Huskies have a -11 turnover margin ... QB Dan Nicholson was injured late and was replaced by Ryan Morris ... the Huskies also played last week without two of its top receivers in Britt Davis (20, rec., 183 yards) and Greg Turner (14, 165) ... Bronco QB Tim Hiller completed 27-of-40 pass attempts for 375 yards, three TDs and no interceptions, including 14 consecutive passes at one point ... Hiller’s 375 yards is the 10th highest total in school history ... Mark Bonds rushed for 83 yards on 26 attempts and was not tackles for a loss on any of his attempts ...Jamarko Simmons had 10 receptions for 172 yards and two TDs ... DB Londen Fryar set a school record with six pass break ups and has a league-leading 11 picks and also leads the nation in that category.

Nick’s Pick: Western Michigan 33 – NIU 24

Line: Western by 4

Comment: Both teams lost 1-point heartbreakers last week in MAC cross-over games. Fortunately for both teams, those games meant as much in the standings as any non-conference game does. Western has the better team and is healthier right now. NIU will continue to fight and play hard under Novak but this team just cannot seem to get over the hump into prosperity this season.

Bowling Green @ Miami

BGSU (3-2, 1-0 MAC East, 1-0 MAC Overall) at Miami (3-3, 1-0 MAC East, 2-0 MAC Overall) - 3 p.m.

SITE: Yager Stadium (24,286/Field Turf) - Oxford, Ohio

TELEVISION: FSN Ohio

SERIES RECORD: Miami leads 39-19-5 ... the RedHawks have won eight of the last nine

meetings ... Miami’s 9-7 win last year was the 13th outcome in the series when neither team

scored in double figures ... BG last won 42-14 in 2005.

COACHES: BGSU-Gregg Brandon (33-21, fifth season); Miami-Shane Montgomery (12-17,

third season).

BG @ Miami - GAME NOTES:
The winner of this game will tie Buffalo with a perfect 2-0 divisional record ...BG dropped a 55-24 game at No. 7 Boston College last week to snap a two-game win streak ...Miami won its second in a row last week, 20-13 vs. Kent State, the first back-to-back wins by the RedHawks since a four-game win streak in Oct.-Nov. of 2005 ... the Miami defense has allowed just 27 points the last two games after its two most recent opponents had scored a combined 71 points

the week prior to facing the RedHawks ... that performance included holding KSU to a season-low 13 points and the MAC rushing leader Eugene Jarvis to a season-low of 82 yards ... Miami’s last five conference wins, dating back to 2005, have come on the road ... BG leads the MAC in passing offense (352.0 ypg) and is third in scoring offense (32.4 ppg) ... Tyler Sheehan has completed 66.1 percent (154-of-233) of his pass attempts for 1,579 yards and 11 TDs, but has suffered nine interceptions ... Miami signal caller Daniel Raudabaugh did not start but stepped into the game and completed 8-of-12 pass attempts for 186 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions ... his 12.1 total offense yards per play vs. KSU is the top in the MAC this year.

Nick’s Pick: Miami 27 – BGSU 24

Line: Miami by 2

Comment: Miami fans may not like to see this but I’m picking the RedHawks to win this week. I’ve picked Miami to lose every week and they’ve proved me wrong against Ball State, Syracuse and Kent State. OK – I believe now; this team is good and Coach Montgomery is doing an outstanding job with these young players and quickly replacing their top two RBs who are lost for the season. This is certainly the game of the week and if BG wins, that won’t be a surprise either since their offense is so good and the defense has played better than most MAC defenses to date. Get a ticket and enjoy this game folks; this will likely be for the MAC East title.

Army @ Central Michigan

Army (3-3, Independent) at Central Michigan (3-3, 3-0 MAC West, 3-0 MAC Overall) - 3:30

SITE: Kelly/Shorts Stadium (30,255/Field Turf) - Mount Pleasant, Mich.

TELEVISION: Comcast Local

SERIES RECORD: CMU leads 1-0 ... the Chippewas won 14-10 in 2005.

COACHES: Army-Stan Brock (3-3, first season); CMU-Butch Jones (3-3 first season).

Army @ CMU - GAME NOTES:
The Chippewas are hitting on all cylinders offensively after rolling up 58 points in last week’s win at Ball State ... the Chippewas 658 yards set a school record and is the 11th highest total in MAC history ... the 58 points in a conference victory were the most since a 63-14 win over Eastern Michigan in 1981 ... QB Dan LeFevour was responsible for 146 rushing yards and 360 passing yards and six TDs (5 pass, 1 rush) ... Army evened its record with an overtime win vs. Tulane ... the Cadets scored on the last play of regulation to force the OT ... Army also played MAC member Akron to open the season and fell to the Zips 22-14, and defeated Temple 37-21 on Sept. 29 ... LeFevour ranks third in total passing yards per game (249.7) and eighth in rushing (56.7 ypg) in the MAC ... freshman Antonio Brown is third in all-purpose yards (180.8 ypg) ... Justin Hoskins has added a team-high six touchdowns ... a Notre Dame transfer, Hoskins has five rushing TDs and 262 yards on 40 attempts, and eight receptions for 50 yards and one TD.

Nick’s Pick: Central Michigan 37 – Army 21

Line: Central by 11

Comment: Maybe losing to ND State 44-14 was a good thing for the ‘Chips, they’ve played good football since then with big wins over NIU and Ball State. Central Michigan’s offense is beginning to take off now under Butch Jones. Army pulled off a nice win over Tulane last week but for the most part does not have a very good offense. If CMU’s offense gets rolling, this game will be a blow out. If not, Central wins by a much closer score. Either way, CMU wins.

> View the VanDelay Sports selection of CMU merchandise, hats & apparel.

Temple @ Akron

Temple (1-5, 0-2 MAC East, 1-2 MAC Overall) at Akron (3-3, 1-0 MAC East, 2-0 MAC Overall) at - 6 p.m.

SITE: Rubber Bowl (31,000/Astro Play) - Akron, Ohio

TELEVISION: None

SERIES RECORD: Temple leads 9-7 ... the Zips have won the last two meetings ... the most

recent game was a 25-15 Zips win in 1999 ... the Owls most recent triumph was in 1994, 32-7 in

the Rubber Bowl.

COACHES: TU-Al Golden (2-16, second season); UA-J.D. Brookhart (21-21, fourth season).

Temple @ Akron - GAME NOTES:
Both teams are coming off last-second wins, with Akron’s 39-38 triumph at Western Michigan came on the last play of the game ... Temple won its first-ever MAC game as Jake Brownell kicked a 39-yard field goal with nine seconds left for a 16-15 win over Northern Illinois ... Akron scored on an 89-yard combined free kick return by Alphonso Owen (11 yards) and Andre Jones (78 yards) ... Zips QB Chris Jacquemain completed 23-of-41 pass attempts for 389 yards and four TDs for his best game as a starter ... Jabari Arthur caught a school-record 15 passes for 223 yards and three TDs (7, 35 and 51 yards) ... Temple won last week despite not scoring an offensive TD ... the Owls lone TD came on a 66-yard return of a fumble by Terrance Knighton ...Knighton leads the MAC with three fumble recoveries ... QB Adam DiMichele provided the offense with 202 passing yards (18-of-32) and 55 rushing yards (14 carries) ... DiMichele ranks fifth in the MAC in pass efficiency (127.2) with 111-of-185 (60.0 percent) completions for 1,317 yards, 9 TDs and 8 interceptions ... Temple ranks second in the MAC in total defense (377.8 ypg allowed), which is an improvement of 75 ypg from last year.

Nick’s Pick: Akron 23 – Temple 17

Line: Akron by 10

Comment: While just 1-5, Temple is showing signs of improvement and are no longer an easy “W.” Akron seems to have a lucky charm inside their helmets as they have stolen wins against Western Michigan and Kent State thus far. Akron’s offense is better than Temple’s and the Zips should be able to hold off a late Owl rally and get their 4th win of the season.

MAC Teams in NCAA Rankings (top 25 only)

Total Offense

15. Ball State ........................................ 470.3

Passing Offense

6. Bowling Green ................................. 352.0

24. Ball State ........................................ 277.3

Rushing Offense

11. Kent State ....................................... 230.5

Passing Defense (ypg allowed)

21. Temple ............................................ 188.1

22. Kent State ...................................... 188.8

Passing Effi ciency

25. Ball State ........................................ 140.3

Turnover Margin

11. Ball State ............................................ 1.1

16. Akron .................................................. 1.0

Kickoff Returns

3. Kent State ........................................... 29.2

11. Central Michigan .............................. 26.2

12. Western Michigan ............................ 26.0

19. Ohio .................................................. 25.0

23. Ball State .......................................... 24.3

25. Akron ................................................ 24.3

Punt Returns

7. Akron .................................................. 18.5

14. Miami ............................................... 14.9

19. Western Michigan ............................ 14.1

Net Punting

3. Toledo ................................................. 40.3

5. Eastern Michiogan ............................. 39.7

15. Buffalo ............................................. 38.0

22. Miami ............................................... 37.6

MAC Players In NCAA Rankings (top 25 only)

Rushing

5. Eugene Jarvis, KSU ......................... 141.3

12. Justin Anderson, NIU ..................... 122.6

All-Purpose Yards

6. Dante Love, BSU ............................. 200.5

7. Brandon West, WMU ....................... 198.3

13. Antonio Brown, CMU .................... 180.8

14. Eugene Jarvis, KSU ....................... 175.3

16. Jalen Parmele, UT .......................... 173.0

Total Offense

10. Tyler Sheehan, BG ......................... 321.6

17. Dan LeFevour, CMU ..................... 306.3

21. Nate Davis, BSU ............................ 297.7

Receiving Yards per game

8. Jabari Arthur, UA ............................. 107.0

9. Jamarko Simmons, WMU ................ 106.5

22. Dante Love, BSU ............................. 92.0

Interceptions

2. P.J. Mahone, BGSU ...75 (3 int./ 4 games)

10. Ryan Downard, EMU ............... .67 (4/6)

Punt Returns

3. Andre Jones, UA ................................ 20.4

16. Eugene Harris, MIA ......................... 15.3

Kickoff Returns

3. Bryan Williams, UA ........................... 35.1

6. Jalen Parmele, UT .............................. 32.4

14. Antonio Brown, CMU ...................... 29.9

21. Chris Garrett, OU ............................. 28.7

Punting

1. Chris Miller, BSU .............................. 47.8

2. Brett Kern, UT ................................... 46.9

4. Jacob Richardson, MIA ...................... 46.4

5. Jim Laney, WMU ............................... 46.4

8. Andy Dittbenner, NIU ........................ 45.4

24. Ben Woods, UB ................................ 43.5

Sacks

4. Larry English, NIU 1.1 (7 sacks/6 games)

4. Trevor Scott, UB ......................... 1.1 (7/6)

Tackles per game

8. Daniel Holtzclaw, EMU ..................... 11.3

10. Clayton Mullins, MIA ...................... 11.0

17. Red Keith, CMU .............................. 10.7

25. Bryant Haines, BSU ......................... 10.1

25. Caleb Bostic, MIA ........................... 10.1

Tackles for a loss per game

3. Jason Jones, EMU ................................ 2.0

8. Brion Stokes, UA ................................. 1.6

14. Larry English, NIU ............................ 1.5

Field Goals per game

11. Nate Reed, KSU ................................. 1.7

19. Igor Ivelijic, UA ................................. 1.6

23. Michael Braunstein, OU .................... 1.5