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Nick's 2007 MAC Football Picks - Week #9 Recap

Various MAC Team Notes from Published Reports:

Akron

RB Bryan Williams rushed for 87 yards, caught five passes for 49 yards, and returned one kick 15 yards; his all-purpose total was 151 yards, but he did drop a TD pass that would have brought Akron within six points early in the 4th quarter. Akron did not score on the drive.

BGSU

LB John Haneline compiled a team-high 14 tackles to reach double digits for the sixth time this season. Haneline leads the Falcons with 91 tackles while CB P.J. Mahone was second on the in tackles for the game with 12 stops
Anthony Turner played three positions, tailback, quarterback and wide receiver, for the Falcons. Turner scored his team-high fourth rushing touchdown in the game but PR Zach Charles lost two fumbles on punt returns

Buffalo

Buffalo (4-5 overall, 4-1 MAC) stayed atop the MAC East division standings at 3-0 and guaranteed both its best overall and home records in its nine seasons playing Division I-A (FBS) football.
Drew Willy played a near-perfect game in UB Stadium conditions that included winds approaching 40 mph and driving rain for most of the fourth quarter; UB had its first turnover-free performance since the season opener against Rutgers. Willy completing 11 of 14 passes for 125 yards and he tied a career-high with three touchdown passes
SS Davonte Shannon, aleading candidate for MAC Freshman of the Year honors, led the Bulls' defense with 13 tackles. Buffalo has won three consecutive home games for the first time since 1998; The Bulls defense recorded two interceptions in a game for the fourth consecutive contest; Buffalo has allowed just 13 points in its last six quarters; Buffalo was 5-for-5 in the red zone adding to their season total. The Bulls are now 27-of-30 in the red zone and 19 of those scores has come by touchdown; the defense held Jabari Arthur, the leading receiver in the MAC, to just 39 yards on three catches.

Kent State

KSU had zero turnovers and just two penalties while a true freshman quarterback making his first start completed 18-of-28 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns;
After connecting on field goals of 47 yards and a school-record 52-yarder, KSU sophomore kicker Nate Reed went ice cold - he missed three more field goal attempts, had one extra point blocked, and missed another - all three field-goal misses came in the second half as Kent State was climbing uphill to get back in the game.
RB Eugene Jarvis eclipsed the 1,200-yard rushing mark through nine games and finished with 19 carries for 156 yards. The 5-foot-5 dynamo has seven 100-yard games this season and has a per-game average of 139.9. WR Phil Garner, a sophomore from Coral Springs, Fla., enjoyed a breakout game with seven receptions for 89 yards against CMU. His father was one of the players involved in the memorable Cal-Stanford ending of 1982; Red-zone play continues to hurt Kent State this season. The Flashes' offense has scored points on 22 of 33 trips (67 percent) in the zone, while its defense has yielded points on 32 of 35 trips (91 percent). Kent opponents are scoring touchdowns in the red zone at a higher rate (68.6 percent) than the Flashes are scoring in the zone - a very telling statistic.

Miami

The RedHawks led 13-10 at Vanderbilt before losing 24-13; Miami had just 86-yards of total offense in the 2nd half
K Nathan Parseghian kicked a career-long 42-yard field goal late in the first half. He made 2 of 3 field-goal tries; LB Clayton Mullins made 15 tackles, including nine solo stops
With no running game to relieve the pressure, sophomore QB Daniel Raudabaugh was sacked five times. He completed just 18 of 37 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown. It was his third straight game with 200 or more passing yards; Leading receiver Dustin Woods was held to two catches for 16 yards; LB Clayton Mullins made 15 tackles, including nine solo stops. The junior is one of the MAC's leading tacklers.

Ohio

Kalvin McRae racked up a career-high 42 carries for 200 yards and three touchdowns; McRae had 142 yards and the three scores by halftime
DE Kris Luchsinger had three tackles and half a sack. He also snared his first career interception and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown
QB Theo Scott, making his first collegiate start, was 12-of-17 passes with one interception and one touchdown, but set new career highs with 166 passing yards and 60 yards rushing

Temple

The Owls had a bye week - QB Adam DiMichele suffered a "comminuted fracture of the left tibia" when he was sacked three minutes into the second quarter of Temple's 24-17 win over Miami (Ohio) on Oct. 27. He underwent successful surgery Sunday and is out for the season

Ball State

Against Illinois, QB Nate Davis completed just 16-of-33 passes and gained only 167 yards; both were season lows
LB Mike Dorulla returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to give Ball State a 10-7 lead
Sophomore SS Alex Knipp has been an active playmaker in the Cardinals' defense; he led them in tackles against Illinois with 11, and has 32 in his past three games. He also intercepted his third pass of the season
P Chris Miller, the leading punter in the nation, put three of his five kicks inside the 20-yard line while averaging 43.6 yards a kick. Ball State is tied for the MAC lead in interceptions with 14; PK Jake Hogue missed 2-of-3 kicks, including one from 26 yards that would have brought Ball State within 21-20 in its game at Illinois - kicking has been a problem all season for Ball State

Central Michigan

The Chippewas are the only team in the MAC West that controls its own destiny and with wins over in-state rivals Western Michigan (Nov 6) and Eastern Michigan (Nov 16) would clinch the divisional crown for the second straight season
Dan LeFevour continued to pick apart MAC defenses torching the Golden Flashes for 359 yards and three touchdowns on 33-43 passing
Between Central & KSU, the two teams combined for 963 yards in offense with the Chips rolling to nearly 600 yards on their own, racking up 580 yards in offense against Kent State. The Golden Flashes' 383 yards in offense was actually below what the Chips have been allowing this season as Central Michigan entered the game with the MAC's lowest-rated defense, allowing over 497 yards per game
RB Justin Hoskins recorded career highs in carries (24) and rushing yards (151) and scored twice

Eastern Michigan

Pierre Walker responded with a career day by carrying the ball 33 times for 151 yards as Eastern Michigan
WMU defeated in-state rival Western Michigan and in the process remained only one game behind first-place Central Michigan in the MAC West race
The win was the first for the Eagles over the Broncos since defeating Western Michigan in Kalamazoo 35-31 in Genyk's first year as head coach of the Eagles in 2004
DB Ryan Downard had two more interceptions and now tops the MAC with six interceptions this season; LB Daniel Holtzclaw led the team with ten tackles, a forced fumble and recorded an interception and he continues to lead the MAC in tackles; The Eagles offense dominated time of possession, holding on to the ball for 40:29 to only 19:31 for the Broncos

NIU

The Huskie defense gave up a shocking 812 yards on 92 plays, averaging 8.8 yards per play; the 812 yards represented the most in a game this season in the Football Bowl Subdivision (DI-A); NIU allowed 430 yards passing and 382 running and totaled 35 first downs
Justin Anderson provided the lone sign of good news with 116 yards rushing and one touchdown to put his season total at 998 yards

Toledo

WR Nick Moore has 13 receptions for 208 yards and four touchdowns in his last two games since returning from an injury; TB Jalen Parmele notched his fifth straight 100-yard game to raise his season total to 1,138 yards
QB Aaron Opelt engineered a near flawless game by completing 22-of-28 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns and no INTs while setting a new personal high in passing yards
TB DaJuane Collins ran for a game-high and career-high 132 yards and scored one touchdown; LB Keith Forestal led the Rockets with a season-high eight tackles; PK Alex Steigerwald tied a school record with 10 extra points; WR Nick Moore Caught seven passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half

Western Michigan

The preseason championship favorite in the Mid-American Conference West Division has been eliminated from title contention with their loss at EMU
The Broncos committed six turnovers, their only points came on a safety, and two quarterbacks combined to complete just 13-of-27 passes for 146 yards; LB Boston McCornell who led Western Michigan with 12 tackles, one of which produced a safety that provided the only points

Actual Score: Illinois 28 – Ball State 17 (Not Quite)

Nick's Pick: Ball State 41 – Illinois 38 (Upset Special)

Line: Illinois by 14

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Actual Score: Buffalo 26 – Akron 10

Nick's Pick: Buffalo 23 – Akron 21

Line: Buffalo by 1

Actual Score: Central Michigan 41 – Kent State 32

Nick's Pick: Central Michigan 28 – Kent State 16

Line: Central by 3

Actual Score: Vandy 24 – Miami 13

Nick's Pick: Vandy 26 – Miami 17

Line: Vandy by 13

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Actual Score: Eastern 19 – Western 2

Nick's Pick: Western 20 – Eastern 17

Line: Western by 5.5

> Look to VanDelay Sports for Eastern Michigan merchandise online.

Actual Score: Ohio 38 – BGSU 27

Nick's Pick: BGSU 35 – Ohio 20

Line: BGSU by 7.5

Actual Score: Toledo 70 – NIU 21

Nick's Pick: Toledo 41 – NIU 28

Line: Toledo by 4

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Ranking the MAC Teams after Week #9

#1 through #12 – Cannot decipher since the best record in the MAC to date is 5-4
#13 - NIU

by Nick Gerogosian

published 10.29.2007

Nick's 2007 MAC Football Picks & Recaps

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