Nick's 2007 MAC Football Picks - Week #13 Recap

Actual Score: Central Michigan 35 - Akron 32

Nick’s Pick: Central Michigan 31 – Akron 14

Line: Central Michigan by 3

Pre game Comment: The ‘Chips had a bad game against EMU and desperately need a win to ensure their bowl bid. The CMU/Akron rivalries through the years have been very close and most games have been decided by a touchdown or less. Akron just doesn’t have the offense to keep up with Central Michigan and the ‘Chips may be looking at some style points with a large-margin win prior to the MACC.

Post Game Comment: Central continues to come from behind and win MAC games. If this team only played conference schools this fall the ‘Chips would have had a 10-2 record. Akron blew a double-digit lead in the 4 th quarter to lose another heartbreaker to Central Michigan.

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Actual Score: BGSU 37 – Toledo 10

Nick’s Pick: BGSU 51 – Toledo 34

Line: BGSU by 6

Pre Game Comment: This is the MAC’s most fierce rivalry over the years and this year should be no different. Expect a lot of offensive fireworks in this contest as both offenses are solid while the defenses, especially Toledo’s, have been suspect at times this season. BG has not beaten the Rockets in a while and are due – also, Toledo’s defense is so bad that the Falcons may really pour it on this year. An 8-4 Falcon team would make one of the three MAC bowl bids too. BG by double digits this year.

Post Game Comment: The Falcons dominated the second half and BG’s defense held Jalen Parmele in check to drill the Rockets and earn their eight win of the season, which is the most of any MAC team this season. The Rockets season ended just as it began against Purdue - with a putrid thud. Is there a MAC program spiraling downward faster than Toledo right now?

Actual Score: Buffalo 30 – Kent State 23 (OT)

Nick’s Pick: Buffalo 26 – Kent State 17

Line: Kent State by 2

Pre Game Comment: Kent State has to be the most disappointing MAC program this season while Buffalo has been the league’s pleasant surprise. KSU is just basically going through the motions to complete yet another dismal football season while UB is actually looking forward to the off-season to continue to build on the positives of their 2007 season. Give the “want-to” factor to the Bulls, and the win.

Post Game Comment: This game epitomized the seasons for both teams. Drew Willy had a terrific game and the newly resilient Bulls made critical plays at the end of the game to pull out a win – their 5 th of the year and most in a season since moving to IA in the late 1990s. Kent State’s Eugene Jarvis had another stellar game but poor red-zone execution doomed the Golden Flashes once again.

Actual Score: Western Michigan 16 – Temple 3

Nick’s Pick: Western Michigan 35 – Temple 16

Line: Western Michigan by 11

Pre Game Comment: Western Michigan showed everyone last week with their win at Iowa what most MAC Insiders thought they would see from the Broncos all season long – a solid football team that would contend for a title. This game is essentially a momentum game going into the off-season and Western Michigan should be able to win that battle, especially with their offensive firepower.

Post Game Comment: Western Michigan is a team that is better than their record would indicate. Perhaps next season they will fulfill the lofty expectations they had in 2007. Temple has shown a lot of improvement but they are still offensively challenged.

Actual Score: Ohio 38 – Miami 29

Nick’s Pick: Miami 21 – Ohio 17

Line: Ohio by 2

Pre Game Comment: In one of the better MAC rivalries, Miami is playing to secure a bowl bid while OU is hoping to beat their arch-rival for a rare two-peat in this series. Miami’s defense should be able to hold a very average Bobcat offense and hold on to a victory and their 7th win of the season.

Post Game Comment: Rivalry games are always tough to predict and you must tip your hat to the Bobcats for winning this game at home with a second half surge in a surprisingly high scoring affair. Miami limps into the MACC needing a win to fully secure a bowl birth.

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Actual Score: Ball State 27 – NIU 21

Nick’s Pick: Ball State 49 – NIU 20

Line: Ball State by 9

Pre Game Comment: Ball State can smell their first bowl invite in more than a decade and they will be scoring at will against a much-depleted Huskie defense. The Cardinals are a team with a mission and play much better on the road than at home. BSU will win big.

Post Game Comment: NIU played valiantly in Joe Novak’s final game as head coach of the Huskies. Ball State became an attractive bowl option winning their seventh game of the year and featuring one of the nation’s best young QBs.

MAC Bowl Placement Predictions

Central Michigan to the Motor City Bowl
BGSU to the GMAC Bowl
Miami or Ball State to the International Bowl

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by Nick Gerogosian

published 11.27.2007

Nick's 2007 MAC Football Picks & Recaps

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