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Nick's 2008 MAC Football Picks - Week #2 Preview & Picks

General MAC Notes:

• 12 games featuring all 13 MAC teams will be played this weekend beginning with Ball State hosting Navy on Friday night
• MAC teams went 6-6 last week but just 1-5 against BCS conference opponents
• Week #2 matches MAC teams up against BCS conference teams in 10 games
• Northern Illinois is @ Western Michigan in the first conference game of 2008

Navy Midshipmen (1-0) at Ball State Cardinals (1-0)

Friday, September 5, 7 p.m. ET
Ball State leads series 2-0
Television: ESPN

NOTES: Ball State beat Northeastern 48-14 last week ... QB Nate Davis passed for three touchdowns and 290 yards ... the Cardinals added 190 rushing yards, 40 more than its per game average of the 2007 season ... senior slot back Shun White set a Navy single-game rushing record with 348 yards (on just 19 carries) and scored three touchdowns to lead the Midshipmen to a season-opening 41-13 victory over Towson ... the Navy triumph came in Ken Niumotalolo’s head coaching debut.

Nick’s Pick: Ball State 45 – Navy 41

Line: Ball State by 7

Comment: Ball State won this game in a thriller last season and will do so the same this week. Navy is a difficult team to stop, but Ball State is a team on a mission this year and they will earn a hard-fought victory at home.

Miami RedHawks (0-1) @ Michigan Wolverines (0-1)

Saturday, September 6, Noon ET
Michigan leads series 4-0
Television: ESPN2

NOTES: Miami lost to Vanderbilt 34-13 in hosting its first SEC opponent ever at Yager Stadium last week ... Miami QB Daniel Raudubaugh suffered three interceptions but did connect with Eugene Harris on a 30-yard pass for the RedHawks lone TD ... Michigan fell to Utah 25-23 at home in the head coaching debut of Rich Rodgriguez ... last year three of UM’s four losses were at home ... Miami’s last non-conference road win came in 2004 at Temple ... Michigan started last year with an 0-2 mark while Miami has been 0-2 in two of the last three seasons (2005, 2006) ... former Miami player Bo Schembechler is Michigan’s all-time winningest coach with 194 wins from 1969-89 ... Schembechler also compiled a 40-17-3 record as Miami’s head coach from 1963-68.

Nick’s Pick: Michigan 38 – Miami 16

Line: Michigan by 14

Comment: Miami was the MAC’s biggest disappointments last week while the same could be said for Michigan representing the Big Ten and losing at home to Utah. While the RedHawks have a decent defense to keep themselves in the game, the offense is not very good at this point in time and Michigan has much better athletes than Vanderbilt – don’t expect a very close outcome here.

Ohio Bobcats (0-1) @ #3 Ohio State State (1-0)

Saturday, September 6, Noon ET
Ohio State leads series 5-0
Television: ESPN

NOTES: Ohio dropped its second consecutive one-point loss to Wyoming, 21-20 in Laramie last week ... the Buckeyes beat Youngstown State 43-0 for its 30th consecutive season opening win ... Bobcats QB Theo Scott completed 26-of-35 pass attempts for 224 yards, all career highs for the junior ... Taylor Price was on the receiving end of 14 of those passes for 139 yards ... the Bobcats running game was held to 39 yards on 21 attempts ... freshman Donte Harden returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score that tied the game at 14 in the second quarter ... OSU’s Todd Boeckman passed for 197 yards and 2 TDs ... RB Chris Wells rushed for 111 yards on 13 carries but did leave the game in the third quarter with a foot injury.

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Nick’s Pick: Ohio State 35 – Ohio 16

Line: Ohio State by 34

Comment: Ohio has a lot of team speed and will prove to be a much more formidable opponent than YSU last week, but no matter how you cut it the Buckeye’s are one of the nation’s elite teams. The Bobcats will make this a game for a while though.

UConn Huskies (1-0) @ Temple Owls (1-0)

Saturday, September 6, Noon ET
Temple leads series 7-3
Television: ESPNU

NOTES: Temple opened the season with a 35-7 victory over Army ... QB Adam DiMichele, starting for the first time since missing the last four games of 2007 due to injury, passed for 159 yards and 2 TDs, completing 15-of-22 passes ... 13 true freshmen saw action at Army ... UConn beat Hofstra 35-3 on Thursday (8/28) as Donald Brown rushed for four TDs and 146 yards ... last year Temple allowed 164.8 rushing yards per game, the third best total in the MAC ... the Huskies are in their seventh season at the I-A level ... UConn was 2-3 on the road in 2007.

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Nick’s Pick: Temple 24 – UConn 21

Line: UConn by 7

Comment: Temple has been pointing to this game since they lost a heartbreaker last year in Storrs, CT. Temple is much-improved and will give the MAC a rare win over a Big East team in their “payback game.”

Eastern Michigan Eagles (1-0) @ Michigan State Spartans (0-1)

Saturday, September 6, Noon ET
Michigan State leads 7-0
Television: Big Ten Network

NOTES: The Eagles opened 2008 with a 52-0 whitewashing of Indiana State ... Terrence Blevins rushed for 176 yards and 2 TDs in just his third start with the Eagles ... a senior, Blevins had 190 career yards in 21 previous games ... Blevins’ total was the seventh best in the nation last week ... the shutout was the first by EMU since 1997, a 45-0 win over Akron ... the Spartans dropped a 38-31 decision at California ... Brian Hoyer passed for 321 yards and Javon Ringer rushed for 81 yards and 2 TDs to pace the MSU offense ... the Spartans were 5-2 at home in 2007, including a 3-0 home slate in non-conference games.

Nick’s Pick: Michigan State 31 – EMU 16

Line: Michigan State by 21

Comment: Eastern Michigan may be the MAC’s most improved team over the past three seasons. Sadly for the Eagles, they don’t quite stand up to the talent of the Spartans but unlike previous years where this game would be a blowout – look for the Eagles to be in this game until the 4th quarter.

Central Michigan Chippewas (1-0) @ #2 Georgia Bulldogs (1-0)

Saturday, September 6, 3:30 p.m. ET
First Meeting
Television: FSN South

NOTES: CMU topped Eastern Illinois 31-12 last week ... the Chippewas had balanced offensive production with 217 passing yards and 172 rushing yards ... Ontario Sneed averaged 6.8 ypc (88 yards, 13 carries) ... Dan LeFevour passed for 217 yards and 3 TDs ... Georgia defeated Georgia Southern 45-21 in its opener ... Matthew Stafford threw for a career-high 275 yards and 2 TDs ... Knowshon Moreno had 3 rush TDs in just 8 attempts ... the Bulldogs have won eight in a row dating back to last year and have won their last six at Sanford Stadium ... CMU played then No. 1 ranked (Coaches poll) Florida in 1997 ... this is the first of three straight road games for the defending MAC Champions (Sept. 13 at Ohio; Sept. 20 at Purdue) before a three-game home stand.

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Nick’s Pick: Georgia 55 – Central Michigan 28

Line: Georgia by 24

Comment: It’s extremely rare that the #1 team in the nation wins and then falls one spot in the polls. Well, that’s just what happened to the Bulldogs last week and they are mad as heck and will take out their frustrations on a very solid Central Michigan team that is walking into a hornet’s nest this week in Athens, GA.

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Akron Zips (0-1) @ Syracuse Orange (0-1)

Saturday, September 6, 3:30 p.m. ET
First Meeting
Television: FSN Ohio

NOTES: Akron plays its second consecutive road game after opening with a 38-17 loss at No. 13 Wisconsin ... the Zips Bryan Williams, in his first career start on defense after being an all-MAC tailback in 2007, had an end zone interception (returned 62 yards) and another end zone pass break up ... QB Chris Jacquemain had a good 2008 debut with 22-of-36 passing for 227 yards, 2 TDs and no interceptions ... the Orange fell in a 30-10 contest at Northwestern while compiling 225 total yards ... the Zips most recent non-conference road win was at North Carolina State, 20-17, Sept. 9, 2006.

Nick’s Pick: Syracuse 20 – Akron 14

Line: Syracuse by 5

Comment: This is clearly a game the Zips could and should win. However, Akron still needs to prove they can put four quarters of consistent football together in a game, something they didn’t do last year or last week. Syracuse is awful but has a long history of beating MAC teams. Let’s hope Akron steals a conference win over the Big East here – it’s there for the taking.

Buffalo Bulls (1-0) @ Pittsburgh Panthers (0-1)

Saturday, September 6, 6 p.m. ET
First Meeting
Television: ESPN Plus/ESPN Game Plan

NOTES: The Bulls opened with a convincing 42-17 victory over UTEP ... Drew Willy set a school I-A record with 4 TD passes (15, 68, 34 and 56 yards) ... UB both rushed (263) and passed (221) for over 200 yards for the second time as a I-A squad ... James Starks paced the ground game with 179 yards ... Pittsburgh dropped a 27-17 contest to Bowling Green after holding a 14-0 lead ... 2007 Big East Freshman of the Year LeSean McCoy was held to 71 yards on 23 carries after averaging 110.7 ypg in 2007 ... UB held UTEP to 67 rush yards, an improvement over the 2007 stat of allowing 174.7 ypg ... UB has never opened the season with two consecutive wins since joining I-A and the MAC in 1999.

Nick’s Pick: Buffalo 28 – Pitt 20

Line: Pitt by 13

Comment: Pitt was stung by Bowling Green last week and is reeling from that loss. Buffalo football has never had a more positive outlook to beat a team from a BCS conference in the modern era. Buffalo may not only win this game, they may actually crush the overrated Panthers.

Northern Illinois Huskies (0-1) @ Western Michigan Broncos (0-1)

Saturday, September 6, 7 p.m. ET
Western Michigan leads series 22-11
Television: None

NOTES: This is the first conference game of the year and only MAC league contest slated for this weekend ... both squads opened with losses last week on the road - NIU 31-27 at Minnesota, and WMU 47-24 at Nebraska ... Huskies frosh QB Chandler Harnish tossed for 326 yards in his debut, completing 17-of-29 attempts ... WMU signal caller Tim Hiller threw for 342 yards while completing 30-of-49 attempts ... the performances by Harnish and Hiller were the top passing numbers in the league last week ... Broncos TE Branden Ledbetter had a career-high 9 receptions last week and added 123 yards ... NIU freshman Nathan Palmer had TD receptions of 91 and 52 yards at UM ... DE Larry English had a sack, giving him 24.5 for his career, the 14th highest total in MAC history ... WMU DB Louis Delmas had his ninth career interception last week.

Nick’s Pick: NIU 23 – Western Michigan 21

Line: Western by 6

Comment: Through the years this has been a terrific and often very close divisional game. Look for more of the same this weekend too. This publication likes the improvement that the Huskies have shown and feel they can make an early statement in the MAC season with a nice road win against a solid Western ball club.

Kent State Golden Flashes (0-1) @ Iowa State Cyclones (1-0)

Saturday, September 6, 7 p.m. ET
Iowa State leads series 4-1
Television: None

NOTES: The Golden Flashes dropped a 21-0 contest to Boston College in last week’s season opener at Cleveland Browns Stadium ... 2007 MAC rushing leader Eugene Jarvis was held to 51 yards but he did move into fifth place on the school’s career rushing chart (2,518) ... ISU opened with a 44-17 win over South Dakota State ... the Cyclones had a school-record five interception by its defense, half of its season total of 10 from a year ago ... Austen Arnaud passed for a score and rushed for another in his first career start ... KSU has lost 8 in a row dating back to last year.

Nick’s Pick: Iowa State 30 – Kent State 13

Line: Iowa State by 7

Comment: Kent State beat Iowa State last year and that loss set the Cyclones back for most of the season. ISU has improved this year and Kent State doesn’t have the offense to keep up with this Big 12 team this year.

Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-0) @ Bowling Green Falcons (1-0)

Saturday, September 6, 7:30 p.m. ET
Series tied 1-1
Television: ESPNU

NOTES: Bowling Green surprised No. 25 Pittsburgh 27-17 last week after trailing 14-0 ... Pitt outgained the Falcons in total yards, 393-254, but the Falcons defense had 4 takeaways (3 fumble recoveries, 1 interception), 4 sacks and 7 pass break ups ... TE Jimmy Scheibler had 2 TD receptions ... Minnesota opened its campaign with a 31-27 win over Northern Illinois ... the Gophers scored the winning points with 22 seconds left on a one-yard run by Duane Bennett ... Adam Weber had 298 passing yards and 2 TDs for UM ... the Gophers were 0-5 on the road last year with three of those losses by a total of 9 points.

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Nick’s Pick: BGSU 27 – Minnesota 23

Line: BGSU by 6

Comment: The Falcons look to make it two for two against BCS teams this year. They should be able to do it at home against a lower Big Ten team.

Toledo Rockets (0-0) @ Arizona Wildcats (1-0)

Saturday, September 6, 10 p.m. ET
Arizona leads series 1-0
Television: None

NOTES: Toledo was idle last week and is opening the season on the road ... the Rockets return 15 starters from last year’s 5-7 team ... two-time all-MAC selection Barry Church, at strong safety, leads the UT defense ... QB Aaron Opelt will have all-conference WR in Stephan Williams (73 rec., 1,169 yards, 7 TDs) and Nick Moore (60, 731, 8) as targets ... Arizona played Idaho at home, a 70-0 win, the school’s highest scoring game since 1921 ... Willie Tuitma (179 pass yards, 3 TDs) and Nic Grigsby (169 rush yards, 2 TDs) combined for 348 first half yards en route to a 45-0 lead at intermission ... Wildcats head coach Mike Stoops is a native of Youngstown, Ohio.

Nick's MAC Football Picks are brought to you each week throughout the MAC football season here at VanDelay Sports.