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Week #2 MAC Football Recap

General MAC Football Notes:

• All 13 MAC teams were in action this weekend with one game counting toward the MAC standings (NIU @ WMU)
• Ball State kicked off the weekend with a ESPN-televised 35-23 win over Navy
• In 10 games against Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams from BCS Conferences, MAC teams finished 1-9 with Akron picking up the lone win
• Five of the 12 games featuring MAC teams were nationally televised this weekend on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or the Big Ten Network; two games were also included on ESPN Gameplan & ESPN 360
• Luke's "Win of the Week" goes to the Akron Zips. Akron may have beat a bad Big East opponent in Syracuse, but a road win @ a BCS conference school is always something to build on. Akron was picked near the bottom of the MAC East by nearly everyone this season and it will be interesting to see if the Zips can build off of this solid win and contend in the East in 2008.

Ball State Cardinals 35 - Navy Midshipmen 23

Nick’s Pick: Ball State 45 – Navy 41

Comment: Dante Love scored 3 TDs, 2 receiving and 1 rushing, as the Cardinals withstood Navy's comeback to pickup a 12-point win. Nick stated that Ball State "will earn a hard-fought victory at home" and indeed he was correct. 22,517 showed up in Muncie and were impressive on TV as the fans backed their Cardinals. Ball State improves to 2-0 (the only MAC team at 2-0) on the season as they travel to Akron on Saturday to face the Zips in the MAC opener for both teams.

Michigan Wolverines 16 - Miami RedHawks 6

Nick’s Pick: Michigan 38 – Miami 16

Comment: "While the RedHawks have a decent defense to keep themselves in the game, the offense is not very good at this point" were Nick's words in the preview, but this game played out much closer than expected. Miami trailed 10-0 early but did not go away as Michigan continued to struggle in their transition to the spread offense under the new coaching staff. Miami hosts Charleston Southern in Week #3 as they look to get their first win of the season.

#3 Ohio State State 26 - Ohio Bobcats 14

Nick’s Pick: Ohio State 35 – Ohio 16

Comment: "The Bobcats will make this a game for a while..." said Nick in the preview, but I doubt he expected the Bobcats to lead heading into the 4th quarter. Ohio led 7-6 at the half and 14-12 heading into the 4th quarter only to see the more athletic, deeper Buckeyes prevail. If Frank Solich can figure out how to build off this extremely respectable showing against one of the top teams in the nation, the Bobcats may indeed contend in the cluttered MAC East despite being picked 6th of 7 teams by nearly every major publication (including this one!). Ohio hosts Central Michigan in Week #3 in a critical early 2008 MAC match-up.

UConn Huskies 12 - Temple Owls 9

Nick’s Pick: Temple 24 – UConn 21

Comment: Temple drove inside the 5 yard line in overtime but could not get the 1st down, resulting in a FG and a 9-6 lead, but Connecticut would not be stopped in running away for the 12-9 OT win. The Owls had a rare chance to not only start their season 2-0 but also knock off a BCS conference team, but it just was not meant to be for the Owls on this day. Temple plays @ Buffalo as two MAC up-and-comers face off in another critical early MAC match-up.

Michigan State Spartans 42 - Eastern Michigan Eagles 10

Nick’s Pick: Michigan State 31 – EMU 16

Comment: There's no way to sugar-coat Nick's pick for this game as he expected EMU to hang with the Spartans into the second half. Michigan State continually fed Javon Ringer who ended the day with 135 rushing yards and 5 TDs on the ground en route to a 42-10 win over the Eagles. Eastern Michigan hosts Toledo next Saturday to kick off the MAC season for both teams.

#2 Georgia Bulldogs 56 - Central Michigan Chippewas 17

Nick’s Pick: Georgia 55 – Central Michigan 28

Comment: "The Bulldogs...will take out their frustrations on a very solid Central Michigan team" were the pregame comments from Nick and he proved to be correct. CMU trailed 28-0 before a late TD to close the half, then saw their defense give up another 28 in the second half in a 56-17 beat-down in front of over 92,000 fans. The Chippewas look to get back in the win column @ Ohio in Week #3.

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Akron Zips 42 - Syracuse Orange 28

Nick’s Pick: Syracuse 20 – Akron 14

Comment: "This is clearly a game the Zips could and should win." Way to go Nick. It was right there and you knew it! All you had to do was have a little faith in the Zips...

Akron QB Chris Jacquemain tossed for 260 yards and 3 TDs and Alex Allen rushed for 103 yards and had 2 TDs to lead the Zips past the likely cellar-dweller of the Big East in 2008. Akron led 28-14 at the half and saw Syracuse answer to tie the game at 28-28 early in the 4th quarter, but Jacquemain stepped up his game throwing for 2 of his 3 touchdown passes in the 4th to lead the Zips to victory. The Zips will host Ball State on Saturday as both teams kick off the MAC slate of games in 2008.

Pittsburgh Panthers 27 - Buffalo Bulls 16

Nick’s Pick: Buffalo 28 – Pitt 20

Comment: "Buffalo may not only win this game, they may actually crush the overrated Panthers."

Oops. Well, we all have bad days...

Buffalo was in this game until late in the 4th quarter when a FG with 3:31 remaining sealed the Pitt win, ensuring the Panthers an even split against the MAC East in 2008. Drew Willy and James Straks had solid games for the Bulls, but in the end the offense did not have enough to get the job done. This game was even in most every statistical category; total yards 352-348 Pitt, passing yards 241-223 Pitt, rushing yards 125-111 UB, and time of possession 30:37-29:23 UB. The Bulls host Temple in Week #3 as one of 4 MAC games on the schedule.

Western Michigan Broncos 29 - Northern Illinois Huskies 26

Nick’s Pick: NIU 23 – Western Michigan 21

Comment: "Through the years this has been a terrific and often very close divisional game. Look for more of the same this weekend too." If Nick would have stopped there and picked the home team he would have been better off, as the Broncos won a tight one in Kalamazoo. WMU led 14-13 heading into the 4th quarter before both offenses took over as the teams combined for 28 points in the final period. Tim Hiller's 3 TD passes and Brandon West's 175 rushing yards made sure that the home fans left happy. Western Michigan travels to face the Idaho Vandals on Saturday while NIU has a week off before hosting the Indiana State Sycamores on September 20th.

Iowa State Cyclones 48 - Kent State Golden Flashes 28

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

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." Nick nailed the comments on this preview as Kent State did not have the offensive firepower to stay with an improved Iowa State team. After trailing by 7 at the half (28-21), the Cyclones outscored the Golden Flashes 20-7 in the second half. Despite completing just 10 of 22 passes, Kent State QB Julian Edelman did have 3 TD passes while Eugene Jarvis rushed for 139 yards and a TD. Kent hosts Delaware State on Saturday as they look to improve to 1-2 on the season.

Minnesota Golden Gophers 42 - Bowling Green Falcons 17

Arizona Wildcats 41 - Toledo Rockets 16

Nick’s Pick: Arizona 45 – Toledo 27

Comment: Toledo struggled defensively on the road as "UT has lost by an average of 32-points per game against their last seven road BCS opponents" and that held true on Saturday night. The Rockets could not stop the efficient passing of Willie Tuitama or the running of Nic Grigsby as the two combined for 5 touchdowns. The Rockets are at Eastern Michigan on Saturday as they look to start the MAC season off with a road win.

By Luke Jernigan
VanDelay Sports Webmaster & Marketing Director

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