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2008 Week #11 MAC Football Recap

The MAC football standings are starting to become more clear in the East as Buffalo's win over Miami nearly eliminates the RedHawks as they joined Ohio & Kent State at the bottom of the East. Akron's win over Toledo moved them into a tie with UB for 1st in the East as the two teams prepare for a Thursday night ESPNU-televised showdown.

This Week’s Games:

Tuesday – November 11

• #17 Ball State @ Miami - ESPN2

Wednesday – November 12

• Temple @ Kent State - ESPN360.com
• Central Michigan @ Northern Illinois - ESPN2

Thursday – November 13

• Buffalo @ Akron - ESPNU

Saturday - November 15

• Toledo @ Western Michigan

BCS Bound? Ball State Gains Ground

Ball State rose to the #14 ranking in the latest BCS ranking, moving up three spots from last week. This is the highest ranking ever for a MAC school under the BCS system. Under BCS rules, only one non-"Big Six" team is guaranteed a spot if it meets their stated criteria. Any others would be at-large candidates. Thus far that team would be Boise State who currently holds the #9 ranking. With upcoming games against Central and Western Michigan, the top teams in the MAC, along with a MACC game against the MAC East winner, a 13-0 Ball State team would most likely crash the BCS dance even if Boise State finishes undefeated.

Western’s Success Versus the BCS

With the Broncos 23-17 victory over Illinois this past weekend at Detroit’s Ford Field, the Broncos have now had three straight seasons with a win over a BCS program. This victory also gave the MAC their fourth victory over a Big Ten team this season. MAC teams had three other losses to Big Ten teams by a touchdown or less this year. The gap is closing between the Big Ten and “their little brother – MAC.” The MAC has six wins over BCS programs to date in 2008.

Bowling

While only three MAC schools are guaranteed bowl slots (Motor City, GMAC & International), don’t be surprised to see four or possibly five MAC teams in bowl games this year. Obviously, if Ball State crashes the BCS dance, that opens up a game. But with Conference USA, the ACC and Big East all on the verge of not having enough teams to fill their bowl allotments, the New Orleans Bowl and the new bowl game in Washington DC are all possibilities for a MAC program to fill. With Ball State (9-0), Central Michigan (7-2), Western Michigan (8-2) and NIU (5-4), the MAC would be well represented by any of these teams, along with the MAC East champ, which is up for grabs right now.

Buffalo is on the March!

Mark it down; Buffalo will win the MAC East. The Bulls are 5-4 now and still must travel to Akron, to play the final game in the venerable Rubber Bowl, and to the BGSU, look for the Bulls to run the table and finish the season 8-4 and earn their first bowl birth since becoming a DI-A team over a decade ago. After this season, look for Turner Gill’s name to be on several school’s short list as a hot coaching prospect – including nearby Syracuse.

‘Stutz is Out – Who’s Next?

This past week, Tom Amstutz announced that he will stepping aside as Toledo’s head coach after the once proud Toledo football program was assured of their third straight losing season. The Rockets promptly went out and laid an egg against Akron and lost 47-30. Other coach’s that may get the heave-ho are EMU’s Jeff Genyk and Miami’s Shane Montgomery. Kent State announced earlier this week that they are sticking with Doug Martin going into next season.

Miami Redhawks @ Buffalo Bulls

Nick’s Pick: Buffalo 30 - Miami 13

Actual Score: Buffalo 37 - Miami 17

Pregame Comments: Miami has never lost to Buffalo and leads the series 10-0, but there is a first time for everything and this year is the year where Buffalo will win the MAC East. UB will be favored in their final four MAC contests while Miami will struggle to win another game this season. Look for a big UB victory.

Postgame Comments: The game went exactly as predicted. It was fun watching this game on election night with UB in their all-blue uniforms and Miami in their all-red digs.

Toledo @ Akron

Nick’s Pick: Akron 28 - Toledo 23

Actual Score: Akron 47 - Toledo 30

Pregame Comment: Toledo leads the series 8-7 but has dominated this series since the Zips joined the MAC in 1992. Akron is playing for a shot in the MAC Championship Game while Toledo is simply playing for pride as they are assured of their third straight losing season. With Monday's announcement that UT coach Tom Amstutz will be done at the end of the season, who knows what to expect from Toledo. Give the nod to the home team since they are playing for something, but from a pure talent point of view, the Rockets have more on their roster than Akron.

Postgame Comments: The Rockets have no heart right now and even though Akron had 17-days off before this game, they came out smoking against a Toledo team without direction.

Northern Illinois @ #17 Ball State

Nick’s Pick: Ball State 24 - NIU 20

Actual Score: Ball State 45 - Northern Illinois 14

Pregame Comment: The Cardinals lead the series 19-14 and won a tight battle last season 27-21. With the vast improvement of NIU across the board this year, especially on defense, look for this to be another close contest. Ever since Dante Love's injury, the BSU offense has not clicked as well. This is a "trap-game" for the nationally ranked Cardinals, who can't look ahead to their games later this month against Central and Western Michigan. This game will be a dogfight.

Postgame Comments: Not quite the ‘dogfight’ we predicted but BSU’s Nate Davis proved why he is one of the best QBs in the country – period.

Illinois @ Western Michigan

Nick’s Pick: Western Michigan 33 - Illinois 27

Actual Score: Western Michigan 23 – Illinois 17

Pregame Comment: The MAC has a few wins over Big Ten teams this season and should be able to add one more to the mix this weekend at Detroit's Ford Field. Western's offense can hang with most BCS teams while Illinois has struggled of late. In a minor upset, look for the Broncos to beat the Illini in a thriller.

Postgame Comments: Western Michigan took advantage of several Illinois mistakes for a big win for their program along with a nice victory over the Big Ten for the MAC. The win means WMU has beaten a BCS conference team in hree straight years.

Bowling Green @ Ohio

Nick’s Pick: Ohio 33 - Bowling Green 31

Actual Score: BGSU 28 Ohio 3

Post Game Comments: OK, we admit it; we can’t pick the Falcons right at all this year. For the 2008 season, we have missed them every single week they’ve played other than their loss to NIU.

Nick’s Picks were 4-1 this week (80%); 64-22 year to date (74%).

By Nick Gerogosian
Owner, VanDelay Sports

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