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Nick's MAC Football Picks - Week #14 Preview & Picks

Week #14 MAC Games:

Tuesday – November 25

• Western Michigan @ #15 Ball State - ESPN2
• Navy @ Northern Illinois

Friday - November 28

• Central Michigan @ Eastern Michigan
• Ohio @ Miami
• Akron @ Temple
• Kent State @ Buffalo
• Bowling Green @ Toledo

MAC Notes:

• A week after the Ball State win at Central Michigan was the most-viewed MAC football game ever on ESPN or ESPN2, Ball State hosts another formidable MAC foe in the 9-2 Western Michigan Broncos. A win for Ball State means a trip to the MAC Championship Game against Buffalo; a loss puts the tie-breaker scenarios in place as CMU, WMU and Ball State would all end 7-1 in the MAC, atop the MAC West.
• Nothern Illinois hosts Navy needing a win to secure a winning record (7-5) and making them much more likely for an at-large bowl berth

Western Michigan (9-2; MAC 6-1) @ Ball State (11-0; MAC 7-0)

Tues., Nov. 25, 2008; Muncie, Ind.; 7 p.m. (ET); Scheumann Stadium; (Capacity: 22,500)

FieldTurf; ESPN2 -- Todd Harris and Ray Bentley

Nick's Pick:  Ball State 33 - Western Michigan 27

Comment:  It's a true shame in college football that potential undefeated and quality teams like Ball State and Boise State can run the table and then sit back and watch pathetic champions from the ACC and Big East Conferences, with three-losses even, earn BCS games.  Forget the playoff debate, let's end this shame right now.  Given the current system, Ball State looks to make it interesting as they could easily finish 13-0 this season.  They face a huge obsticle in Western Michigan.  Expect a very close game again for the Cards as the Broncos are looking to earn a nice bowl trip too and have the talent to win this game in Muncie.

Navy (6-4) @ Northern Illinois (6-5, 5-3 MAC)

SITE: DeKalb, Illinois - Huskie Stadium (24,000)

Nov. 25, 2008 - 6 p.m. (CST) -- ESPN Classic

RADIO -- WSCR AM 670 ( Chicago), WLBK AM 1360 (DeKalb)

Nick's Pick: NIU 26 - Navy 23

Comment: With a win the Huskies could earn a bowl bid at 7-5 depending upon how this weekend develops.  Navy is already set to play in the new Washinton DC Bowl and still has a game against Army.  The Huskies are playing very good football right now and are tough against the run, which is Navy's whole offense.  Look for NIU to win a thriller in DeKalb and then keep their fingers crossed for that bowl destination.

Central Michigan (8-3, 6-1 MAC) @ Eastern Michigan (2-9, 1-6 MAC)

SITE: Rynearson Stadium (30,200/Field Turf) - Ypsilanti, Mich.

Friday, November 28, Noon; Central Michigan leads 53-26-6

Notes: CMU is coming off a loss last week to Ball State and must hope for a Cardinals loss Tue. (Nov. 25) if the Chippewas hope to defend their league title ... the loss snapped the Chippewas six-game winning streak, however they are 3-0 in MAC road games this season ... CMU has a chance to post nine wins in the regular season for the first time since 1994 ... the Eagles will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak in what will be Jeff Genyk’s last game as EMU head coach ... the Eagles scored 52 points last week but allowed 55 in a loss at Temple ... QB Andy Schmitt set a league record with 50 completion and 76 attempts while throwing for 484 yards ... on the receiving end was Tyler Jones for 185 yards and Jacory Stone with 152 yards ... CMU will be playing its fourth road game in the last five to end the season ... Chippewas QB Dan LeFevour has 11,004 career yards of total offense, just 1,080 yards shy of the conference record held by Byron Leftwich ... LeFevour is 16 yards shy of tying Peyton Manning for 28th place on the NCAA career list ... OL Andrew Hartline has started 49 consecutive games, which is tied for the longest current streak in the nation ... three of EMU’s losses in its last five games have been by seven points or less.

Nick’s Pick: Central Michigan 45 – Eastern Michigan 34

Comment: This will be Eastern Michigan coach Jeff Genyk’s last game. A good guy and a good coach who has certainly improved this program, he could never sustain momentum to get over the four-win hump in a season. Central is a solid program right now and has a real shot at finishing with 10 wins. Central will win in a shoot out.

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Ohio (3-8, 2-5 MAC) @ Miami (2-9, 1-6 MAC)

SITE: Yager Stadium (24,286/Field Turf) - Oxford, Ohio

Friday, November 28, 12:30 p.m.; Miami leads 52-30-2

Television: ESPNU

Notes: The Bobcats snapped a three-game losing streak last week with their 49-42 win over Akron ... Boo Jackson set a school record with five TD passes with three of those scores going to Tyler Price, tying a school record ... Jackson also set a season record for Ohio with his 16th TD pass ... the RedHawks dropped a 42-14 decision at Toledo for their fourth consecutive loss ... Miami has also lost its last three home games ... these two teams rank last in the league in scoring offense - Ohio 12th (22.5) and Miami 13th (17.7) ... they are also at the bottom in turnover margin, Miami 12th at -1.09 and Ohio 13th at -1.18 per game ... Ohio does come in at No. 2 in total defense, allowing 347.0 yards per game ... these two programs will finish below .500 despite representing the East Division in the last two MAC championship games, both losing to Central Michigan (Ohio in 2006 and Miami in 2007) ... Miami’s Daniel Raudabaugh returned to the starting lineup two games ago and since then has passed for 450 yards and three TDs.

Akron (5-6, 3-4 MAC) @ Temple (4-7, 3-4 MAC)

SITE: Lincoln Financial Field (68,532/Natural Grass) - Philadelphia, Pa.

Friday, November 28, 1 p.m.; Temple leads series 10-7

Notes: The Owls outlasted Eastern Michigan last week, 55-52, and have a chance to win back-to-back games for the first time this season ... a Temple win would also give the program one more victory than last year and a second consecutive 4-4 MAC record ... the Zips fell 49-42 at Ohio despite a late rally from a 42-28 deficit to tie the game at 42-all ... a Zips win would give the program two more wins than last year and a 4-4 league mark ... the Zips last four losses have come by a total of 16 points ... the Owls have two losses in overtime this year and three regulation losses by a total of nine points ... since he fully recovered from an injury, Owls QB Adam DiMichele has helped the offense score 14, 27, 38 and 55 points, progressively ... during that time he has completed 68-of-116 attempts for 1,071 yards and 13 TDs with just one interception ... he had a school-record six TD passes last week, with four of those going to Bruce Francis, yet another school record ... Akron’s Dennis Kennedy also scored four TDs last week and in the process set school marks for TDs (18), rushing TDs (17) and points (110) ... Kennedy is averaging 106 yards per game rushing, the fourth highest total in the MAC ... QB Chris Jacquemain has just one interception in his last four games (116 attempts) ... the winner of this game could finish in sole possession of second place in the East Division if Bowling Green (also 3-4) losses at Toledo.

Nick’s Pick: Akron 27 – Temple 21

Comment: The winner of this game will be the #2 ranked team in east division if BG loses at Toledo Friday. That’s how far behind the MAC east is from the west division right now. Akron has the better offense to pull out a close game.

Kent State (3-8, 2-5 MAC) @ Buffalo (7-4, 5-2 MAC)

SITE: UB Stadium (29,013/Sportexe Momentum) - Buffalo, N.Y.

Friday, November 28, 2 p.m.; Series tied 8-8

Notes: The Bulls secured the outright East Division title with their fifth consecutive triumph last week, a 40-34 double overtime win at Bowling Green ... UB is having its best season ever since joining the MAC and the FBS (I-A) ranks in 1999 ... the Bulls have 11 conference wins in three years under Turner Gill after just seven total conference wins from 1999-2005 ... the Golden Flashes will challenge with their league-leading rushing offense (223.2 ypg) and triggerman in QB Julian Edelman ... Edelman is the MAC’s third leading rusher (109.4 ypg) and also ranks eighth in passing efficiency, throwing for 1,706 yards and 12 TDs ... Edelman has six consecutive games with 100-plus rushing yards ... Eugene Jarvis has 651 yards in just seven full games for the Flashes with a high of 185 yards vs. Temple ... the Bulls counter with the league’s No. 2 ground gainer in James Starks (121.1) ... Starks won last week’s game with a 25-yard burst up the middle on UB’s first offensive play in the second OT ... the Bulls’ comeback from a 27-7 fourth-quarter deficit was led by Drew Willy, who completed 22-of-26 attempts for 219 yards and three TDs in the fourth quarter and overtime ... UB’s offense features the league’s second leading pass receiver in Naaman Roosevelt (78 rec., 1,072 yards, 9 TDs) ... the opportunistic Bulls also lead the MAC in turnover margin at +11 ... that stat is supported by league leaders in fumbles forced by LB Justin Winters (4) and fumbles recovered in DB Domonic Cook (4) ... UB’s four overtime games this season ties an NCAA record with Northwestern (2004).

Nick’s Pick: Buffalo 37 – Kent State 21

Comment: Five weeks ago we stated Buffalo would not lose again this regular season, finish 8-4 and win the east division. A win over hard-luck Kent State will prove us right. This will likely be the last “home” game for UB coach Turner Gill as he has become one of the hottest coaching prospects in the nation.

Bowling Green (5-6, 3-4 MAC) @ Toledo (3-8, 2-5 MAC)

SITE: Glass Bowl (26,248/NeXturf) - Toledo, Ohio

Friday, November 28, 3:30 p.m.; Bowling Green leads series 37-31-4

Television: ESPN Classic/ESPN360

Notes: This will be the last game for head coach Tom Amstutz, who has a 4-3 record vs. UT’s rival ... the Rockets’ 42-14 win over Miami last week snapped a four-game losing streak ... freshman Morgan Williams set a school record with his 330 yards rushing ... William accomplished the feat on 28 carries and added three touchdowns, the longest from 86 yards ... he came into the game with 527 rushing yards on the season ... the Falcons had their two-game winning streak stopped last week in a 40-34 double-overtime loss to Buffalo ... Tyler Sheehan accounted for 310 yards of total offense and three scores ... Sheehan completed 24-of-32 passes for 240 yards and a TD and added 70 yards and two TDs rushing ... Freddie Barnes grabbed a career-high 10 receptions for 107 yards ... BG’s defense has held the opposition without a first half point in the last three games ... the Rockets win versus Miami last week was its first home victory of 2008 ... BG is 4-2 on the road this year with wins at Pittsburgh, Wyoming, Akron and Ohio ... the Rockets defense had four takeaways last week after producing 13 takeaways in the first 10 games.

Nick’s Pick: Toledo 42 – BGSU 31

Comment: Two weeks ago this publication would have picked the Falcons to win by two or three touchdowns but after last week’s home meltdown at Doyt-Perry, BGSU has to be kicking themselves of what might-have-been. A 7-5 season, a MACC birth and bowl game were all lost when the Bulls blew a 20-point 4 th quarter lead and lost in OT. It took the Toledo coaching staff eleven weeks to finally figure out that RB Morgan Williams is the best offensive weapon on the team. They will ride his skills two weeks in a row for a rivalry victory and send coach Tom Amstutz away with a smile.

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