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Nick's 2009 MAC Football Picks - Week #1 Recap

MAC Disappoints in Week #1

The MAC did not get off to an impressive start as the league began the season with a putrid 3-10 non-conference record this weekend. While Bowling Green had a nice home win over a very solid Troy team, Buffalo surprised UTEP at home and Kent State recorded their first shut out in 15-years, much of the rest of the league laid an egg. Some of the most frustrating losses were Temple blowing a 10-point 4 th quarter lead to Villanova, Miami getting blanked and drilled by Kentucky, Ball State getting dominated at home by lowly North Texas and Eastern Michigan bombing at home to Army. Let’s hope this isn’t the beginning of yet another long season of non-conference defeats.

Below are the highlights, and lowlights of the week that wasn’t…

Thursday, Sept 3

Troy at BGSU

Troy jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead before the Falcons continued their remarkable run of 1 st year head coaches winning their home debut. Tyler Sheehan threw for 339-yards and two TDs and Freddie Barnes had 157 of those receiving yards and both TD receptions. BG held a 389-304 edge in total yardage and held the ball for over 34-minutes while the men of Troy had the ball just over 25.

Final Score: Bowling Green 31 – Troy 14

Nick’s Pick: Bowling Green 24 – Troy 21

Coastal Carolina at Kent State

I attended this game was impressed with Kent’s defense but then again, Coastal had few offensive weapons to really gage how good the Golden Flashes “D” may be. In a game that was not nearly as close as the score indicates, KSU led just 2-0 at the half. Why this team continues to throw the ball when their strength is running is far beyond me. For their entire 2008 season, Kent State had a grand total of 90 yards in punt returns; they had 77 alone in this game which set up both TDs. Eugene Jarvis rushed for 141 yards and one TD.

Final Score: Kent State 18 – CC 0

Nick’s Pick: Kent State 33 – CC 13

Villanova at Temple

Leave it to Temple to grab defeat right from the jaws of victory. Temple dominated much of the game but blew a 10-point lead and loose on the games final play. That happened three times last year and that same 4 th quarter failure continues into the 2009 campaign. Vaughn Charlton passed for 317 yards but did throw three INTs as Temple turned the ball over five times. Overall Temple put 456 yards to 357 for ‘Nova.

Final Score: Villanova 27 – Temple 24

Nick’s Pick: Temple 14 – Villanova 13

North Texas at Ball State

Most preseason publications listed North Texas as the #120 or dead last team in Division IA / FBS this year. UNT QB Riley Dodge threw for 216 yards as North Texas held the ball for over 37-minutes to just 22-minutes for the Cardinals. UNT rolled up 514 yards of total offense while BSU could only muster up 309. MiQuale Lewis did rush for 103 yards as a lone bright spot for the Cards.

Final Score: UNT 20 – Ball State 10

Nick’s Pick: Ball State 38 – UNT 17

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Saturday, Sept 5

Kentucky vs. Miami in Cincinnati

You can’t ballyhoo a funeral. Kentucky pummeled the RedHawks not only on the scoreboard but throughout the contest. KU out did Miami 28-10 in first downs and 488-188 in total offense. Miami punted ten times. Yuk.

Final Score: Kentucky 42 – Miami 0

Nick’s Pick: Kentucky 28 – Miami 16

Toledo at Purdue

Ralph Bolden ran for 234 yards and two touchdowns as Purdue beat Toledo 52-31 Saturday in Danny Hope’s head coaching debut for the Boilermakers. Bolden, a sophomore, put up the third-best rushing total in school history in his first start. He broke loose for a 78-yard touchdown run on his first carry. Aaron Opelt passed for 423 yards and three touchdowns and Stephen Williams had 15 catches for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Offensively the Rockets looked good producing 492-yards but the defense clearly is a work-in-progress giving up 534.

Final Score: Purdue 52 – Toledo 31

Nick’s Pick: Purdue 34 – Toledo 21

Akron at Penn State

Daryl Clark threw for a career-high 353 yards and three touchdowns, and a tenacious defense held Akron without a first down until the third quarter. The defense held Akron to 186 yards total offense, 28 on the ground. The Zips managed a paltry 22 total yards and minus-17 rushing in a dismal first half. Chris Jacquemain was 13 for 22 passing for 158 yards, one interception and a 40-yard touchdown to Deryn Bowser in the third quarter for Akron’s only score. PSU dominated statistically with a 25-8 edge in first downs and 527-187 mark of total offense.

Final Score: Penn State 31 - Akron 7

Nick’s Pick: Penn State 45 - Akron 20

Western Michigan at Michigan

Whatever problems the Michigan program had earlier in the week were obviously solved. UM jumped out to a quick 31-0 first half lead and never looked back. Michigan was clearly the better and faster team. Western avoided a shutout on Tim Hiller’s 73-yard pass to Juan Nunez early in the fourth quarter. Hiller was 22-of-38 for 259 yards with one TD and two interceptions. Nunez caught seven passes for 151 yards and a score. UM held a commanding edge in total offense, 441-302.

Final Score: Michigan 31 – WMU 7

Nick’s Pick: Western Michigan 26 – Michigan 24

Army at EMU

The Black Knights rushed for 308 yards as Patrick Mealy, who rushed for 109 yards on five carries, and Jameson Carter also had touchdowns runs. The Army defensive line pressured Schmitt all game long, tackling him behind the line of scrimmage seven times for 53 yards in losses. Army rushed for 300-yards.

Final Score: Army 27 – EMU 14

Nick’s Pick: EMU 35 – Army 27

NIU at Wisconsin

Kudos to the Huskies for not giving up and nearly taking the game into OT. The Badgers led 28-6 going into the fourth quarter but a pair of late touchdowns by NIU plus a two-point conversion cut the lead to 8 with 2:47 remaining. Northern recovered the onside kick but couldn’t convert on fourth-and-3 at Wisconsin’s 36-yard line as UW held on to win. Chad Spann scored both 4 th quarter TDs.

Final Score: Wisconsin 28 – NIU 20

Nick’s Pick: Wisconsin 31 – NIU 17

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UConn at Ohio

One of these days I’m gonna learn that MAC teams just don’t beat UConn – period. This publication really felt a change in the air and that the host Bobcats would open up at home and surprise the Huskies and many of their new faces on both sides of the ball. That didn’t happen. Connecticut never trailed in the game and continues to dominate against the MAC moving to 15-1 all time against conference opponents. Ohio had opportunities but squandered most of them. Theo Scott and Jackson each threw touchdown passes for Ohio. Jackson hit Taylor Price on a 44-yard strike and Scott connected with Riley Dunlop on an 11-yard score.

Final Score: UConn 23 – Ohio 16

Nick’s Pick: Ohio 23 – UConn 21

Buffalo at UTEP

Brandon Thermilius ran for 79 yards and a touchdown as Buffalo scored two touchdowns in the second quarter along with a safety and built a 23-7 lead. Zach Maynard connected with Naaman Roosevelt for 42 yards for another TD in the third quarter. Donald Buckram ran for 108 yards and Trevor Vittatoe threw for 233 yards for the Miners. UTEP reached the Buffalo 20-yard line in the final minutes but a holding penalty followed by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty negated what appeared to be the game-winning TD for UTEP.

Final Score: Buffalo 23 – UTEP 17

Nick’s Pick: UTEP 37 – Buffalo 17

Central Michigan at Arizona

The Wildcats neutralized Central Michigan senior quarterback Dan LeFevour, one of the most prolific passers in Mid-American Conference history. He ran for a touchdown but finished with 108 passing yards, his third-fewest in 40 career games. Central Michigan didn’t make a first down until 1:09 to go in the first half. By that time, by that time Arizona led 13-0. AZ held commanding advantages in first downs (24-11) and total yardage 448-182.

Final Score: Arizona 19 – CMU 6

Nick’s Pick: Arizona 41 – CMU 24

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Nick’s Picks opened the season just as dismal as the MAC going just 7-6 in week #1 .