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Nick's 2009 MAC Football Picks - Week #4 Preview & Picks

MAC Notes:

• BGSU host #8 Boise State on Sat., Sept. 26 at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN Game Plan. The Falcons have declared the game an ORANGE OUT under the lights at Doyt Perry Stadium, as Boise State will be the highest-ranked opponent to ever play at BG.
• NIU earned another road win against a Big Ten opponent for the MAC as the Huskies downed Purdue 28-21 last Saturday. This marked the second consecutive week for a MAC team to defeat a Big Ten foe on the road as Central Michigan defeated
• Michigan State 29-27 on Sept. 12 at East Lansing, Mich.
• Central Michigan QB Dan LeFevour is five yards shy of becoming the seventh MAC QB to surpass 10,000 career passing yards. LeFevour threw for 92 yards in the Chippewas’ 48-0 win over Alcorn State.
• Miami WR Eugene Harris caught six passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-26 road loss at Western Michigan.
• Kent State freshman QB Spencer Keith made his first career start and connected on eight of his first ten attempts in a 34-14 loss to Iowa State. Keith completed 21 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns, including a 44-yard score to freshman RB Dri Archer.
• Temple QB Vaughn Charlton was 15-of-33 passing for 205 yards in a 31-6 road loss at Penn State. Charlton topped the 200 passing mark for only the third time in his career, including his second consecutive following his 317-yard performance against Villanova in the opener.
• Buffalo TE Jesse Rack caught a pair of touchdown passes, including a 34-yard score on a double-reverse pass thrown by WR Naaman Roosevelt, in a 23-17 road loss at Central Florida.
• Eastern Michigan RB Dwayne Priest led the Eagles with 91 yards on 27 carries and one touchdown run in a 45-17 loss at Michigan.
• Ohio WR Taylor Price had nine receptions for 135 yards and one touchdown, a 42-yard score, in a 28-10 win over Cal Poly. Price is currently tied for second in school annals with 12 career touchdown receptions.
• Akron WR Deryn Bowser added three catches for 86 yards including a 49-yard touchdown reception in a 38-21 loss to Indiana.
• Toledo WR Eric Page led the Rockets with a team-high six receptions for 54 yards in a 38-0 loss to Ohio State.
• Northern Illinois DB Chris Smith had a season-high six tackles, four solo, and was part of a Huskies’ defense that held Purdue to only 74 yards of offense and four first downs in the first half.
• Eastern Michigan LB Andre Hatchett recorded nine tackles, including four solo tackles, and half a sack in a 45-17 loss at Michigan.
• Toledo LB Archie Donald paced the Rockets with a team-high 16 tackles, including one tackle for loss, in a 38-0 loss to Ohio State.
• Buffalo LB Justin Winters added eight tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble, one recovered fumble and a pass breakup in a 23-17 road loss at Central Florida.
• Temple LB Elijah Joseph recorded the first sack of his career and added two tackles for loss in a 31-6 road setback at Penn State.
• Kent State LB Cobrani Mixon tied for a team-high 11 tackles in a 34- 14 loss to Iowa State.
• Bowling Green DB Keith Morgan recorded his first career interception and finished with nine tackles in a 17-10 road loss at Marshall
• Northern Illinois RB Justin Anderson made a key play on special teams as the up-back on the Huskies’ punt team. Leading by seven with only 3:34 left in the fourth quarter and facing a fourth and two on its own 16 yard line, Anderson took the snap and ran 11 yards for a first down. The Huskies would add two more first downs and run the clock down to 18 seconds on the possession to earn a 28-21 road win at Purdue
• Bowling Green kick returner Roger Williams had four returns for 75 yards in a 17-10 road loss at Marshall. Williams now owns the school record for career kick returns (68) and kick return yards (1,487).
• Eastern Michigan P Zach Johnson punted seven times for 297 yards (42.2 avg.) with a long of 54 yards and two inside the 20-yard line in a 45-17 loss at Michigan.
• Buffalo K A.J. Principe connected on a 27-yard field goal, the 28th of his career and tied for second in school history, in a 23-17 road loss at Central Florida.
• Ohio LB Melvin Payne picked up the first blocked punt of his career when he penetrated the Cal Poly line and blocked Harlan Prather’s attempt in a 28-10 win. It was the first blocked punt of Payne’s career

MAC TV This Weekend:

A total of six MAC games will be televised this week and five will be streamed live on the All-MACcess package on www.mac-sports.com; all games are Saturday, September 26;

• Buffalo at Temple, Noon (ESPN360.com)
• Akron at Central Michigan, 3:30 p.m. (FOX Sports Detroit/FOX Sports Ohio/ESPN Game Plan/All-MACcess)
• Idaho at Northern Illinois, 3:30 p.m. (Comcast SportsNet Chicago/ESPN Game Plan/ All-MACcess)
• Toledo at Florida International, 7:00 p.m.
• Hofstra at Western Michigan, 7:00 p.m. (All-MACcess)
• Boise State at Bowling Green, 7:00 p.m. (BCSN/ESPN Game Plan/ESPN360.com/ All-MACcess)
• Miami at Kent State, 7:00 p.m. (All-MACcess)
• Ohio at Tennessee, 7:00 p.m. (PPV/ESPN Game Plan/ESPN360.com)
• Ball State at Auburn, 7:00 p.m. (FOX Sports Net/ESPN Game Plan/ESPN360.com)
• Bye: Eastern Michigan

Buffalo (1-2, 0-0 MAC) at Temple (0-2, 0-0 MAC)

Saturday, September 26, 2009 • Noon ET • Philadelphia, Pa. • Lincoln Financial Stadium (68,350); ESPN360.com • Announcers: Michael Reghi, Doug Chapman

Series: Buffalo leads, 12-1

Nick’s Pick: Buffalo 21 – Temple 20

Comment: Tremendously difficult game to predict since Temple has more talent and a knack for losing close games while UB has been very inconsistent this year without Starks and breaking in their new QB. Give the nod to the Bulls since they seem to have the Owls number.

Akron (1-2, 0-0 MAC) at Central Michigan (2-1, 0-0 MAC)

Saturday, September 26, 2009 • 3:30 p.m. ET • Mount Pleasant, Mich. • Kelly/Shorts Stadium (30,255); FOX Sports Detroit/FOX Sports Ohio/ESPN Game Plan/ All-MACcess Live Streaming via www.mac-sports.com

Series: Central Michigan leads, 13-8-1

Nick’s Pick: Central 44 – Akron 27

Comment: The ‘Chips will roll in MAC play while Akron’s QB situation is a mess. The Zips do less with more than any other MAC team over the past three seasons.

Idaho (2-1, 1-0 WAC) at Northern Illinois (2-1, 0-0 MAC)

Saturday, September 26, 2009 • 3:30 p.m. ET • De Kalb, Ill. • Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium (24,000); Comcast SportsNet Chicago/ESPN Game Plan/ All-MACcess Live Streaming via www.mac-sports.com

Series: Northern Illinois leads, 3-2

Nick’s Pick: NIU 33 – Idaho 24

Comment: NIU’s running game is solid but Idaho is much improved evident of their victory last week over San Diego State. The Vandals will push the Huskies to the brink before NIU wins at home.

Toledo (1-2, 0-0 MAC) at Florida International (0-2, 0-0 Sun Belt)

Saturday, September 26, 2009 • 7:00 p.m. ET • Miami, Fla. • FIU Stadium (20,000)

Series: Florida International leads, 1-0

Nick’s Pick: FIU 28 – Toledo 20

Comment: Last year the Rockets led 13-0 going into the 2 nd quarter before the bottom fell out and turnovers killed Toledo in a 35-16 setback. FIU continues to improve under Coach Mario Cristabol. They played Rutgers tough on the road last week losing 23-15. Look for another Sun Belt victory over the MAC again even though this is clearly a game UT could and should win.

Hofstra (2-1, 0-1 Colonial Athletic assn) at Western Michigan (1-2, 1-0 MAC)

Saturday, September 26, 2009 • 7:00 p.m. ET • Kalamazoo, Mich. • Waldo Stadium (30,200); All-MACcess Live Streaming via www.mac-sports.com

Series: First Meeting

Nick’s Pick: Western Michigan 55 – Hofstra 9

Comment: The Broncos had a solid offense and playing at Waldo Stadium always pumps up Western. The Pride is 2-1 but they’ve beaten I-AA non-scholarship Stony Brook 17-10 and Bryant, a new football program altogether 40-24. They lost last week at Richmond 47-0, the defending I-AA national champ. That game is an indication of how ugly this game could get.

Boise State (3-0, 1-0 WAC) at Bowling Green (1-2, 0-0 MAC)

Saturday, September 26, 2009 • 7:00 p.m. ET • Bowling Green, Ohio • Doyt L. Perry Stadium (24,000); BCSN/ESPN Game Plan/ESPN360.com/All-MACcess Live Streaming via www.mac-sports.com

Series: Boise State, 2-0

Nick’s Pick: Boise State 30 – BGSU 14

Comment: BG gets a once in a lifetime shot at hosting a Top-10 team. Let’s hope Boise State has some serious jet lag after winning 51-34 at Fresno State last week. The Broncos are so well coached and talented that it is hard to see them losing any regular season game this year. If they do, it’s either this game or next month when they travel to Tulsa.

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Miami (0-3, 0-1 MAC) at Kent State (1-2, 0-0 MAC)

Saturday, September 26, 2009 • 7:00 p.m. ET • Kent, Ohio • Dix Stadium (30,000); All-MACcess live streaming via www.mac-sports.com

Series: Miami leads, 44-12

Nick’s Pick: Miami 24 – Kent State 13

Comment: Miami found a QB in Zac Dysert as he leads the RedHawks into Dix Stadium. The Golden Flashes offense is pathetic right now so look for Miami to break out of the bottom and beat KSU, a program they have dominated through the years.

Ohio (2-1, 0-0 MAC) at Tennessee (1-2, 0-1 SEC)

Saturday, September 26, 2009 • 7:00 p.m. ET • Knoxville, Tenn. • Neyland Stadium (102,037); PPV/ESPN Game Plan/ESPN360.com

Series: First Meeting

Nick’s Pick: Tennessee 27 – Ohio 10

Comment: The ‘Vols lost an emotional game to Florida last week so here’s to hoping they are still thinking about that game and forget about the Bobcats. OU has the talent to spring an upset but until the offense shows more consistency you really can’t pick against a SEC team hosting the MAC.

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Ball State (0-3, 0-0 MAC) at Auburn (3-0, 1-0 SEC)

Saturday, September 26, 2009 • 7:00 p.m. ET • Auburn, Ala. • Jordan-Hare Stadium (87,451); FOX Sports Net/ESPN Game Plan/ESPN360.com

Series: Auburn leads, 2-0

Nick’s Pick: Auburn 56 – Ball State 7

Comment: After losses to North Texas, New Hampshire and Army, how ugly will this game get? I hope the press box keeps the game clock moving at a brisk pace.

 

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