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Nick's 2009 MAC Football Picks - Week #8 Preview & Picks

News & Notes:

• Temple and Ohio are tied for first in the East Division with a 3-0 conference record. Temple won its fourth consecutive game with a 27-13 win over Army, while Ohio earned its third straight victory by defeating Miami, 28-7
• Buffalo wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt set a school mark for career receptions (250) following a 12 catches for 110 yards and two scores performance in a 21-17 win over Akron
• Western Michigan quarterback Tim Hiller set two school career records - touchdown passes (89) and completions (879), in a 34-23 loss to Central Michigan. Hiller was 40-of-66 passing for 410 yards and two scores
• Toledo’s Senior safety Barry Church blocked two kicks in a 20-19 win over Northern Illinois; Church blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt with 37-seconds remaining in regulation to secure the victory an also in the second quarter Church blocked an extra-point; Toledo S Barry Church added 12 tackles in a 20-19 win over Northern Illinois. His 12 tackles marked the third game this year with at least 10 tackles and 12th of his career
• Ohio RB Donte Harden rushed for 121 yards on 15 carries and a pair of touchdowns in a 28-7 win over Miami. Harden was part of an offense that totaled 398 yards of offense, including 226 yards on the ground
• Toledo RB DaJuane Collins carried 16 times for 139 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-19 win over Northern Illinois. Collins added a 69-yard scamper in the third quarter and has surpassed the 100-yard barrier three times this season
• Northern Illinois WR Landon Cox hauled in six catches for 70 yards in a 20-19 loss at Toledo. Five of his six catches resulted in a first down, including a 28-yard reception on the final drive to set up a potential game-winning field goal attempt
• Ohio DT Marcellis Williamson collected a career-high six tackles,
• one tackle for loss, and shared one sack in the Bobcats 28-7 win over
• Miami . Williamson was part of a defensive effort that limited Miami to
• 52 yards rushing and 218 yards of total offense.
• Bowling Green DB Roger Williams added eight tackles, one tackle for loss and one interception in the Falcons 31-17 win at Ball State; Williams and the Falcons’ secondary held the Cardinals air attack to only 131 yards passing
• Temple S Jaiquawn Jarrett led the Owls with a career-high nine solo tackles in a 27-13 win over Army
• Kent State LB Dorian Wood posted a career-high 13 tackles and two quarterback pressures and one pass break up in a 28-6 win at Eastern Michigan
• Miami DB Jeff Thompson led the team with a career-high 11 tackles in a 28-7 loss at Ohio
• Western Michigan FS Doug Wiggins collected six tackles and forced a fumble in a 34-23 loss to Central Michigan
• Central Michigan LB Nick Bellore totaled 12 tackles; two sacks and one interception in a 34-23 win at Western Michigan. Bellore made the play of the game with an interception returned 50 yards down to the Broncos three-yard line with 18 seconds remaining in the first half, as Central Michigan turned the turnover into a touchdown and a 27-13 halftime lead

This Week’s MAC Schedule - Saturday, October 24

• Central Michigan at Bowling Green, Noon ET; (ESPN Plus/ESPN Game Plan)
• Ball State at Eastern Michigan, 1:00 p.m. ET (*All-MACcess)
• Northern Illinois at Miami, 1:00 p.m. ET (*All-MACcess)
• Buffalo at Western Michigan, 2:00 p.m. ET (*All-MACcess)
• Kent State at Ohio, 2:00 p.m. ET (*All-MACcess)
• Akron at Syracuse, 3:30 p.m. ET (Time Warner SportsNet)
• Temple at Toledo, 7:00 p.m. ET (*All-MACcess)

Central Michigan (6-1, 4-0 MAC) at BGSU (3-4, 2-1 MAC)

Saturday, October 24, 2009 • Noon ET • Bowling Green, Ohio • Doyt L. Perry Stadium (24,000)

ESPN Plus/ ESPN Game Plan/ ESPN360.com • Announcers: Michael Reghi, Doug Chapman

Series: Bowling Green leads, 21-17

Nick’s Pick: Central Michigan 44 – BGSU 35

Comment: On paper this game certainly looks to be the ‘MAC game of the week’ in terms of excitement and big-play potential by both teams. Here are some “wow” stats for the Chips; Central ranks 15 th in the nation in scoring offense (34.4 ppg); 19 th in scoring defense (15.9 ppg) while WR Antonio Brown ranks fifth in the country in all-purpose yards (1,338) and QB Dan LeFevour ranks 14 th in the nation in total offense (277.7 ypg) and 12th in pass efficiency with a rating of 154.16. The Falcons have some “wow” stats as well; BG’s offense has scored 104 points and averaged 492.3 yards of offense in the last three games...QB Tyler Sheehan threw for 376 yards and three scores last week at Ball State and now has 57 career touchdown passes, third-best in school history...WR Freddie Barnes leads the nation in total receiving yards (882)...Sheehan ranks fourth in the nation in total offense (325.0 ypg).

Ball State (0-7, 0-3 MAC) at Eastern Michigan (0-6, 0-3 MAC)

Saturday, October 24, 2009 • 1:00 p.m. ET • Ypsilanti, Mich. • Rynearson Stadium (30,200)

All-MACcess Live Streaming via www.mac-sports.com

Series: Ball State leads, 28-20-2

Nick’s Pick: Ball State 27 – Eastern Michigan 17

Comment: The “battle for the bottom of the MAC West” takes place at EMU so expect a crowd of about 3K to witness this epic struggle. The bottom line is that Ball State’s offense has far more weapons than EMU and that will be the difference as one of these teams will pick up their first win of the season. We believe it will be the Cardinals.

NIU (3-3, 1-1 MAC) at Miami (0-7, 0-3 MAC)

Saturday, October 24, 2009 • 1:00 p.m. ET • Oxford, Ohio • Yager Stadium (24,286)

All-MACcess Live Streaming via www.mac-sports.com

Series: Miami leads, 7-6

Nick’s Pick: NIU 33 – Miami 16

Comment: Miami continues to struggle with turnovers and that will be their demise against a fired-up NIU team that lost a real heartbreaker last week in the Glass Bowl. NIU RB Chad Spann ranks tied for tenth in the nation in scoring with an average

of 10.0 points per game (10 rushing TD). The Huskies rank tied for first in the nation in red zone defense (62%) and tied for third in red zone offense (96%).

Buffalo (3-4, 1-2 MAC) at Western Michigan (3-4, 2-2 MAC)

Saturday, October 24, 2009 • 2:00 p.m. ET • Kalamazoo, Mich. • Waldo Stadium (30,200)

All-MACcess Live Streaming via www.mac-sports.com

Series: Western Michigan leads, 4-0

Nick’s Pick: Western Michigan 28 – Buffalo 24

Comment: Buffalo continues to improve each and every week after losing some quality skilled players to graduation and injury from last season. Last week Naaman Roosevelt totaled 12 receptions for 100 yards and two scores, his 13th career game with more than 100 yards receiving. Western has certainly been the “Jeckle-Hyde” team of the MAC so far. QB Tim Hiller ranks fifth in the nation in total passing yards (1,904) while RB Brandon West ranks fourth in the nation in all-purpose yards (1,353). The Broncos have too much firepower to lose at home.

Kent State (3-4, 2-1 MAC) at Ohio (5-2, 3-0 MAC)

Saturday, October 24, 2009 • 2:00 p.m. ET • Athens, Ohio • Peden Stadium (24,000)

All-MACcess Live Streaming via www.mac-sports.com

Series: Ohio leads, 38-21-2

Nick’s Pick: Ohio 17 – Kent State 16

Comment: While Ohio’s offense is certainly not a juggernaut, their O-line has yet to give a QB sack for the past five games. Bobcat WR Taylor Price is quietly having a splendid season for OU as well. Kent State’s defense is much better than most people give the credit for and if the offense does make their usually rash of mistakes, a Golden Flash upset is possible. This publication feels that Ohio will make a big-play or two at the right time and squeak out a close call in Athens.

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Temple (4-2, 3-0 MAC) at Toledo (4-3, 2-1 MAC)

Saturday, October 24, 2009 • 7:00 p.m. ET • Toledo, Ohio • Glass Bowl (26,248)

All-MACcess Live Streaming via www.mac-sports.com

Series: Toledo leads, 6-2

Nick’s Pick: Toledo 21 – Temple 20

Comment: This is a huge game for both teams as each is trying to build a quality resume to be picked for one of the MAC bowl agreements. Both teams may have key player(s) out for this contest too. No matter who is quarterbacking Toledo the Rockets will need to run the ball well against the nation’s #25 rush defense in Temple. While the Rockets rank 10 th nationally in total offense, much of that was put up against some lousy teams. When UT faced a dominating defensive front in Ohio State, they folded. Temple’s defensive front is on par with OSU. Of note, Al Golden has yet to beat a team with a winning record during his four-year tenure. This will be a very close game and we give the nod to the hometown Rockets.

Akron (1-5, 0-3 MAC) at Syracuse (2-4, 0-2 Big East)

Saturday, October 24, 2009 • 3:30 p.m. ET • Syracuse, N.Y. • Carrier Dome (49,500)

Series: Akron leads, 1-0

Nick’s Pick: Syracuse 30 – Akron 14

Comment: While Akron beat SU last season 42-28 Syracuse is 45-36-1 all time against the current teams in the MAC. Freshman LB Brian Wagner ranks tied for sixth in the nation with an average of 11 tackles per game and 12th with 37 solo tackles. Akron ranks 25 th in the nation in red zone defense (75%). New Orange coach Doug Marrone has this team playing better and they will not lose to Akron two years in a row even though this a team the Zips have the talent to beat.

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