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2011 MAC Football Picks - Week #3 Preview

Nick’s Picks for Week #3 – 2011

• Toledo stood toe to toe but in the end the Rockets came up one play short of upsetting heavily favored Ohio State. The #15 Buckeyes prevailed, 27-22, as Toledo failed to complete a fourth-down pass on Ohio State’s 16-yard line with just 48 seconds to play. Toledo was in a position to become the first MAC program to beat Ohio State and first school from Ohio to beat the Buckeye since the 1920s. Toledo’s defense gave a heroic effort, holding the Buckeyes to 301 yards of total defense, including just 112 yards rushing.

• Toledo WR Junior wide receiver Eric Page caught 12 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns.

• Temple running back Bernard Pierce rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, leading Temple to a 41-3 win at Akron.

• Ohio won its home opener in impressive fashion earning a 30-3 victory over Gardner-Webb in front of 23,155 fans at Peden Stadium. The win was Ohio head coach Frank Solich’s 100th career victory as a head football. The Bobcats outgained the Runnin’ Bulldogs, compiling 386 total offensive yards to 94.

• BGSU wide receiver Eugene Cooper set career-highs in catches (6), yards (134) and touchdowns (4) in the Falcons’ 58-13 win over Morgan State.

• Western Michigan defeated Nicholls State 38-7 in the home opener at Waldo Stadium as head coach Bill Cubit is now 6-1 in home openers as the Broncos’ coach; offensively, the Broncos produced 399 yards of total offense and was perfect in the red zone, producing touchdowns on all five trips inside the 20-yard line.

• Kansas’ scored a TD with nine-seconds remaining to give the Jayhawks a 45-42 victory over the NIU Huskies; QB Chandler Harnish threw for two scores and ran for a career-best three at Kansas. He completed 27-of-33 passes for 315 yards and ran for 89 yards on 11 carries to total 404 yards of total offense, the sixth-highest single game total in Northern Illinois history.

• Eastern Michigan beat Alabama State. And EMU improved to 2-0 on a season for the first time since 1989; the Eagles rushing game had tailbacks Dominique Sherrer and Javonti Greene each going over the century mark with Greene gaining 146 yards and Sherrer adding 111 yards.

• Kentucky scored three touchdowns in the final 20 minutes to rally past Central Michigan, 27-13. The Chippewas controlled play for the better part of a half, out-gaining Kentucky 227-94 and holding a two-to-one advantage in time of possession in the first half, before the Wildcats scored a pair of lightning-fast touchdowns to swing momentum in their favor.

• Rain, lightning, turnovers and penalties put a damper on Kent State’s home opener as the Flashes fell to Louisiana 20-12. In the first half, the Flashes were plagued by nine penalties for 90 yards and a pair of costly turnovers, creating a 17-7 deficit at the break. The Kent State defense kept the game within reach, but two more second half turnovers kept the offense from picking up any momentum.

• Ball State fell 37-7 to South Florida; Ball State started the game off with a fumble on the opening kick that South Florida returned 17 yards for a score and opened up a 30-0 lead and never looked back.

…Nick’s Picks went 9-2 last week and now stand at 20-4 on the season…

Friday, September 16

• Boise State at Toledo, 8:00 pm ET (ESPN)

Saturday, September 17

• Penn State at Temple, Noon ET (ESPN)
• *Central Michigan at Western Michigan, Noon ET (ESPN Plus/ESPN Game Plan/ ESPN3)
• Eastern Michigan at Michigan, Noon ET (Big Ten Network)
• Wyoming at Bowling Green, Noon ET (BCSN/ESPN3/Game Plan)
• Akron at Cincinnati, 3:30 pm (ESPN3)
• Miami at Minnesota, 3:30 pm (Big Ten Network)
• Wisconsin at Northern Illinois, 3:30 pm ET (ESPN3) (at Soldier Field, Chicago Field)
• *Buffalo at Ball State, 7:00 pm ET (Streamed mac-sports.com)
• Kent State at Kansas State, 7:00 pm ET ( FOX College Sports)
• Marshall at Ohio, 7:00 pm ET (ESPN3)

Nick’s Picks:

Boise State (1-0, 0-0 MTW) at Toledo (1-1, 0-0 MAC)

Friday, September 16, 2011 • 8:00 pm ET • Toledo, Ohio • Glass Bowl (26,248) ESPN

Series: Boise State leads 1-0

Nick’s Pick: Boise State 38 – Toledo 27

Notes: Rockets will be more competitive this year than last year’s 57-14 thumping on the smurf-turf. The Broncos are 8-3 against teams currently in the MAC, including victories in each of the last seven meetings.

Penn State (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten) at Temple (2-0, 0-0 MAC)

Saturday, September 17, 2011 • Noon ET • Philadelphia, Pa. • Lincoln Financial Stadium (68,532) ESPN Series: Penn State leads 36-3-1

Nick’s Pick: Penn State 20 – Temple 16

Notes: Last Saturday lost to No. 3 Alabama, 27-11, which ended Penn State’s 23-game non-conference home winning streak; the Owls will make this one close.

Central Michigan (1-1, 0-0 MAC) at Western Michigan (1-1, 0-0 MAC)

Saturday, September 17, 2011 • Noon ET • Kalamazoo, Mich. • Waldo Stadium (30,200)

ESPN Plus/ESPN Game Plan/ESPN3 Series: Western Michigan leads 43-36-2

Nick’s Pick: Western 30 – Central 28

Notes: After a few years of frustration the Broncos will finally beat their arch-rival in the MAC’s most heated rivalry game.

Eastern Michigan (2-0, 0-0 MAC) at Michigan (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

Saturday, September 17, 2011 • Noon ET • Ann Arbor, Mich. • Michigan Stadium (109,201) Big Ten Network Series: Michigan leads 9-0

Nick’s Pick: Michigan 45- Eastern 10

Notes: Not much to note here, it is what it is.

Wyoming (2-0, 0-0 MTW) at Bowling Green (2-0, 0-0 MAC)

Saturday, September 17, 2011 • Noon ET • Bowling Green, Ohio • Doyt L. Perry Stadium (24,000) BCSN/ESPN3/ESPN Game Plan Series: Bowling Green leads 1-0

Nick’s Pick: BGSU 35 – Wyoming 27

Notes: This was the only major publication to predict that the Falcons would be on the cusp of a winning record this year; former BG head football coach and current O-coordinator Greg Brandon makes a return trip to his former home.

Miami (0-1, 0-0 MAC) at Minnesota (0-2, 0-0 Big Ten)

Saturday, September 17, 2011 • 3:30 pm ET • Minneapolis, Minn. • TCF Bank Stadium (50,805) Big Ten Network Series: Minnesota leads 2-0

Nick’s Pick: Miami 26 – Minnesota 24

Notes: After losing to NM State last week the Gophers will be playing inspired football for coach Jerry Kill after his scary seizure at the end of last week’s game. RedHawks return 20 starters (8 offense/9 defense/3 specialists) and 48 letter winners from last year’s squad that won the MAC Championship have had two weeks to prepare for this game.

Wisconsin (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) at Northern Illinois (1-1, 0-0 MAC)

Saturday, September 17, 2011 • 3:30 pm ET • Chicago, Ill. • Soldier Field (61,500) ESPN3 Series: Wisconsin leads 10-1

Nick’s Pick: Wisconsin 28 – NIU 20

Notes: Second straight week of heartache for the talented Huskies.

Akron (0-2, 0-0 MAC) at Cincinnati (1-1, 0-0 Big East)

Saturday, September 17, 2011 • 3:30 pm ET • Cincinnati, Ohio • Nippert Stadium (35,000) ESPN3 Series: Cincinnati leads 3-2

Nick’s Pick: Cincinnati 52 – Akron 6

Notes: The Zips are the worst IA program in the country right now.

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Buffalo (1-1, 0-0 MAC) at Ball State (1-1, 0-0 MAC)

Saturday, September 17, 2011 • 7:00 pm ET • Muncie, Ind. • Scheumann Stadium (22,500) Live Streaming via www.mac-sports.com Series: Ball State leads 7-1

Nick’s Pick: Ball State 27 – Buffalo 24

Notes: Toss a coin in this very competitive match up… Buffalo defeated Stony Brook, 35-7, last Saturday...RB Brandon Oliver finished with 126 yards on 15 carries and three TDs, including scores from 49 and 43 yards…BSU QB Keith Wenning has passed for 321-yards and two TDs against Indiana & South Florida.

Kent State (0-2, 0-0 MAC) at Kansas State (1-0, 0-0 Big 12)

Saturday, September 17, 2011 • 7:00 pm ET • Manhattan, Kan. • Bill Snyder Family Stadium (51,000) FOX College Sports Series: First Meeting

Nick’s Pick: K-State 44 – Kent State 13

Notes: Kansas State defeated Eastern Kentucky, 10-7 in their season opener look to rebound and turn up the heat on the hapless Golden Flashes.

Marshall (1-1, 0-0 C-USA) at Ohio (2-0, 0-0 MAC)

Saturday, September 17, 2011 • 7:00 pm ET • Athens, Ohio • Peden Stadium (24,000)

ESPN3 Series: Ohio leads 29-19-6

Nick’s Pick: Ohio 23 – Marshall 21

Notes: This Ohio River rivalry is a wonderful match up; Marshall defeated Southern Miss, 26-20...Freshman QB Rakeem Cato made the second start of his career and finished 27-42, with two interceptions...Cato totaled 275 yards and three TDs...His favorite target, WR Aaron Dobson, had seven catches and 69 yards with two TDs. Meanwhile the Bobcats QB Tyler Tettleton passed for 139 yards and two TDs to lead

Ohio to a convincing 30-3 victory over Gardner-Webb last Saturday...Tettleton was 14-of-24 as he picked up his second win as a starter...LB Jelani Woseley anchored Ohio’s defense which limited Gardner-Webb to just 124 yards of total offense, as he finished with six tackles, one tackle for loss and an interception.