VanDelaySports.com > MAC Football > Nick's 2006 MAC Football Picks > MAC football Week #2 Recap

Nick's 2006 MAC Football Picks - Week #2 Recap

> Current MAC Standings (opens in new window)

It was a very wacky weekend of MAC football. First off, congratulations to the Akron Zips for their road win at NC State. This certainly gave the league a quality non-conference win over a good BCS team and easily was the biggest non-league win ever for Akron. Ball State nearly pulled out a victory over Big Ten Indiana but fell one point short at home in front of their largest crowd in school history. Miami went on the road and had a chance to beat Purdue in regulation only to fall by a touchdown in OT. Buffalo nearly pulled a stunner in Bowling Green only to fall in triple OT. New head coach Turner Gill has this team believing. For shockers, how about NIU losing at home to Ohio as a double digit favorite? Or, Toledo losing by 21 at Western Michigan even though the Rockets had a 306-261 total yard edge. Toss in Northwestern's 34-17 home drubbing by I-AA New Hampshire and yes indeed, it was truly a wacky weekend of MAC and college football.
Nick

Akron 20 - NC State 17

Notes :

• Akron’s Dennis Kennedy ran for 117 yards and three TDs including the game winner as time ran out – Akron dominated NC State in total yards 447-318

• Zip QB Luke Gesty may have only completed 12 passes but he did produce 243-yards passing for an average of 20-yards per completion

• NC State had three turnovers while Akron had 0

Nick’s Pick: NC State 28 – Akron 17

Line: NC State by 10

Actual Score: Akron 20 – NC State 17

Michigan 41 - Central Michigan 17

Notes:

• Mike Hart ran for 116 yards and matched a career high with three TDs - The game was delayed an hour late in the first quarter because of lightning
• Chad Henne was 11-of-19 for 113 yards -- the lowest total of his career -- without a TD or a turnover
• After committing just 10 turnovers in all of 2005, Central had three against UM

Nick’s Pick: Michigan 45 – CMU 14

Line: Michigan by 28

Actual Score: Michigan 41 – CMU 17

Army 17 - Kent State 14 - OT

Notes:

• Austin Miller made a 36-yard field goal in overtime to give Army a 17-14 victory - Army gained possession after Kent State quarterback Julian Edelman fumbled at the 22 on the Golden Flashes' second play of overtime; Army took over at the 25 and ran three plays to set up Miller's field goal
• Kent State lost its 11th consecutive game - Edelman led the Golden Flashes with 16 carries and 82 yards
• Reid Macko's missed a 23-yard field goal in the 4th quarter that would have won it for KSU in regulation

Nick’s Pick: Army 24 – Kent St 19

Line: Army 17 – Kent St 14

Actual Score: Army by 2

Purdue 38 – Miami 31 - OT

Notes:

• Kory Sheets scored four touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime, as Purdue beat Miami in OT - Sheets scored his final touchdown of the game on an 11-yard run during Purdue's only overtime possession - Miami got to the Purdue 8-yard line on its OT possession but failed to score
• Purdue defensive end Anthony Spencer blocked the potential game-winning FG kick with 17 seconds left causing the game to go into OT
• Mike Kokal passed for 378 yards and four touchdowns and Ryne Robinson caught nine passes for 162 yards and two scores for Miami

Nick’s Pick: Purdue 35 – Miami 10

Line: Purdue 38 – Miami 31 (OT)

Actual Score: Purdue by 17

Ohio 35 - Northern Illinois 23

Notes:

• Oho QB Austen Everson threw for 322 yards and three touchdowns - Everson, who was 23-of-31, had the most yards for an Ohio quarterback since 1986 connecting on scoring plays of 63 yards to William Norwood, 16 yards to Rudy Sylvan and 58 yards to halfback Kalvin McRae
• McRae rushed for 106 yards as the Bobcats racked up 509 yards in total offense
• Huskies tailback Garrett Wolfe played another splendid game rushing for 196 yards and two touchdowns

Nick’s Pick: NIU 38 – Ohio 16

Line: NIU by 15

Actual Score: Ohio 35 – NIU 23

Bowling Green 48 – Buffalo 40 - 3 OT

Notes:

• Anthony Turner threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Ruben Ruiz and Jacob Hardwick forced a fumble on the last play of the third overtime to give Bowling Green a 48-40 victory – Turner completed 16 of 23 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 127 yards on 23 carries, tossed a 17 yard scoring pass to Ruiz with 1:30 left in regulation to send the game into overtime
• In the second overtime, Buffalo’s PAT was blocked - the Falcons scored on the next play with Turner tossing a 25-yard pass to Brandon Jones, Alonso Rojas shanked his PAT attempt sending the game into the third overtime
• Buffalo came up with some huge plays during the game, including a 94-yard kickoff return for a TD and a blocked punt for another TD

Nick’s Pick: BGSU 24 – Buffalo 13

Line: BG by 21

Actual Score: BGSU 48 – Buffalo 40 (3 OTs)

Michigan State 52 - Eastern Michigan 20

Notes:

• Matt Trannon set a school-record with 14 catches and Drew Stanton accounted for five touchdowns - Trannon had 151 yards receiving, caught two touchdowns and threw a 35-yard scoring pass to A.J. Jimmerson while Stanton threw three TD passes and ran for two scores
• The Eagles recovered a fumble early in the second half and Andrew Wellock made a 38-yard field goal to pull Eastern Michigan within 24-20 during the 3 rd period before MSU scored 28 unanswered points
• MSU doubled EMU total offense; 608 to 304

Nick’s Pick: MSU 42 – EMU 20

Line: MSU by 26

Actual Score: MSU 52 – EMU 20

Indiana 24 – Ball State 23

Notes:

• Ball State jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the second period and led 23-7 at half before the largest home crowd in Cardinal history, only to be outscored 17-0 in the second half and lose a one-point heartbreaker
• The margin of loss was due to a missed PAT in the second quarter - the Cardinals are now 0-15 lifetime against the Big Ten
• IU led in total offense 387-352 after a slow start

Nick’s Pick: Indiana 35 – Ball St 30

Line: Indiana by 3.5

Actual Score: Indiana 24 – Ball St 23

Western Michigan 31 - Toledo 10

Notes:

• RB Mark Bonds rushed for a career-high 134 yards leading Western Michigan to a home victory over Toledo - Londen Fryar returned an INT 92 yards by for a touchdown in the third quarter that turned the game around for the Broncos
• Toledo dominated that stats but was plagued by turnovers (4 to WMU's 0) and costly penalties that negated big plays
• WMU had five QB sacks while Toledo had none

published 09.12.05