2006 Mid-American Conference Football Picks

Three conference games, including the 49th annual Battle for the Wagon Wheel between Akron and Kent State, are on the slate this week in MAC football. Also, Bowling Green is at Ohio and Northern Illinois at Ball State. Non-conference billing includes Toledo at Pittsburgh (ESPNU) and Miami at Cincinnati in the 111th meeting between those schools.

*Akron at Kent State, 2:00 - FSN Ohio, Comcast Local, CSN Chicago, Time Warner 13

MAC West Division:
Three West Division teams are without a loss to date as Central Michigan is 2-0 while Western Michigan and Ball State stand at 1-0. Ball State hosts Northern Illinois this week in the lone conference contest involving West Division squads. October 14 will be a pivotal day on the field as Ball State is at Central Michigan and Northern Illinois at Western Michigan in key divisional encounters.

MAC East Division:
Two East teams remain without a league loss thus far, Kent State at 2-0 and Ohio at 1-0. Both teams are home this week as Kent State hosts rival Akron and Ohio welcomes Bowling Green to Peden Stadium. All other East teams are in non-conference action or idle.

Looking Ahead:
Three conference games are on the slate for next week. Saturday, October 7, Ball State is at Buffalo and Western Michigan plays at Ohio. In an ESPN game on Sunday, October 8, Miami will host Northern Illinois. The first full weekend on conference play takes place October 14 when five league games are on tap.

Idle This Week:
Buffalo takes a break and plays next October 7 hosting Ball State - Western Michigan is also idle this week before taking to the field October 7 at Ohio.

National Attention:
Among the national leader from MAC schools, Northern Illinois Garrett Wolfe is #1 in rushing yards per game (207.0) and all-purpose yards per game (246.0) and #3 in points per game (13.5). Ohio's Chris Garrett is #1 in punt returns with a 23.3 average. Miami's Ryne Robinson is challenging for a receiving title as he stands #2 in receptions per game (8.3) and #2 in yards per game (109.5). Defensively, Eastern Michigan's Jason Jones is second in tackles for a loss (2.5 per game) and Western Michigan's Ameer Ismail is #6 in sacks (4.5 total in 4 games). Bowling Green's Tyrell White is #6 in tackles averaging 11.3 stops per game. Ball State's Chris Miller is 10th in punting (45.1 ypk).

Toledo (2-2, 0-1 MAC) at Pittsburgh (3-1, 1-0 Big East) - 12 pm

Series: tied 1-1 ... Toledo won in 2003 at the Glass Bowl, knocking off the then No. 9 (A.P.) Panthers 35-31 ... Pitt won the initial meeting 37-19 in 2002.

Coaches: UT-Tom Amstutz (47-20, seventh season); Pitt-Dave Wannstedt (8-7, second year).

Notes:
The Panthers, whose only loss is to Michigan State, are coming off a 51-6 win at home versus The Citadel ... this will be Pitt's third consecutive home game and fourth in five games ... the Rockets have won two in a row with wins over Kansas (37-31, 2ot) and McNeese State (41-7) ... Toledo leads the MAC in scoring offense (32.8 ppg) ... Pitt is averaging a Big East leading 297 passing yards per game and Panther QB Tyler Palko is the national leader in passing efficiency at 187.3 (71-of-107, 1,140 yards, 12 TDs, 3 int) ... UT QB Clint Cochran (72-of-126, 721 yards, 4 TDs, 3 int) sat out last week's game with an undisclosed injury ... UT rushed for a season-high 219 yards last week ... Scooter McDougle (620 yards in 2005) saw his first action last week and produced 36 yards on three just carries.

Comment: Toledo looked very good last week against a quality I-AA team, McNeese State while Pitt was beating up on The Citadel after losing at home to Michigan State the prior week. Toledo has been recruiting the Pittsburgh area with terrific success of late and many UT players will be looking at this as a "home" game. Toledo has the talent to win this game and the Panthers have yet to play consistent under Dave Wannstedt. The Rockets may pull off a minor upset here but look for the Panthers to find a way to win in the second half.

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Bowling Green (2-2, 1-1 MAC) at Ohio (2-2, 1-0 MAC) - 2 pm

Series: BGSU leads 34-21-2 ... the Falcons have won the last four meetings, including a 38-14 contest last year ... the series started in 1945 and was continuous from 1951-2002 before BGSU moved into the MAC West Division.

Coaches: BGSU-Gregg Brandon (28-13, fourth season); Ohio-Frank Solich (6-9, second year at school; 64-28, ninth year overall).

Notes:
The Bobcats return home after three consecutive road games (Northern Illinois, Rutgers and Missouri) ... the Falcons play five of their next six games on the road ... Ohio can go to 2-0 in the MAC for the first time since 1999 ... the Falcons have won four consecutive road games dating back to last year (Buffalo, Kent State, Miami in 2005; FIU in 2006) ... Ohio's defense is allowing 10 fewer points per game as compared to last season (20.2 ppg vs. 30.5 ppg) ... BGSU is coming off a 38-3 home loss to Kent State during which the Falcons lost six turnovers ... Ohio has suffered back-to-back road losses to teams that are ranked in this week's A.P. Poll, #23 Rutgers and #25 Missouri ... both teams are negative in the turnover category, Ohio at -2 and BGSU at -4.

Comment: This may be a very ugly game offensively as neither team has proved to be a juggernaut on that side of the ball. Ohio is playing at home and thus far looks to have a better defense. The Falcons have dominated this series recently but this year's squad is very young and lacks the playmakers of the past few seasons. Look for a low scoring affair with Ohio staying perfect in MAC play.

Akron (2-2, 0-1 MAC) at Kent State (2-2, 2-0 MAC) - 2 pm

Television: FSN Ohio, Comcast Local, CSN Chicago, Time Warner 13 Buffalo (Michael Reghi, play-by-play; Bob Chmiel, analyst; Jeff Phelps, sideline).

Series: Akron leads 27-19-2 ... the Zips have won the last two in a row and 8 of the last 10 ... the Zips' 35-3 win last year on Thanksgiving Day morning clinched the East Division berth in the MAC Championship game ... the first meeting occurred in 1923, a 32-0 UA triumph.

Coaches: UA-J.D. Brookhart (15-13, second season); KSU-Doug Martin (8-18, third season).

Notes:
The defending MAC Champion Zips face their rival and surprising MAC East Division leader Kent State in the 49th annual Battle for the Wagon Wheel ... Zips QB Luke Getsy recorded three TD passes, completing 20-of-29 attempts, in last week's 33-13 win over North Texas ... the Golden Flashes subdued Bowling Green 38-3 last week, handing the Falcons their worst-ever home loss ... Zips running back Andre Walker rushed for 80 yards vs. UNT while subbing for an injured Dennis Kennedy (209 yards, 4 TDs in 2006) ... after losing the ball 8 times on turnovers its first two games, Kent State has given the ball away just twice its last two games ... Akron's +4 turnover margin on the year is tied for the second best in the MAC ... KSU is averaging 126 more rushing yards thus far in 2006 than it did in 2005 ... J.D. Brookhart is 10-2 in two-plus seasons versus East Division opponents.

Comment: Without a doubt – this is the game of the week. Over 25,000 are expected and this may become Kent State's largest home crowd ever if the weather cooperates. Akron does have more talent but may still have the sting left from an emotional loss at Central Michigan. Kent State has turned their fortunes around after a poor home performance against Minnesota earlier in the month. Kent State stands at 2-0 in MAC play and could really take a major step forward towards a divisional title possibility with a home win. Expect a hard hitting dog fight people. Flip a coin here, but I am taking the Zips since they do have the better roster.

Miami (0-4, 0-1 MAC) at Cincinnati (1-3, 0-1 Big East) - 3:30 pm

Series: Miami leads 59-44-7 ... Miami won last year's game 44-16 and has captured four of the last five meetings ... the series started in 1888 with a 0-0 tie and has been continuous since 1945 ... only the War Years (1943-44) have interrupted the series since 1910 ... the series is the longest continuous football rivalry west of the Allegheny Mountains and the second-oldest among NCAA I-A institutions.

Coaches: MU-Shane Montgomery (7-8, second season); UC-Mark Dantonio (12-15, third season)

Notes:
Despite an 0-4 start, Miami has finished strong the past three seasons, posting a combined 21-3 record over the final eight games of the regular season ... the Bearcats have lost three in a row, including back-to-back games to ranked teams – #1 Ohio State (37-7) and #11 Virginia Tech (29-13) last week ... next week UC hosts MAC member Akron ... the RedHawks rank last in the MAC in scoring (15.5 ppg) but has the league's top receiver in Ryne Robinson (33 rec., 438 yards) and leader in total offense in Mike Kokal (246.0 ypg) ... of the 14 meetings between the schools since 1992, nine have been decided by a touchdown or less, including a tie and two overtime games.

Comment: Miami has certainly underachieved this season and it is due mostly to poor offensive line play and lack of any decent running game. Cincinnati has yet to do much since firing Rick Minter three years ago. Miami has played some bad football thus far in 2006 but Cincinnati is just a bad football team. Look for Miami to get a win this weekend over the Big East.

EMU (0-4, 0-2 MAC) at LA-Lafayette (1-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) - 5 pm

Coaches: EMU-Jeff Genyk (8-18, third season); ULL-Rickey Bustle (18-31, fifth season)

Notes:
EMU dropped a 24-17 overtime contest to Central Michigan last week ... the Eagles have not begun a season 0-5 since 1995 ... ULL topped North Carolina A&T last week 48-7 after losses to Texas A&M and No. 8 LSU to open the season ... Jason Jones, who started his collegiate career at tight end, then moved to defensive line, has a MAC-leading 10 tackles for a loss and also ranks second nationally with his 2.5 tfl game average ... the starting QB spot is in doubt as the Eagles may be starting redshirt freshman Dontayo Gage after injuries to sophomore Tyler Jones and redshirt frosh Andy Schmitt ... Gage was 2-of-5 for 28 yards last week off the bench but does have a 39-yard TD pass at Michigan State to his credit ... WR Eric Deslauriers is two receptions shy of 200 for his career ...

Comment: Eastern has suffered two straight heartbreaking losses. The Rajin' Cajuns have been picked by some media outlets to win the Sun Belt Conference. If Eastern doesn't win here, having any shot at a respectable season is out the window. Look for Eastern to get their first win, but it will be a struggle as these teams are evenly matched.

CMU (2-2, 2-0 MAC) at Kentucky (2-2, 1-1 SEC) 6 pm

Series: UK leads 4-0 ... the most recent meeting came in 1992, a 21-14 Wildcat victory.

Coaches: CMU-Brian Kelly (12-14, third season at school; 130-49-2, 16th season overall); UK-Rich Brooks (11-27, fourth season at school; 102-136-4, 22nd season overall)

Notes:
The Chippewas are 2-0 in MAC play for the first time since 1998 after their 24-17 OT win at Eastern Michigan ... CMU has also won four of its last five road games ... the Chippewas last non-conference road win was at Army last year 14-10 ... last week's 26-7 loss to Florida stopped UK's two-game winning streak ... CMU WR Bryan Anderson has 15 receptions for 220 yards the last two weeks ... QB Brian Brunner came off the bench to complete 20-29 passes for 214 yards and a TD and rush for 2 TDs and 72 yards on 11 attempts ... for Brunner it was his first action since an injury on the second snap from scrimmage in the season opener versus Boston College ... CMU ranks in the bottom half of the MAC stats in total offense, total defense --- but is second in net punting, red zone offense and red zone defense.

Comment: Through the years Central Michigan has played Kentucky very well and lost some really close games – all played at Kentucky. The Wildcats are one of the few SEC teams that a good MAC team can beat. Central Michigan is a pretty good MAC team right now and they have the defense to shut down Kentucky. Look for a mild upset here with the 'Chips pulling off a big win for their program.

Northern Illinois (2-2, 1-1 MAC) at Ball St. (1-3, 1-0 MAC) 6:30 pm

Series: BSU leads 18-13-2 ... BSU's 31-17 win last year in DeKalb snapped a six-game losing streak to the Huskies.

Coaches: NIU-Joe Novak (56-62, 12th season); BSU-Brady Hoke (11-27, fourth season).

Notes:
NIU brings a two-game winning streak into the game after last week's 48-14 triumph over Indiana State ... the Cardinals have lost three in a row and are coming off a 29-24 loss to North Dakota State ... BSU has won four of its last five MAC games dating back to last year ... this game features the league's top rushing team in NIU (252.2 ypg) and the league's top passing offense in BSU (298.8 ypg) ... the Huskies Garrett Wolfe leads the nation in rushing at 207.0 ypg and all-purpose yards (246.0 ypg) and is tied for third in scoring (13.5 ppg) ... the Cardinals Joey Lynch tops the MAC in passing efficiency at 153.8 (55-of-91 for 823 yards, 6 TDs and 2 int.) ... NIU PK Chris Nendick has made 106 consecutive PATs, second place all-time in MAC history behind the 112 made by Miami's John Scott from 1995-98 ... this game will be BSU's fourth home game of its first five contests of 2006 ... the Cardinals play five of their next six games on the road.

Nick's 2006 MAC Football Picks - Week #5 Picks

Toledo (2-2, 0-1 MAC) at Pittsburgh (3-1, 1-0 Big East) - 12 pm

Bowling Green (2-2, 1-1 MAC) at Ohio (2-2, 1-0 MAC) - 2 pm

Akron (2-2, 0-1 MAC) at Kent State (2-2, 2-0 MAC) - 2 pm

Miami (0-4, 0-1 MAC) at Cincinnati (1-3, 0-1 Big East) - 3:30 pm

EMU (0-4, 0-2 MAC) at LA-Lafayette (1-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) - 5 pm

CMU (2-2, 2-0 MAC) at Kentucky (2-2, 1-1 SEC) 6 pm

Northern Illinois (2-2, 1-1 MAC) at Ball St. (1-3, 1-0 MAC) 6:30 pm