VanDelaySports.com > MAC Football > Nick's 2006 MAC Football Picks > MAC football Week #5 Recap

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

> Current MAC Standings (opens in new window)

Overall week five was a real crapper for MAC teams. It started out with Toledo getting pasted at Pitt 45-3. I attended this game and it was ugly from the get-go. After Toledo botched a fake punt early in the game that led to a quick Panther TD, they came right back and tossed a ‘pick-six’ for a quick 14-point deficit and did nothing after that. Adding further insult to that was a UT fumble recovery and return to the Pitt 3-yard line, only for Toledo to fail to score at all.

After Pitt’s domination came Miami’s debacle at Cincinnati. The RedHawks entered the game winless while Cincy had only a I-AA victory to their credit. After Ryne Robinson’s 80-yard punt return for a TD in the 3rd period brought Miami within seven, the RedHawks failed to score again and gave up a fourth-quarter TD for this 24-10 loss. Miami had just 268 total yards which included 78 on the ground. The Bearcats had only 299 total yards but rushed for 256. Miami could not convert on two early turnovers and tossed an INT late in the game that set up Cincy’s final points. Miami is 0-5 for the first time since 1989.

Louisiana-Lafayette (ULL) quarterback Jerry Babb passed 202 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Ragin' Cajuns to a 33-14 victory over Eastern Michigan, giving the Sun Belt Conference their first win over the MAC this season. Running back Tyrell Fenroy rushed 110 yards and a touchdown as ULL built a 33-0 lead into the 4th period. EMU remained winless this season but did score on two rushing touchdowns by quarterback Andy Schmitt over the final eight minutes of the game.

Central Michigan gave the MAC their only decent non-conference effort with a nine-point loss on the road to an SEC team. The Chippewas cut the lead to 38-36 when Dan LeFevour found Bryan Anderson for a 23-yard touchdown with seven minutes left in the game. A Central personal foul aided Kentucky on their final TD drive that put the game out of reach. Central Michigan lost three of its eight fumbles and threw an interception. CMU had far more total yardage than Kentucky, holding a commanding 591-399 edge but were killed by the four turnovers.

Before over 22,000 fans at Dix Stadium, Kent State moved into sole possession of first place in the MAC East with a commanding and surprising 37-15 win against arch-rival Akron. The Golden Flashes have won three conference games in a row, and put up 459 total yards in this game, including 305 through the air. Akron had not given up more than 300 yards in a game this season, and that included contests against Penn State and North Carolina State. KSU’s Julian Edelman was 17-21 for 305 yards and two TDs as Kent State held onto the ball for over 36-minutes. Dennis Kennedy rushed for 91 yards while Luke Getsy passed for 261 yards but the Zips trailed 37-7 in the 4th quarter before scoring one final TD. Like most people who read Phil Steele’s College Football Preseason Magazine that predicted Kent State to win the east division, I thought that prediction was nuts. Well, maybe 'ole Phil knows more than I gave him credit for as KSU may end up earning their first bowl bid since 1972.

In a mild upset, Bowling Green, fresh off of a 38-3 shellacking at home to Kent State, went into Athens and beat Ohio 21-9 before 18,546. BG mustered up only 256 yards of total offense but the Bobcats countered with just 242. Ohio averaged just 1.7-yards per carry on a defense that had been giving up nearly 4.5 yards per carry. Ohio gave up four QB sacks and had three turnovers in the loss. Chris Bullock rushed for 114 yards in the Falcon win.

Garrett Wolfe, the Division I college football rushing leader, ran for a career-high 353 yards and three touchdowns as Northern Illinois beat Ball State 40-28 in front of 10,128. Wolfe, whose previous high was 325 yards at Eastern Michigan two years ago, raised his total to 1,181 yards in five games this season and his career yardage to 4,417, tops among all active players. He certainly has added to his legitimate Heisman hype. The Huskies and Cardinals were tied at 14 at the half but Northern broke the game open in the third quarter with 16 points including a 48-yard touchdown run by Wolfe. Wolfe also scored on runs of 51-yards in the first quarter and the last on a 53-yard run early in the final period. Ball State scored twice in the final 5 minutes on TD passes from true freshman QB Nate Davis passes to Terry Moss and Darius Hill.

Overall Nick’s Picks did not do well this weekend going 2-5 overall (my first ever losing record for a weekend in six years!) and just 1-6 ATS. Let’s hope that next week will be better for both Nick’s Picks and the MAC.

Nick's Pick: Pitt 28 – Toledo 17
Actual Score: Pitt 45 – Toledo 3
Line: Pitt by 14

Nick's Pick: Ohio 19 – BGSU 13
Actual Score: BGSU 21 – Ohio 9
Line: Ohio by 5

Nick's Pick: Akron 30 – Kent State 26
Actual Score: Kent State 37 – Akron 15
Line: Akron by 2.5

Nick's Pick: Miami 31 – Cincinnati 23
Actual Score: Cincinnati 24 – Miami 10
Line: Cincy by 9

Nick's Pick: EMU 27 – ULL 23
Actual Score: ULL 33 – EMU 14
Line: ULL by 7.5

Nick's Pick: Central Michigan 28 – Kentucky 27
Actual Score: Kentucky 45 – Central Michigan 36
Line: Kentucky by 8

Nick's Pick: NIU 42 – Ball State 27
Actual Score: NIU 40 – Ball State 28
Line: NIU by 7