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Nick's 2005 MAC Football Picks - Week #10 Recap

published 11.06.05

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Toledo @ Ohio

Toledo Team Page -Ohio Team Page

• Bruce Gradkowski threw two touchdown passes, ran for another and finished 22-for-31 for 236 yards
• Trinity Dawson had 28 carries for 167 yards for the Rockets
• UT finished with 529 yards of offense
• Toledo has won 10 straight games against Ohio – the Bobcats last win over UT was in 1988
• Kalvin McRae rushed for 114 yards on 22 carries for the Bobcats
• Austen Everson ran for two touchdowns but also threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter - Everson finished 13-for-22 for 148 yards
• Anthony Jordan had 11 tackles and a sack for Toledo - Steve Odom had nine receptions for 107 yards
• Both teams were balanced in their offensive attacks (Toledo 293 rushing and 236 passing while Ohio had 146 rushing and 148 passing) but Toledo outdid the Bobcats 529 to 294 in total yards
• Toledo had 10 penalties for 111 yards while OU had 9 penalties for 66 yards
• Toledo held an edge in time of possession 32:25 to 27:35
• Attendance in Athens was 21,034

Nick’s Pick: Toledo 21 - Ohio 20

Actual Score: Toledo 30 - Ohio 21

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “Toledo was upset last week at Central and I actually thought this would be the road game they would lose at the beginning of the season. Ohio has earned respect under Frank Solich and they have yet to lose at home. Expect a real dog fight in this contest but Toledo plays best when their backs are against the wall as it is now after the loss to the Chippewas. Toledo will hold off the Bobcats in a close match.”

Western Michigan @ Eastern Michigan

Western Michigan Team Page -EMU Team Page

• Freshman quarterback Tim Heller passed for 243 passing yards and four scores
• Heller connected with senior tight end Tony Scheffler six times for 43 yards and two touchdowns
• Senior wide receiver Greg Jennings caught 9 balls for 103 yards while Bronco RB Trovon Riley had 151 yards rushing on 26 carries with a touchdown
• Western Michigan held a 37-17 lead in the third quarter before the Eagles stormed back to make it 37-36 late in the 4th quarter
• EMU QB Matt Bohnet finished the game 39-of-57 for 398 yards and four TD passes
• Eagle WR Eric Deslauriers lead the Eagles with 166 yards receiving and one score while AJ Bennett had 122 yards on 13 receptions
• After going 1-10 last season, Western improves their record to 6-3 in 2005
• Western had 189 yards rushing while Eastern had just 36 yards on 17 carriers
• Total yards was 434 to 432 in favor of EMU
• Attendance in Detroit was 11,191

Nick’s Pick: EMU 31 - WMU 27

Actual Score: WMU 44 - EMU 36

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “EMU won a road thriller over Western last season and have had two weeks to prepare for the Broncos this year. Last year Eastern beat Central at Ford Field in a multi-overtime game. That may occur again this year too. Eastern should pull this game out late.” – Not quite this time; no EMU magic in ‘Motown.’

Related VanDelaySports.com Links:

The Wacky MAC & midseason award picks

Updated 2005 MAC football standings

Nick's picks for MAC football Week #10

MAC Team Pages

Northern Illinois @ Central Michigan

NIU Team Page -Central Michigan Team Page

• A 39-yard field goal attempt by CMU’s Rick Albreski with one minute left to play sailed wide left as the Huskies pushed the Chippewas from the top spot in the MAC West Division
• NIU's Sam Hurd caught 12 passes for a school-record 266 yards and scored three touchdowns - Hurd, who also set the Kelly/Shorts Stadium record, scored on touchdown catches of 27, 5 and 79
• Northern Illinois backup quarterback Dan Nicholson threw for 320 yards and two scores in relief of starter Phil Horvath, who suffered a season-ending arm injury
• Chippewas quarterback Kent Smith set a school record with 33 completions on 51 attempts for 382 yards passing and four TDs
• Central Michigan's Damien Linson caught nine passes for 146 yards and two scores while Justin Harper added 93 yards on 11 catches
• Central’s Ontario Smith had 121 yards rushing on 23 carries
• CMU racked up 588 yards of total offense on 97 plays
• The Huskies had 441 yards of total offense on 65 plays
• NIU had just 6 rushing yards on 22 carries
• CMU had 32 first downs to 18 for Northern
• Central lead time of possession 34:33 to 25:27
• Attendance in Mount Pleasant was 13,812

Nick’s Pick: CMU 24 - NIU 21

Actual Score: NIU 31 - CMU 28

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “Central is for real and their defense has played very well for most of the year, especially in the second half. NIU looked really confused offensively against Ball State last week and if Central watches the tape of the Cardinals holding a potent Huskie rushing attack to just 66 yards, they should be able to hold off NIU.” – Almost two big home wins in a row for the ‘Chips.

Buffalo @ Miami

Buffalo Team Page -Miami Team Page

• Josh Betts threw for 276 yards and four touchdowns
• Miami forced eight turnovers as the RedHawks defense intercepted three passes, recovered five fumbles and finished with five sacks
• The Bulls managed only 222 yards of offense
• Martin Nance finished with eight grabs for 84 yards and Ryne Robinson had seven receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown
• Nance has caught at least one touchdown pass in eight straight games and has 13 TD receptions this season
• Betts leads the conference with 23 touchdown passes on the season
• Miami’s Robbie Wilson and Darrell Hunter each returned a fumble for a score
• Tony Paoli threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Evan Wallace and Philip Warren had 1-yard TD run in the fourth quarter for the Bulls
• Steven King had 13 carries for 94 yards for Buffalo
• Miami also clinched its 12th straight winning season with the victory
• Miami had 10 penalties for 120 yards while UB had 7 penalties for 54 yards
• The RedHawks had the ball for 36:45 while the Bulls had it for just 23:15
• Attendance in Oxford was 20,023

Bowling Green @ Kent State

BGSU Team Page - Kent State Team Page

• Anthony Turner threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score to lead Bowling Green to a 24-14 victory over Kent State - The Falcons played without Omar Jacobs, who sat out his second straight game with a shoulder injury
• BGSU finished with just 282 yards of offense but its defense forced two turnovers and held Kent State to 247 of total yards
• BG’s P.J. Pope had 21 carries for 81 yards for the Falcons
• BG had 169 yards rushing to just 25 for KSU
• Kent State’s Michael Machen completed 27 of 39 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns but he also threw one interception and was sacked five times
• Anthony Turner finished 10-for-16 for 77 yards and was sacked four times
• Kent’s Derrick Bush had five receptions for 69 yards and both scores
• The Falcons have won their last five meetings with Kent State and lead the all-time series 52-15-6
• The teams did not play each other last year for the first time in 58 years
• KSU had -2 kick return yards while BG had 53

Nick’s Pick: Bowling Green 24 - Kent State 13

Actual Score: Bowling Green 24 - Kent State 14

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “This has been a nightmare season for both programs. For Kent State, they are used to losing records but BG is really reeling since they expected so much more this year. BG has owned this series through the years and has much more talent. BG needs a game like this to get their confidence back and to get a much needed win.”

Related VanDelaySports.com Links:

The Wacky MAC & midseason award picks

Updated 2005 MAC football standings

Nick's picks for MAC football Week #10

MAC Team Pages

Akron @ Ball State

Akron Team Page -Ball State Team Page

• Ball State used a goal-line stand in the game's final two minutes to hold on for a 23-17 victory - After Jason Montgomery caught touchdown pass from Luke Getsy to pull Akron to within 23-17, a Ball State punt gave the ball back to the Zips with 5:19 left in the game - The Zips made four first downs on the drive that started on their own 46 to get the ball to the Cardinals' 1-yard line - Brett Biggs was tackled for a 4-yard loss on first and goal - Two incomplete passes from Getsy set up a fourth-and-goal from the Ball State 5 - Getsy's last pass was intercepted by Ball State's Chris Allen in the end zone to seal the game for the Cardinals
• Ball State quarterback Joey Lynch completed 18 of 29 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown
• BSU’s Brian Jackson made three of his four field-goal attempts
• B.J. Hill returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown for the Cardinals
• Getsy was 22-of-44 for 285 yards and two touchdowns and was intercepted once
• Jason Montgomery had five catches for 90 yards and two scores and Domenik Hixon caught four passes for 91 yards
• Akron average 3-yards per rushing attempt while Ball State averaged 2.5
• Attendance in Muncie was 10,401

Nick’s Pick: Ball State 33 – Akron 23

Actual Score: Ball State 23 - Akron 17

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “Just when I start to believe in Akron, they usually let me down. Ball State has been getting better every week this season and fighting through so many off the field distractions. Their win at NIU was the most complete game this program has played in Brady Hoke’s tenure. The Cardinals will win at home.”

Related VanDelaySports.com Links:

The Wacky MAC & midseason award picks

Updated 2005 MAC football standings

Nick's picks for MAC football Week #10

MAC Team Pages