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Nick's 2005 MAC Football Picks - Week #11 Picks
published 11.08.05 - updated 11.14.05
Use these "quick links" to jump to the date of the game you want or scroll down the page for your favorite MAC matchups!
Tuesday, Nov. 15 Games: Bowling Green @ Miami, Ohio @ Akron
Wednesday, Nov. 16 Games: Northern Illinois @ Toledo
Saturday, Nov. 12 Games: Buffalo @ Kent State,
Central Michigan @ Western Michigan, Ball State @ Eastern Michigan
MAC Quick Notes
> Current MAC Standings (opens in new window)
MAC EAST DIVISION: Four teams are in the race for the East championship with Miami and Bowling Green directly controlling their destiny. The logjam will break a bit next week with two mid-week games as Bowling Green plays at Miami and Ohio is at Akron next week Tuesday. Ohio and Akron are both 3-3 and the loser of that game will be eliminated from the title chase.
MAC WEST DIVISION: Toledo (5-1) is the only MAC team with one loss and the Rockets can win the West Division with a victory over Northern Illinois coupled with a Central Michigan loss Saturday to Western Michigan. CMU, WMU, NIU - all at 4-2 - and Ball State (3-3) are all still mathematically alive to win the division.
MAC Quick Notes
Western Michigan's turnaround from last year's 0-8 conference season is one of the best in league history. The Broncos are 4-2 and with one more win will become the seventh team in MAC history to finish above .500 in league play the year after not winning a conference game. The Broncos could have the most dramatic turnaround in MAC history as no previous team that has gone 0-8 has won more than four games the next season. WMU plays at home vs. Central Michigan (Nov. 12) and at Northern Illinois (Nov. 23) to end the regular season.
| Team | Year | Record | Year | Record | |
| Bowling Green | 1954 | 0-6 | 1955 | 4-1-1 | |
| Marshall | 1962 | 0-5 | 1963 | 3-2-1 | |
| Kent State | 1971 | 0-5 | 1972 | 4-1-0 | |
| W. Michigan | 1975 | 0-5 | 1976 | 6-3-0 | |
| Ohio | 1987 | 0-8 | 1988 | 4-3-1 | |
| Ball State | 1999 | 0-8 | 2000 | 4-3-0 | |
| WMU | 2004 | 0-8 | 2005 | 4-2-0 | (2 games remaining) |
Marked Improvement:
Western Michigan is one of three MAC teams which have bettered its win total from 2005. The Broncos are 6-3 overall after a 1-10 campaign in 2004. Central Michigan is 5-4 compared to 4-7 last year and Ball State is 3-6 following a 2-9 season in 2004.
Quick Hits
- Eastern Michigan placekicker Andrew Wellock has 48 career field goals and needs just one more FG to tie for 10th place all-time in MAC history. Steve Azar of Northern Illinois is the all-time MAC leader with 75.
- Toledo quarterback Bruce Gradkowski had 22 completions last week to increase his career total to 709 and become the eighth player in league history to reach 700 completions.
- Placekicker Jason Robbins of Toledo kicked 12 points (3 fg, 3 pat) last week at Ohio, increasing his career total to 303 points. Robbins is one of six in MAC history to score 300-plus points by kicking. Robbins has yet to miss a FG this season.
- Central Michigan true freshman Ontario Sneed has 915 rushing yards, the 11th highest total by a freshman in MAC history. With 85 additional yards, Sneed will become the eighth freshman in league history to rush for 1,000 yards. The most recent player on the list was CMU's Jerry Seymour in 2003 with a league frosh record 1,117 yards.
- Dan Bazuin, junior defensive end for Central Michigan, has established a school record with 40.5 career tackles for a loss. Bazuin set the mark with 4.5 tfl Saturday vs. Northern Illinois. Bazuin is 1.5 tfl shy of jumping onto the league's all-time top 20 list.
- Sam Hurd's 266 receiving yards for Northern Illinois set a school record against CMU and is the second most in a single game in MAC history. The league record is 297 yards set by Brian Oliver of Ball State in 1993 vs. Toledo.
- Miami placekicker Todd Soderquist booted 18 points in the RedHawks 54-13 triumph over Buffalo. The total for points by kicking ranks tied for the third highest total in league history.
- Eastern Michigan's Matt Bohnet had 40 completions in the Eagles 44-36 loss to Western Michigan. Earlier this year Northern Illinois' Phil Horvath had 39 completions in a 48-42 overtime loss at Akron. The 40 completions by Bohnet are tied for the third most in a single game in MAC history with Miami's Ben Roethlisberger (vs. Hawaii, 2001).
- Ohio's Dion Byrum took over the national lead with his sixth interception of the season last week. Byrum snagged an errant pass in the end zone to thwart a Toledo scoring drive.
- Buffalo coach Jim Hofher has been fired as the Bulls coach with one year remaining on his contract. He will coach the final two games of the season for UB. VanDelaySports really liked Coach Hofher who was one of the real good guys in the coaching profession. We wish him and his family success and happiness in the future.
- Miami is the only MAC team to never play an OT game in a conference contest.
Rush-More:
The league's rushing title is up for grabs as three players are within 4 yards of each other. Western Michigan's Trovon Riley, after a 151 yard performance last week, grabbed the lead with a 119.3 ypg average. Ohio's Kalvin McRae, with 100-plus yard outings in four of the last five games, is second with 116.8 ypg. Miami's Brandon Murphy is third at 115.4 ypg. Northern Illinois' Garrett Wolfe is averaging 144.0 ypg but has played in just 6 of 9 contests for the Huskies, thus does not qualify per NCAA standards of playing in 75 percent of the team's games.
Freshmen Sensations:
Among the league's Freshman of Impact last week was defensive end Craig Rusch of Northern Illinois. In just his sixth game Rusch had 11 tackles (5 solo), two sacks for 14 yards in losses, three tackles for a loss of 15 yards, a QB hurry, one caused fumble and a fumble recovery in 69 snaps at Central Michigan. NIU linebacker Tim McCarthy ranks No. 2 nationally among freshmen with 73 tackles. Offensively, Huskie frosh Dan Nicholson stepped in for an injured Phil Horvath at QB and completed 19-of-27 attempts for 320 yards and two TDs in the 31-28 win at Central Michigan.
Western Michigan freshman QB Tim Hiller has played in just five games and thus won't be found among the league leaders. Hiller, however, has stats that will make the opposition nervous. He has completed 81-of-119 attempts (68.1 percent) for 1,083 yards, 16 TDs and 3 interceptions for a passing efficiency rating of 183.84.
TV Time:
Three MAC games will be featured on national television next week. Tuesday, Nov. 15, ESPN2 will televise the Bowling Green at Miami contest and ESPNU will televise the Ohio at Akron contest. On Wednesday, Nov. 16, ESPN2 will be at The Glass Bowl for the showdown between Northern Illinois and Toledo.
> Current MAC Standings (opens in new window)
| Related VanDelaySports.com Links: |
| NEW! Grading the MAC Teams |
| MAC Team pages - all the info on your team! |
| 2005 MAC football standings |
| Nick's recap for MAC football Week #10 |
TUESDAY - November 15
Bowling Green (5-4, 4-2 MAC) @Miami (6-3, 4-2 MAC) - 7:00 pm ET
Site: Yager Stadium
Series: Miami leads 38-18-5 (Last Meeting: Miami defeated Bowling Green 49-27 in the 2003 MAC Championship Game).
TV: ESPN2
Nick’s Pick: Miami 45 - Bowling Green 22
Line: Miami by 9
Comment: The RedHawks are getting healthy and playing their best football of the season right now. BG is struggling to have a winning season, a big difference from their lofty expectations of a bowl berth and national ranking back in August. With or without Omar Jacobs, Miami should dominate the Falcons at home and have a long history of success against BG. The Falcons have drastically underachieved this season - Miami will win big.
| Related VanDelaySports.com Links: |
| Grading the MAC Teams |
| MAC Team pages - all the info on your team! |
| 2005 MAC football standings |
| Nick's picks and recaps throughout the season |
Ohio (4-5, 3-3 MAC) @Akron (4-5, 3-3 MAC) - 7:30 pm ET
Site: Rubber Bowl
Series: Tied 10-10-1 (Last meeting: Akron defeated Ohio 31-19 in 2004).
TV: ESPNU
Nick’s Pick: Ohio 21 - Akron 20
Line: Akron by 3.5
Comment: This is a very good game between two programs on their way up over the next few seasons. Ohio has been playing better every week under Frank Solich and their defensive backs are talented enough to slow down Luke Getsy. Akron has a lot of youth and from time to time (Ball State and Army) seems to play uninspired football to open the game. This contest should go down to the wire – give the nod to the Bobcats on the road.
| Related VanDelaySports.com Links: |
| Grading the MAC Teams |
| MAC Team pages - all the info on your team! |
| 2005 MAC football standings |
| Nick's picks and recaps throughout the season |
WEDNESDAY - November 16
Northern Illinois (5-4, 4-2 MAC) @Toledo (7-2, 5-1 MAC) - 7:30 pm ET
Site: Glass Bowl
Series: Toledo leads 26-6 (Last meeting: Toledo defeated Northern Illinois 31-17 in 2004).
TV: ESPN2
Nick’s Pick: Toledo 42 - Northen Illinois 21
Line: Toledo by 8
Comment: The Rockets have dominated this series beating the Huskies at home or on the road. NIU has not beaten Toledo since 1989 and their lone victory at the Glass Bowl was in 1972. NIU has proven they can pass the ball as well as they can run it this year but Toledo’s defense has played very well this season and will rise to the challenge. This is Bruce Gradkowski’s final game at home and the Rockets will have a lot of fireworks on ESPN2 to win going away. With a Toledo win, UT will be representing the MAC west in the MACC and likely get a bowl bid (GMAC).
| Related VanDelaySports.com Links: |
| Grading the MAC Teams |
| MAC Team pages - all the info on your team! |
| 2005 MAC football standings |
| Nick's picks and recaps throughout the season |
SATURDAY - November 12
Buffalo (0-9, 0-6 MAC) @Kent State (1-8, 0-6 MAC) - 1 pm ET
Site: Kent, Ohio - Dix Stadium (29,287/Field Turf)
Series: KSU leads 8-5 ... the Golden Flashes have won the last four in a row overall and the last four meetings at Dix Stadium ... UB's last win was a 20-17 overtime contest in 2000.
Coaches: UB-Jim Hofher (7-48, 5th season at UB; 51-84, 13th season overall); KSU-Doug Martin (6-14, 2nd season).
Game Notes :
- Both teams have losing streaks, Kent State at 7 games and Buffalo at 10 games dating back to last year
- Kent State's offense is averaging 270 passing yards per game (3rd in the MAC)
- Buffalo's defense is rated No.1 in the fewest passing yards allowed per game at 176.4
- The Bulls had 8 turnovers last week in a loss at Miami and are at -14 in the turnover department this season
- The Bulls have yet to win a MAC road game since joining the league in 1999
- KSU is 1-3 at home this season
- KSU's Justin Parrish is fifth nationally with 14 tackles for a loss
- UB's Gemara Williams, with 3 pass break-ups at Miami, broke the school career record for passes defended with 38, bypassing the standard of 37 set by Mark Graham (2000-03)
Nick’s Pick: Buffalo 16 - Kent State 13
Line: Kent by 8
Comment: The pressure is now off for Jim Hofher as he was fired on Tuesday. The AD is letting him coach the final two games of the season and UB has been close a few times this season in getting a win. Kent State is not a good team right now home or away so there is now advantage to playing in an empty Dix Stadium. Neither team can score very effectively this season. UB can defend the pass fairly well while KSU has yet to prove they can run the ball. I look for UB to be playing much looser since they have nothing to lose at this point with a lame duck coach. UB has never had a conference road win since joining the MAC in 1999 – Hofher will deliver this weekend.
| Related VanDelaySports.com Links: |
| NEW! Grading the MAC Teams |
| MAC Team pages - all the info on your team! |
| 2005 MAC football standings |
| Nick's recap for MAC football Week #10 |
Central Michigan (5-4, 4-2 MAC) @Western Michigan (6-3, 4-2 MAC) - 2 pm ET
Television: FSN Ohio, Comcast Local, CSN Chicago, Adelphia 13 (Michael Reghi, play-by-play; Bob Chmiel, analyst; Brooke Wesbrod, sideline).
Site: Kalamazoo, Mich. - Waldo Stadium (30,200/NeXturf)
Series: WMU leads 42-30-2 ... CMU won last year's game in overtime 24-21 in Mount Pleasant ... the Broncos have won the last five meetings in Kalamazoo.
Coaches: CMU-Brian Kelly (9-11, 2nd season at CMU; 127-46-2, 15th season overall); WMU-Bill Cubit (6-3, 1st season at WMU; 40-21-1 6th season overall).
Game Notes:
- This marks the first time since the 1998 season that both teams will have as many as four conference wins in the same season
- CMU had its three-game winning streak snapped last week with a 31-28 loss to Northern Illinois
- WMU won its third in a row with a 44-36 triumph over Eastern Michigan in a game played at Ford Field
- The Broncos have won 6 of 7 since an 0-2 start to the season
- WMU ranks third in the MAC in scoring offense (35.1 ppg) while CMU's defense is second in the MAC (22.8 ppg allowed)
- WMU has scored 44 or more points in three consecutive games
Nick’s Pick: Western Michigan 35 – Central Michigan 28
Line: WMU by 2
Comment: This is the leagues second best rivalry game behind BG/Toledo, so expect a big crowd, lots of emotion, and a close game. Western is a bit more of a complete team right now compared to Central and playing at home in this rivalry is worth a touchdown in itself. Without a doubt this is a marquee game for the MAC during the month of November. From a fans point of view, enjoy it – and look for the hometown Broncos to hold off the much improved Chippewas. |
|
Ball State (3-6, 3-3) @Eastern Michigan (3-6, 2-4 MAC) - 6 pm ET
Television: Comcast Local (Ben Holden, play-by-play; Rob Otto, analyst).
Site: Ypsilanti, Mich. - Rynearson Stadium (30,200/Field Turf)
Series: BSU leads 24-20-2 ... the Eagles have won the last two meetings ... the Cardinals last win in the series came in Ypsilanti in 2002, 42-17 ... the first meeting came in 1936.
Coaches: BSU-Brady Hoke (9-23, 3rd season); EMU-Jeff Genyk (7-13, 2nd season).
Game Notes:
- Ball State has won two in a row for the first time since winning three in a row in November of 2002
- A win for the Cardinals would give BSU a tie for the most conference wins (4) since winning the MAC Championship in 1996
- The Cardinals won last week's game 23-17 over Akron with a goal line stand in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter
- Eastern has lost its last four games after a 3-2 start to the season
- QB Matt Bohnet returned last week after missing the Miami game and completed 40-of-57 attempts for 398 yards and four touchdowns in a 44-36 loss to Western Michigan
Nick’s Pick: Eastern Michigan 37 - Ball State 33
Line: EMU by 6
Comment: Ball State is a different team right now then they were in early September. Had this game been played earlier in the year, the Eagles would have won fairly easily with the injuries and suspensions that Ball State endured. The Cardinals are playing their best football under the Brady Hoke era and are gaining confidence. After a good start to the 2005 season, the Eagles are looking for a win anywhere to build for next year. EMU is playing at home so give them the nod. Don’t be surprised though if Ball State pulls this game out – this should be a very entertaining contest with lots of offense – especially through the air.
