Nick's 2005 MAC Football Picks - Week #3 Recap

Tennessee Tech @ Northern Illinois

Attendance in Dekalb, IL: 26,123

Northern Illinois quarterback Phil Horvath completed four touchdown passes in the first half Saturday as the Huskies beat Tennessee Tech 42-3 in their home opener. Horvath completed 11 of 17 passes for 218 yards as the Huskies (1-2) rolled up 583 yards of total offense against the Golden Eagles (1-2).
Split end Sam Hurd caught three passes for two touchdowns in the first half, including a 55-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.
After carrying the ball 10 times for 61 yards, Northern Illinois tailback Garrett Wolfe, who entered Saturday’ game leading the NCAA in rushing, left the game in the second quarter with a right shoulder injury. Tailback A.J. Harris took Wolfe's place and extended Northern Illinois's lead with a 58-yard touchdown run in the second half.
Tennessee Tech's only score came on a 42-yard field goal by Josh Foster with 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Nick’s Pick: NIU 49 – TT 17

Actual Score: NIU 42 – TT 3

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “After facing two strong Big Ten teams, NIU returns home for a breather against a I-AA team that isn’t very good. The Huskies should be able to name the score here if they stay focused.”

Ohio @ #4 Virginia Tech

Marcus Vick and Virginia Tech started fast, stalled some and then got it going again with a couple of kick-starts from the defense. Vick threw two scoring passes and ran for a third as the Hokies turned three turnovers into touchdowns in their second straight 45-0 victory, this one against Ohio.
The Hokies (3-0), who blanked Duke 45-0 last Saturday, also twice turned the Bobcats away after they drove to the Hokies 19.
Vick hit David Clowney for a career-long 52-yard completion on the Hokies first play from scrimmage, and finished 12-for-16 for 200 yards. He also ran for 38 yards.
The Hokies limited the Bobcats to 17 yards on 13 plays in the first quarter, and then took command by turning a pair of second-quarter turnovers into scoring drives.

Nick’s Pick: Virginia Tech 35 – Ohio 7

Actual Score: Virginia Tech 45 – Ohio 0

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “Unlike Pitt, V-Tech not only has talent but they have a coach who knows what he is doing”

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Central Michigan @ Penn State

Michael Robinson threw three touchdown passes and ran for another to lead a well-balanced attack that supported a swarming defense, and Penn State routed Central Michigan 40-3 on Saturday.
Penn State (3-0) showed an aerial attack that had rarely been on display at Beaver Stadium as the Nittany Lions limped to losing record in four out of the last five season.
Robinson was 14-for-23 for 274 yards and the offense dominated from the start against Central Michigan (1-2), which had allowed an average of 454 yards and 28 points in its first two contests.
CMU DE Daniel Bazuin's play provided one of the few bright spots for Central Michigan, getting two sacks by the third quarter and forcing Calvin Lowry to fumble on a punt return that was recovered by Jesse Dailey, who returned 15 yards to the Penn State 13.

Nick’s Pick: Penn State 35 – CMU 27

Actual Score: Penn State 40 – CMU 3

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “The ‘Chips are the best OOC team PSU faces this season and CMU may put a real scare into the Happy Valley faithful.” What the?

Toledo @ Temple

Attendance @ Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA: 9,055

Bruce Gradkowski threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score, and Toledo became the latest team to rout Temple, 42-17 on Saturday. The Rockets jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and cruised the rest of the way. Gradkowski, who became the first I-A quarterback to complete at least 70 percent of his passes in two consecutive seasons last year, threw TD passes of 13 yards to Trinity Dawson and 22 yards to Chris Hopkins in the first eight minutes.
Michael Billops scored on a 78-yard run, one of the few bright spots for Temple. The Owls (0-3) have been outscored 170-33 in losses to Arizona State, Wisconsin and Toledo. Colin Clancy tossed a 20-yard scoring pass to Brian Allbrooks to make it 42-17 and Temple recovered the ensuing onside kick. But the Owls couldn't score again.
Gradkowski broke two school records in the first half, becoming the career leader in yards passing (7,410) and completions (613). He finished 20 of 29 for 182 yards. His TD pass to Nick Moore gave the Rockets a 42-10 lead in the fourth.
Toledo's Keon Jackson intercepted a pass that bounced off the hands of wideout Bruce Gordon and ran it back 66 yards for a TD to give the Rockets a 21-0 lead.
A sparse crowd of 9,000 turned out at Lincoln Financial Field - home of the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles - to watch Temple play its first game against a Mid-American Conference opponent since joining the league for the 2007 season.

Nick’s Pick: Toledo 59 – Temple 21

Actual Score: Toledo 42 – Temple 17

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “If Toledo’s offense gets rolling early, this could be another major blow out for the Owls”

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Miami @ Kent State

attendance in Kent, OH: 14,002

Brandon Murphy rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown, and Martin Nance caught seven passes for 103 yards and two scores from Josh Betts to lead Miami (Ohio) over Kent State 27-10 Saturday. The trio helped offset a strong performance by Kent State quarterback Michael Machen, who completed 31 of 56 passes for 338 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
The Golden Flashes (1-2, 0-1 Mid-American Conference) pulled to 17-10 on Machen's 61-yard scoring pass to Derrick Bush with 14:20 remaining. The touchdown came just 37 seconds after Nance caught a 1-yard TD from Betts.
Betts completed 22 of 37 passes for 251 yards with one interception. Murphy scored on a 1-yard run in first quarter before Soderquist kicked a 40-yard field goal to give Miami a 10-0 lead.
Bush had nine catches for 141 yards for Kent State, which rushed for only 31 yards on 16 carries.

Nick’s Pick: Miami 35 – KSU 26

Actual Score: Miami 27 – KSU 10

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “Kent State has not looked very good this year yet and facing a hungry RedHawk team is not good for the Flashes. Look for Miami to win”

Ball State @ Auburn

Kenny Irons and Brad Lester rushed for two touchdowns each and Lester returned a kick 93 yards for another TD, helping Auburn roll to a 63-3 victory over Ball State on Saturday. Brandon Cox completed 16 of 19 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers (2-1), who had five tailbacks score and reached the end zone on every possession against the Cardinals (0-3).
Irons carried 11 times for 147 yards, including a 68-yard score, and didn't play in the second half. The Tigers had been searching for a tailback tandem among four contenders, and Irons and Lester did their part to emerge from the logjam.
Ball State has given up 169 points in its first three games and was short-handed, with seven players suspended in a continuing investigation of alleged NCAA violations discovered last spring. Things don't get any easier for the Cardinals who visit Boston College next week to continue a brutal schedule.
Auburn gave several starters the day off to recuperate from minor injuries and started playing some reserves well before halftime. Overall, the Tigers got 74 players in the game.
Ball State's Joey Lynch was 14 of 24 for 127 yards.

Nick’s Pick: Auburn 44 – Ball State 14

Actual Score: Auburn 63 – Ball State 3

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “Ball State cannot continue to play schedules like this. After a good showing against Bowling Green, the trip to Auburn could get really ugly.”

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Akron @ Middle Tennessee State

Luke Getsy passed for 319 yards and two touchdowns to lead Akron to a 17-7 win over Middle Tennessee Saturday. The Zips (1-1) rolled up 421 yards of offense while holding the Blue Raiders (0-3) to 211. Getsy put Akron on the board on his team's first possession of the game, connecting with Brett Biggs for a 13-yard scoring strike.
The Blue Raiders scored in the second quarter when Clint Marks connected with Cleannord Saintil for a 43-yard touchdown.
Akron took the lead for good when Getsy hit Domenik Hixon on a 12-yard strike. Jason Swiger added a 49-yard field goal in the third quarter for Akron.
The Blue Raiders could not take advantage of two interceptions in the second half. Getsy completed 23 of 43 passes for 319 yards and was intercepted three times. Hixon caught nine passes for 169 yards.

Nick’s Pick: MTSU 28 – Akron 20

Actual Score: Akron 17 – MTSU 7

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “The Blue Raiders are a good team and the Sun Belt Conference has had success against the MAC over the past two years. Last season Akron lost at home to MTSU 31-24.”

Rutgers @ Buffalo

Attendance at UB Stadium in Buffalo, NY: 17,620

Ryan Hart threw a pair of touchdown passes and Brian Leonard rushed for 121 yards to lead Rutgers to a 17-3 victory over Buffalo on Saturday night. Hart completed 13 of 27 passes for 143 yards, while connecting on scoring passes to Sam Johnson and Shawn Tucker. Leonard topped the 100-yard mark for the second time this season, with his longest run at 42 yards. He also had three receptions for 25 yards, extending his receptions streak to 25 games.
Buffalo (0-3) broke a scoreless streak of 14 quarters when Mike Baker booted a 33-yard field goal at 6:53 of the third quarter.
Rutgers (2-1) led 7-0 at halftime, scoring on a 10-yard pass from Hart to Johnson in the first quarter to finish a seven-play, 73-yard drive.
Buffalo stayed close throughout the first half. The Bulls' usually anemic offense held a possession time advantage of 20:48 to 9:12; out rushing the Scarlet Knights 101 yards to 50 and out gaining RU 195-113.

Nick’s Pick: Rutgers 31 – Buffalo 7

Actual Score: Rutgers 17 – Buffalo 3

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “ Buffalo is not quite as talented as Rutgers but thus far have played extremely poorly even by UB standards. If the Bulls bring their “A” game, they could pull off a minor upset”.

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