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Nick's 2005 MAC Football Picks - Week #7 Picks
published 10.12.05
Use these "quick links" to jump to the date of the game you want or scroll down the page for your favorite MAC matchups!
Saturday Games: Ohio @ Central Michigan, Bowling Green @ Buffalo,
Kent @ Navy, Akron @ Miami, Toledo @ Ball State, Eastern Michigan @ Northern Illinois
MAC Quick Notes
> Current MAC Standings (opens in new window)
- Western Michigan WR Greg Jennings caught a school-record four touchdowns vs. Ball State. Jennings grabbed 11 passes for 244 yards, the fourth highest single game yardage total in league history. Jennings leads the nation in receptions per game (10.2) and is fourth in receiving yards per game (122.50) and boosted his career receiving yards to 3,015, eigth most in MAC history
- Bowling Green's Charles Sharon became the first Falcon in history to go over 3,000 career receiving yards with 10 caches for 185 yards vs. Ohio. Sharon's 3,036 yards ranks sixth in MAC history
- With one more win, Northern Illinois' head coach Joe Novak will reach 50 career victories, joining just two other Huskie mentors in that category. The all-time leader at NIU is George "Chick" Evans (132-70-20, 1929-54) and second is Howard Fletcher (74-48-1, 1956-68). Novak also has 36 MAC wins and is one shy of tying Terry Hoeppner (Miami, 1999-03) for 12th place in MAC history
- Temple head coach Bobby Wallace Monday (Oct. 10) announced that he will not seek renewal of his contract at the conclusion of the 2005 season. Wallace has a 19-66 record in eight seasons directing the Owls and a 101-102-1 overall mark in 18 seasons as a collegiate head coach
- The five-overtime game Oct. 8 between Ball State (60) and Western Michigan (57) set a MAC record for the longest game
- There have been 17 conference OT games since the extended period(s) was started in the 1996 season
- Miami is the only MAC team to never play an OT game in a conference contest.
- Central Michigan won its third road game of the season at Army 14-10. CMU has not won three road games since 1994
- Bowling Green's defense, which came into the game vs. Ohio ranked last in the nation in rushing defense, held the Bobcats to 68 rushing yards
> Current MAC Standings (opens in new window)
SATURDAY - October 15
Ohio (2-3, 1-1 MAC) @ Central Michigan (3-3, 2-1 MAC) - 1 pm ET
Site: Mount Pleasant, Mich. - Kelly Shorts Stadium (30,199/Field Turf)
Game Notes:
- The Chippewas are 0-2 at home but 3-1 on the road in 2005
- Ohio is 0-3 on the road and is playing its second consecutive road contest
- The Chippewas are allowing 10 less points per game than they did all of last year (24 in 2005 vs. 34 in 2004)
- CMU has also improved its turnover margin, currently standing at +5 after a -4 performance in 2004
- Chippewa freshman Ontario Sneed (108.7) is one of three MAC backs averaging 100-plus yards rushing
- Ohio is averaging 25.5 ppg at home but just 9.3 ppg on the road
- The Bobcats have just one passing touchdown in five games while ranking fifth in the MAC in rushing yards per game with 136.8
- The Bobcats defense has a league-high 11 interceptions, four from cornerback Dion Byrum.
Nick’s Pick: CMU 24 – Ohio 17
Line: CMU by 6
Nick’s Prophetic Comment: Something has to give here; CMU has yet to win at home while OU has yet to win on the road. The ‘Chips seem to be playing with more confidence and their two home losses have been heartbreakers. At 3-3, Central seems to be the team that will continue to improve on their record while Ohio looks to be the team that still needs more time to gel. CMU in a close contest.
Bowling Green (3-2, 2-0 MAC) @ Buffalo (0-5, 0-2 MAC) - 1:30 pm ET
Site: Buffalo, N.Y. - UB Stadium (29,013/Artificial Sportex)
Game Notes:
- Buffalo nearly won its first game of the year last week but allowed 13 fourth quarter points in a 13-7 home loss to Akron.
- The Falcons staged a strong second half, breaking from a 14-7 halftime advantage to post a 38-14 triumph over Ohio
- This is a match-up that features Buffalo's No. 2 MAC ranked defense (351 ypg) and No. 3 scoring defense (26.0 ppg) vs. the MAC's No. 1 scoring offense (42.0 ppg) and No. 2 total offense (484.6 ypg)
- BG quarterback Omar Jacobs needs just 188 passing yards to reach 2,000 for the season and one touchdown pass for 20 this year
- Buffalo DE Aaron Sanders ranks among the league leaders in sacks (4) and tackles for a loss (7.5)
Nick’s Pick: BGSU 42 – Buffalo 13
Line: BGSU by 24
Comment: Last week’s home loss to Akron may have been UB’s last shot for a victory this season. BG is looking to get on a roll now that the conference schedule is in full swing. The Bulls defense is quite good this season but all too often they are on the field since the offense cannot score or sustain drives. Expect a close first half with the Falcons pulling away in the 4th quarter.
Kent State (1-4, 0-3 MAC) @ Navy (2-2, 1-0 MAC) - 6 pm ET
Site: Annapolis, Md. - Navy-Marine Corp Stadium (34,000/Natural Grass)
Game Notes:
- Kent State was idle last week and most recently played Oct. 1 at Eastern Michigan, a 27-20 loss
- Three of Navy's four games have been decided by three points and the fourth by just seven. Navy beat Air Force last week 27-24 and Duke the week before 28-21, for a two-game winning streak
- This will be the final road trip of three consecutive games away from Dix Stadium for Kent
- The Golden Flashes are expecting the return of starting QB Michael Machen this week after he missed the EMU contest with an injury
- The Golden Flashes are averaging just 43.4 rushing ypg in 2005
Nick’s Pick: Navy 34 – Kent 16 Line: Navy by 13 Nick’s Prophetic Comment: The Navy running offense ranks 10th in the nation in rushing yardage at 250 a game and should provide a very stiff test for the KSU defense. Navy is 4-0 lifetime against the Golden Flashes and should have little problem putting them away for this contest. Look for Navy to cruise past KSU. |
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Akron (3-2, 2-1 MAC) @ Miami (2-3, 1-2 MAC) - 2 pm ET
Television: Time Warner Television (Tim Bray play-by-play and Gino DiGiandomenico analyst).
Site: Oxford, Ohio - Yager Stadium (24,286/Field Turf)
Game Notes:
- A loss would likely eliminate Miami from the chance to defending its East Division crown - the RedHawks last played Oct. 5 at Northern Illinois, dropping a 38-27 contest
- The Zips rallied late, scoring all their points in the fourth quarter in a 13-7 win at Buffalo after gaining just 30 yards of total offense in the first half
- UA's Domenik Hixon is posting 116 receiving yards and 222 all-purpose yards per game and QB Luke Getsy is third in the MAC with 285 passing yards per game
- Miami hasn't been 2-4 in a season since 1993
- RedHawk tailback Brandon Murphy has come on strong to rush for 100-plus yards in three consecutive games and is second in the MAC with 115.2 ypg
- Miami ranks eighth in the MAC in total defense (430.0) but is second in interceptions, picking off 10 opponent passes
Nick’s Pick: Miami 38 – Akron 20
Line: Miami by 14
Comment: Historically Miami has owned Akron and leads the all-time series with the Zips 10-4, which includes four straight. Akron is 0-6 playing in Oxford since joining the MAC in the early 1990s. Miami has more talent and much more to lose so look for the RedHawks to win by a considerable margin.
Toledo (3-1, 1-0 MAC) @ Ball State (1-4, 1-1 MAC) - 2 pm ET
Site: Muncie, Ind. - Ball State Stadium (22,500/Natural Grass) 
Game Notes:
- The Cardinals are coming off the longest game in MAC history, a 5-overtime 60-57 victory at Western Michigan
- Freshman B.J. Hill rushed for 170 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries and Joey Lynch helped light up the scoreboard with 306 passing yards and four touchdowns, completing 23-of-40 attempts
- The Rockets dealt Eastern Michigan a 30-3 loss, holding the Eagles to 18 points below their scoring average
- Trinity Dawson accounted for 200 all-purpose yards (159 rushing, 41 receiving) and the Rockets won their 16th consecutive home game
- Toledo leads the MAC in scoring defense (20.2) and total defense (304.4) while improving tremendously from their 2004 final numbers of 31.1 and 417.5
- BSU has won 5 of the last 6 games played in Muncie
- Rocket QB Bruce Gradkowski returned from missing the Fresno State game with an injury to complete 15-of-26 attempts for 160 yards - he moved into 10th place in MAC history in career passing yards with 7,570
Nick’s Pick: Ball State 34 – Toledo 30 < upset special >
Line: Toledo by 20
Comment: Toledo has not run through the MAC without a conference loss since 1995. On two occasions, a nationally ranked Rocket team lost at Ball State as a huge favorite. For whatever reason, UT plays lousy football at BSU Stadium and with the Cardinals getting their first win of the season last week and nearly beating BG at home last month, this is a game that has “upset” written all over it. Ball State in a shocker.
Eastern Michigan (3-3, 2-1 MAC) @ Northern Illinois (2-3, 1-1 MAC) - 3:05 pm CT
Television: Comcast Chicago and Comcast Local.
Game Notes:
- The Huskies look to win back-to-back games for the first time in 2005 after their Oct. 5th 38-27 triumph over Miami
- NIU is 2-0 at home while Eastern Michigan is playing its fifth road game (1-3)
- NIU WR Sam Hurd put on a show in the ESPN2 televised win over the RedHawks with 7 receptions for a career-high 223 yards and two touchdowns (60 and 36 yards)
- Hurd now has 21 receptions for 362 yards and five TDs in his last two games
- Garrett Wolfe, the MAC's leading rusher (140.6 ypg) added 197 yards
- EMU ranks fourth in the MAC in scoring defense (27.2 ppg) but will be facing the top offense (518.6 ypg) in the league
- The Eagles offense failed to capitalize on three long drives at Toledo, showing no points on possessions of 8:45 (19 plays, 73 yards), 6:27 (13 plays, 75 yards) and 5:04 (12 plays, 52 yards)
- EMU's only points last week came via Andrew Wellock, who extended his school record with his 44th career field goal - Wellock is tied for 15th place all-time in MAC history with his 44 three-pointers
Nick’s Pick: NIU 45 – EMU 23
Line: NIU by 19
Comment: EMU is still a few players short of competing for a division title while NIU looks to be back in full throttle after heartbreaking losses at Northwestern and at Akron. NIU has a quality rushing attack and EMU gave up 295 yards on the ground last week to Toledo. Look for the Northern “ground-chuck” attack to produce some big numbers at home against the Eagles.
