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Nick's 2005 MAC Football Picks - Week #8 Recap

published 10.23.05

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Northern Illinois @ Kent State

Northen Illinois Team Page - KSU Team Page

Adrian Davis rushed for 252 yards and three touchdowns for NIU while Phil Horvath threw for 121 yards and two scores
The Huskies finished with 408 yards of total offense
Davis had 52 and 2-yard scoring runs in the second quarter for the Huskies, who scored touchdowns on four of their seven possessions in the first half
Kent State had three turnovers and only managed 195 yards of total offense.
Josh Brazen had a career-high 10 punts for the Golden Flashes
Kent State's John Brown completed 5 of 10 passes for just 59 yards - Brown and Michael Machen each threw an interception
KSU LB Justin Parrish had 13 tackles and a sack
Attendance in Kent was just 3,554

Nick’s Pick: NIU 20 – KSU 16

Actual Score: NIU 34 – KSU 3

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “The Huskies still like to run the ball and will do so but QB Phil Horvath will need to pick up much of the load as well.”

Ball State @ Ohio

Ball State Team Page - Ohio Team Page

Kalvin McRae rushed for 268 yards and a touchdown - McRae's 268 rushing yards was the third-highest single-game total in school history
OU’s Austen Everson also ran for two scores
Wide receiver Justin Fitzgerald took a reverse 80 yards for a touchdown for the Bobcats
Ohio finished with 414 yards rushing on 52 carries
Joey Lynch completed 23 of 34 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown for Ball State
Louis Johnson had seven receptions for 132 yards for BSU
The Cardinals lost two fumbles and converted only 1 of 11 third downs
Ohio led 3-0 after the first quarter but the two teams erupted for 42 points in the second, including three touchdowns in a span of 25 seconds - Everson had a 1-yard TD run to make it 10-0 with 14:14 left; Dante Love then returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown for Ball State; Ohio's Scott Mayle then finished off the scoring binge, taking the Cardinals kickoff back 88 yards to make it 17-7 with 13:49 remaining in the second
Charles Wynn had 14 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals who finished with 340 yards of offense
Matt Muncy had 10 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery for the Bobcats
Attendance in Athens was 17,959 despite a cold rain that fell for hours prior to kickoff

Nick’s Pick: Ohio 24 - Ball State 23

Actual Score: Ohio 38 - Ball State 21

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “Ohio has yet to lose at home, although that stat is footnoted since they have only played two home games thus far this season and we are at the end of October. Ball State certainly has a chance to win this game but thus far they have had trouble stopping the run, ranking dead last in the MAC in rush defense.”

Related VanDelaySports.com Links:

The Best of the MAC - football ticket prices

Updated 2005 MAC football standings

Nick's picks for MAC football Week #8

The Mid-American Conference: "The Cradle of Coaches"

MAC football season awards, 1965-2004

Western Michigan @ Bowling Green

Western Michigan Team Page -BGSU Team Page

Tim Hiller threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns
BG’s Omar Jacobs was injured in the first quarter when Broncos defensive end Matt Ludeman hit Jacobs on a passing play driving Jacobs into the ground and causing him to fumble. Ameer Ismail. Jr. picked up Jacobs' fumble and ran 53 yards for a touchdown
Jacobs left the game 6 of 9 passing for 98 yards
The Broncos kept the momentum in the second quarter scoring 24 points in the second period
Hiller threw two touchdown passes to Greg Jennings while Trovon Riley had a 2-yard TD run. Nate Meyer kicked a 22-yard field goal to give the Broncos a 31-6 lead at the half
Anthony Turner replaced Jacobs for the Falcons and scored on a 7-yard TD run in the third quarter. He completed 20 of 38 passes for 242 yards with two interceptions and was sacked four times
Jennings had eight receptions for 162 yards for WMU
Riley finished with 120 yards on 27 carries for WMU
BG’s Charles Sharon caught eight passes for 129 yards for the Falcons with B.J. Lane rushing for 70 yards on 14 carries
Attendance in Bowling Green was 13,959

Nick’s Pick: BGSU 42 – WMU 27

Actual Score: WMU 45 – BGSU 14

Nick’s Prophetic Comment:
“The Falcons are heavily favored against the Broncos and BG is playing at home. Western Michigan has a very good offense and they are getting terrific play from their freshman QB. This should be an entertaining game that features a lot of points and exciting plays.”

Miami @ Eastern Michigan

Miami Team Page -EMU Team Page

Andrew Wellock's tying extra-point attempt hit the right upright with just 13 seconds remaining as Miami escaped OT for a regulation win at EMU
Redshirt freshman quarterback Tyler Jones drove the Eagles 67 yards and found Eric Deslauriers in the back of the end zone for the apparent game-tying score, but holder A.J. Bennett could not control the snap on the kick attempt and was late placing the ball on the turf
Josh Betts put the RedHawks up 24-17 with just 1:10 left on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Martin Nance
Betts finished 23-42 for 252 passing yards and two touchdowns while Nance racked up 95 yards receiving on 10 catches and caught both of Betts' TD passes
Jones, playing in place of injured senior captain Matt Bohnet, rushed 19 times for 107 yards and one score to go along with his 135 yards passing and two more touchdowns
EMU controlled the clock and had 206 rushing yards in the first half to keep the RedHawk offense off the field with the score tied at 10
Senior RB Anthony Sherrell finished with 107 rushing yards for the Eagles
Deslauriers was held without out a catch until he caught the last two passes of the Eagles' final drive
Brandon Murphy lead the RedHawks with 161 yards rushing and one touchdown
Attendance at EMU was 5,785

Nick’s Pick: Miami 45 - Eastern Michigan 27

Actual Score: Miami 24 - Eastern Michigan 23

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: "EMU continues to show improvements under the enthusiastic Jeff Genyk but they lack the talent of the RedHawks. Miami should pull away in the 2nd half of the game."

Army @ Akron

Akron Team Page

Carlton Jones ran for 162 yards and the Black Knights snapped an 11-game losing streak
Jones carried a career-high 38 times, scored two touchdowns and moved into second place all-time with 3,065 yards rushing for Army
Army won for the first time since a 42-35 victory over South Florida in October, 2004 Akron has lost three of their last four
The Black Knights' defense limited the Zips to 44 yards rushing on 22 carries
Justin Koenig kicked a 49-yard field goal with 42 seconds left in the half to make it 10-0 at intermission
Akron drove to the Army 23 on its first possession of the second half but turned the ball over on downs, never really threatened to score after that opportunity
The Black Knights follwed Akron's best drive by droving 58 yards in 12 plays to set up a 35-yard field goal by Koenig
Army kept possession of the ball for most of the fourth quarter adding a final score on a 32-yard pass from Zac Dahman to Jones with 5:14 to play
Army had more total offense than Akron 296-232
Attendance in Akron was 12,203

Nick’s Pick: Akron 27 - Army 20

Actual Score: Army 20 - Akron 0

Nick’s Prophetic Comment: “It is very surprising to see Akron favored by double digits over anyone. Army may be winless but they have played very well in a few games and had chances to win in the final minute in games against Iowa State and Central Michigan. This is not a bad team but they just don’t know how to win yet.”

Buffalo @ Toledo

Buffalo Team Page -Toledo Team Page

Bruce Gradkowski threw for 186 yards and three touchdowns
Quinton Broussard and Trinity Dawson both rushed for 119 yards for the Rockets
Buffalo's Drew Willy completed 18 of 31 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown but was sacked four times
Willy found Chad Upshaw for a 6-yard TD pass and Andrae Smith sacked Gradkowski in the end zone to record a safety to help the Bulls take a 12-10 lead in the second quarter
Gradkowski finished off a 5-play, 67-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Steve Odom to make it 17-12 Toledo with 44 seconds remaining in the quarter - Gradkowski tossed a 70-yard TD pass to Andrew Hawkins in the third to give the Rockets a 24-12 lead
Buffalo had three turnovers
Toledo tied a school record with its 17th straight home victory
Toledo is 34-1 in its last 35 games at the Glass Bowl
Buffalo's Steven King also had 22 carries for 67 yards
Attendance in Toledo was 23,904

Nick’s Pick: Toledo 35 - Buffalo 0

Actual Score: Toledo 38– Buffalo 15