Return of the MAC Notes, Week 5
September 26th, 2008 by Nick Gerogosian
Nick Gerogosian is the MAC Daddy, writing about the Mid-American Conference for years at Vandelaysports.com. He shares his insights weekly with us at Fantasy College Blitz. And pay attention – he called the winner of all twelve games on the schedule last week.
Ball State’s 42-20 win over Indiana was the Cardinals first-ever over a Big Ten opponent in 20 games. The 22-point margin of victory was the fourth highest by a MAC team in a victory over a Big Ten foe. The widest margin ever was 31 points by Toledo in a 2001, 38-7 win over Minnesota.
Ball State’s 4-0 start is the school’s best since the 1998 squad began the season with five consecutive wins. Up next for the Cardinals is Kent State, which will be BSU’s first home league contest. Ball State freshman Sean Baker has four interceptions and a fumble return for a touchdown in the last two games. Baker ran back a pick 40 yards for a 28-20 lead vs. Indiana last week.
Akron’s win at Army was the fourth road win vs. a non-conference FBS opponent in four seasons for head coach J.D. Brookhart. He has also guided his Zips squads to road wins over Middle Tennessee (2005), N.C. State (2006), and Syracuse (2008).
Toledo’s Alex Steigerwald set a league record with his 20th consecutive field goal in the Rockets game Saturday vs. Fresno State. The NCAA record is 30 straight.
THIS WEEK’S GAMES:
Four conference games highlight this week’s eight-game overall schedule involving MAC teams. Defending champion Central Michigan hosts Buffalo in a meeting between teams 1-0 in league play. Western Michigan looks to go 2-0 when the Broncos host Temple. The MAC Game of the Week television package features two conference games – Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan, and Kent State at Ball State. Non-conference encounters have Akron hosting Cincinnati from the Big East televised by FSN Ohio; Bowling Green makes its second consecutive road trip to the Mountain Time Zone when the Falcons play at MWC member Wyoming after playing at WAC member Boise State two weeks ago; Toledo hosts Sun Belt representative FIU; and Ohio hosts VMI from the Big South.
The breakdowns…
Buffalo (2-2, 1-0 MAC) at Central Michigan (2-2, 1-0 MAC) – 4:00
SITE: Kelly Shorts Stadium (30,255/FieldTurf) – Mount Pleasant, Mich.
SERIES RECORD: CMU leads 3-1 … this is UB’s first-ever game in Mount Pleasant … the most recent meeting came in 2006, a 55-28 Chippewa victory … the Bulls win came in 2004 by a 36-6 score.
COACHES: UB-Turner Gill (9-19, third season); CMU-Butch Jones (10-8, second season).
GAME NOTES:
This is the only conference game this week where both teams are 1-0 … UB dropped a 42-21 contest at No. 5 Missouri last week but trailed only 27-21 in the third quarter… CMU led at Purdue, 25-24, before giving up the game-winning touchdown on a 46-yard run with 1 minute left in the game … top notch veteran QBs lead both teams – the Bulls feature four-year start Drew Willy and CMU counters with third-year starter and Heisman hopeful Dan LeFevour (both are completing over 60 percent of their pass attempts) … LeFevour lit up the Purdue defense for 403 yards of total offense (112 rushing, 291 passing last week) … Willy passed for 237 yards and two TDs at Missouri … Willy’s two scoring passes went to Ernest Jackson, who also returned a kickoff 97yards for a score vs. the Tigers and totaled 201 all-purpose yards … the Bulls have never won their first two MAC games of the year since joining the league in 1999 … UB was 2-2 in MAC road games last year … the Chippewas are after their third consecutive MAC championship and are 14-2 in regular season conference games since the 2006 season.
Nick’s Pick: Central 37 – Buffalo 28
Comment: This may be the most entertaining MAC game of the weekend. UB is for real and played #5 Missouri very well for three quarters last week. Central has to sick and tired of losing squeakers to Purdue and looks forward to playing at home. Look for Central to pull away in a thriller.
Northern Illinois (1-2, 0-1 MAC) at Eastern Michigan (1-3, 0-1 MAC) – Noon
SITE: Rynearson Stadium (30,200/FieldTurf) – Ypsilanti, MI. MAC TV Game of the Week/ESPN Game Plan (Michael Reghi, Doug Chapman)
SERIES RECORD: NIU leads 22-14-2 … the Eagles won last year’s game 21-19 to snap a six game losing streak in the series … the Huskies have won the last three meetings at Rynearson, including a 27-0 shutout in 2006.
COACHES: NIU-Jerry Kill (1-2, first season at school; 105-59, 15th season overall); EMU-Jeff Genyk (14-36, fifth season).
GAME NOTES:
One of these teams will win their first conference game of 2008, the other will fall to 0-2 in league play … the Huskies are coming off their first win of 2008 and of the Jerry Kill era with their 48-3 triumph over Indiana State … EMU has lost three in a row, most recently 51-24 at Maryland … in that game, Kyle McMahon came off the bench to complete 25-of-27 pass attempts for 278 yards and two TDs … the Eagles offense has surprised with a MAC-leading 211.2 rushing yards per game, which is a significant boost from last year’s 156.5 ypg average … the ground game is paced by the combination of senior Terrence Blevins (312 yards, 5 TDs) and sophomore Dewayne Priest (194 yards, 2 TDs) … Eagles DB Ryan Downard has 8 career interceptions in 16 games, including one last week … the Huskies first win came courtesy of 285 rushing yards … the NIU defense did its part with 13 tackles for a loss and four takeaways, with interceptions by Bradley Pruitt (returned 54 yards for a score), Cory Hanson and Patrick George, and a fumble recovery by Mike Sobol … the Huskies also had a blocked punt by Willie Clark…when redshirt freshman Demarcus Grady attempted the first pass of his career last week it went for a TD, 19 yards to Matt Simon … NIU is allowing just 118.7 rushing yards a game, the second lowest total in the MAC.
Nick’s Pick: NIU 27 – Eastern Michigan 16
Comment: At the beginning of the year I thought EMU had turned the corner and would seriously compete in the MAC west division this year. I was wrong. NIU is just seven-points away from being 3-0. Look for the improved NIU team to get a divisional road win in Ypsi.
Kent State (1-3, 0-0 MAC) at Ball State (4-0, 1-0 MAC) – Noon
SITE: Schuemann Stadium (22,500/FieldTurf) – Muncie, IN. TELEVISION: MAC TV Game of the Week/ESPN Game Plan (Jim Barber, Bob Chmeil)
SERIES RECORD: BSU leads 18-5 … the Cardinals have won the last two meetings … the most recent game came in 2006, a 30-6 BSU win … the Golden Flashes last win came in 2003 in Muncie 31-18.
COACHES: KSU-Doug Martin (16-34, fifth season); BSU-Brady Hoke (26-37, sixth season).
GAME NOTES:
Cardinals will be without all-MAC WR Dante Love who recovers from spinal surgery…Ball State goes for its fifth consecutive win, which would be the school’s longest winning streak since the 1988 team won its first five games before an 18-12 home loss to Eastern Michigan stopped the streak … Kent State is coming off a loss at Louisiana-Lafayette …QB Julian Edelman rushed for a career-high 136 yards on 19 carries to boost his per game average to 76.0, sixth best in the MAC … RB Eugene Jarvis (69.0 ypg) missed the ULL game and is listed as doubtful for this week’s game … the Cardinals boast of the league’s top scoring offense (41.5 ppg), total offense (482.2 ypg) and scoring defense (20.2 ppg allowed) … Nate Davis leads the conference in passing efficiency (182.3) and MiQuale Lewis in rushing yards per game (132.2)…Dane Love, prior to his career-ending injury last week at Indiana, led the league in all-purpose yards (197.8) … the KSU defense features the top three leaders in tackles in the MAC with LB Derek Burrell (11.0), DB Brian Lainhart (10.2) and LB Cobrani Mixon (10.0).
Nick’s Pick: Ball State 41 – Kent State 23
Comment: The Cardinals can smell a perfect season now that they finally beat Indiana. Even with the tragic loss of Dante Love for the season (likely career), the ‘Cards have more than enough talent to dispose of the mistake-prone Golden Flashes.
Bowling Green (1-2, 0-0 MAC) at Wyoming (2-2, 0-0 MWC) – 2:00 (MT)
SITE: War Memorial Stadium (30,514/Desso Challenge Pro 60) – Laramie, WY. TELEVISION: The Mountain Network (Rich Cellini, Jon Berger, Anne Marie Anderson)
SERIES RECORD: First meeting. COACHES: BGSU-Gregg Brandon (39-26, sixth season); UW-Joe Glenn (28-35, seventh season at school; 186-94-1, 25th season).
GAME NOTES:
The Cowboys are coming off a 44-0 lost to then No. 14 (now No. 11) ranked BYU … War Memorial Stadium has the highest elevation in FBS at 7200 feet…UW opened the season with a 21-20 triumph over MAC member Ohio University … the Falcons were idle last week and most recently played Sept. 13 in a 20-7 loss at Boise State … this is BGSU’s third road game in its first four games of the season while the Cowboys will be playing their fourth home game in 2008 … the Falcons have scored 51 points in three games, averaging a MAC-low 17.0 ppg … … the Cowboys also rank last in the MWC in scoring offense at 10.0 ppg …last year’s BG team averaged 30.2 ppg … after opening with a 27-17 win over then No. 25 ranked Pitt, the Falcons have dropped games to Minnesota and Boise State … Tyler Sheehan has completed 62.7 percent of his passes (74-of-118) but has only two TDs … part-time QB Freddie Barnes also has two TD passes but in just four attempts … Falcons DE Dirayl Briggs has a MAC best five sacks in three games … UW’s Devin Moore is averaging 98.5 rushing yards per game, basically the same as BG’s entire team total, 98.3 ypg.
Nick’s Pick: BGSU 23 – Wyoming 21
Comment: The Falcons have had two weeks to prepare for this game while Wyoming has been destroyed twice this year and in fact, are just four-points away from being 0-4. Look for the MAC to have an extremely rare road victory over a Mountain West team.
VMI (2-1, 0-0 Big South) at Ohio (0-4, 0-1 MAC) – 2:00
SITE: Peden Stadium (24,000/FieldTurf) – Athens, Ohio
SERIES RECORD: Ohio leads 1-0 … the Bobcats won 42-14 in 2004.
COACHES: VMI-Sparky Woods (2-1, first season at school; 64-48-5, 11th season overall); Ohio- Frank Solich (19-22, fourth year at school; 77-41, 10th season overall).
GAME NOTES:
The Bobcats lead the MAC in total defense (313.5 ypg allowed) but are 0-4 after a 16-8 loss last week at Northwestern … the Wildcats had averaged 29 ppg in its first three games prior to playing Ohio … the Bobcats forced five turnovers (4 int., 1 fumble) as compared to just three takeaways in their first three games … safety Michael Mitchell grabbed two of the interceptions … the Bobcats have not lost five consecutive games since dropping the last six contests of the 2003 season … VMI is coming off a 69-20 win over Chowan … this game is the only FBS (I-A) opponent for the Keydets in 2008 … VMI has attempted just 26 pass attempts this season and rushed on 163 plays, averaging 399 rushing yards per game … slotback Tim Maypray, the 2008 Big South Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, leads the team in rushing with 107 ypg and also has a team-high 94 passing yards, completing all four of his attempts … Ohio as a team is rushing for just 84 ypg … the Bobcats passing game received a boost from LaVon Brazil who grabbed a career high nine receptions for 79 yards at Northwestern … under first-year starter Boo Jackson, Ohio is averaging 237.5 passing yards per game.
Nick’s Pick: Ohio 36 – VMI 12
Comment: The Bobcats needed a game like this after dropping four straight games they could have won. The I-AA Keydets will not offer much of a challenge to Ohio but will the Bobcats play to their potential against Big South program?
Western Michigan (3-1, 1-0 MAC) at Temple (1-3, 0-1 MAC) – 2:00
SITE: Lincoln Financial Field (68,532/Natural Grass) – Philadelphia, Pa.
SERIES RECORD: WMU leads 6-0 … the Broncos won last year’s game 16-3 … this is the fourth consecutive season the teams have played.
COACHES: WMU-Bill Cubit (23-17, fourth season at school; 57-35-1, ninth season overall); TU-Al Golden (6-22, third season).
GAME NOTES:
WMU’s 3-1 start, following its 41-7 win last week over Tennessee Tech, equals the 3-1 start in 2006 under head coach Bill Cubit … the Broncos have never started 2-0 in conference games in Cubit’s previous three seasons … the Owls dropped their third straight in a 45-3 loss at No. 15 Penn State … QB Adam DiMichele left the game with a shoulder injury and will not play this week … DiMichele was replaced by redshirt freshman Chester Stewart who went on to complete 16-of-30 attempts for 116 yards … he will be facing a MAC defense that has a league leading 9 sacks … C Alex Derenthal will be starting his 40th consecutive game … in Temple’s first three games, they trailed by a total of only 1:49 (one minute, 49 seconds), dropping two games (Connecticut and Buffalo) on the last play of the game … the Broncos have averaged 40 ppg in its last three games (Northern Illinois, Idaho, Tennessee Tech) … the Broncos have won four of their last six road games dating back to last year … Tim Hiller has 14 TD passes and just two interceptions … Brandon West is averaging 6.5 yards per carry, the second highest total in the MAC … a win by WMU will be its 499th in program history.
Nick’s Pick: Western 30 – Temple 10
Comment: There were many Temple fans E-mailing me that this season the Owls would contend for a MAC title. I stated to all of that progress is being made on Broad Street but that Temple was at least one year away from any sort of divisional contention. A very good Bronco team is coming to town and should be able to pull out a comfortable victory in Philly.
Cincinnati (2-1, 0-0 Big East) at Akron (2-2, 0-1 MAC) – 3:30
SITE: Rubber Bowl (31,000/AstroPlay) – Akron, Ohio – TELEVISION: FSN Ohio (Jeff Phelps, Mike Pagel)
SERIES RECORD: Tied 2-2 … UC won the most recent meeting in 2006, 20-14 … UA won in 1989 (31-0) and 1992 (24-22) … UC won the first meeting ever in 1984 (28-27).
COACHES: UC-Brian Kelly (13-4, second season at school; 150-55-2, 18th season overall.); UAJ. D. Brookhart (24-28, fifth season).
GAME NOTES:
This will be the last non-conference game ever for the Zips in the Rubber Bowl … the Bearcats are coming off a 45-20 win over MAC member Miami, scoring the last 21 points to break open a close game … Bearcat QB Tony Pike made his first start memorable by completing 20-of-24 pass attempts for 241 yards and three TDs … the UC defense limited the RedHawks to 66 rushing yards and returned an interception 78 yards for a touchdown … the Zips will be trying to win back to-back games for the first time since weeks 9 and 10 of 2006 when they topped Bowling Green and Buffalo … in last week’s 22-3 win at Army, Zips QB Chris Jacquemain passed for 204 yards and a TD with no interceptions, completing 14-of-25 attempts … Jacquemain is averaging 247 passing yards per game, up considerably from his 147.5 ypg in 2007 … Andre Jones, a former DB now WR, caught a career high five passes for 100 yards and a TD last week … the two teams Akron has lost to this season – Wisconsin and Ball State – are a combined 7-0, while the two teams they have defeated – Syracuse and Army – are a combined 1-6.
Nick’s Pick: Cincinnati 34 – Akron 17
Comment: There was a time not long ago that playing Cincinnati meant an easy BCS victory for a MAC school. Those days are over. Coach Brian Kelly has a very well-oiled machine with this Bearcat team that will dispose of the Zips at the venerable Rubber Bowl.
FIU (0-3, 0-0 Sun Belt) at Toledo (1-2, 1-0 MAC) – 7:00
SITE: Glass Bowl (26,248/NeXturf) – Toledo, Ohio -TELEVISION: BCSN – same day replay (Rich Hoffer, Tom Duncan)
SERIES RECORD: First meeting. COACHES: FIU-Mario Cristobol (1-26, third season); UT-Tom Amstutz (56-34, ninth season).
GAME NOTES:
The Panthers are 0-3 with losses coming to No. 12 South Florida (last week, 17-9), No. 14 Kansas and Big Ten member Iowa … the game vs. the Rockets will be their third road game of 2008 … FIU has scored one offensive touchdown in three games and 19 total points … the Rockets are coming off a game with Fresno State in which they combined for 1,018 yards of total offense in a 55-54 double overtime loss … the Rockets are averaging 201 yards rushing and 195 yards passing per game and have suffered just one interception this season … DaJuane Collins is posting 120 ypg rushing, replacing Jalen Parmele, who led UT with 125.9 ypg last year … Morgan Williams is contributing 63.3 ypg via the ground … Stephen Williams is the MAC co-leader in TD receptions with four … Alex Steigerwald has a MAC record 20 consecutive field goals made … this is the second of three consecutive home games for the Rockets.
Nick’s Pick: Toledo 45 – FIU 16
Comment: FIU has only scored 19-points all season. Toledo needs a game like this after last week’s four-hour double OT marathon home loss to Fresno State.
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