We took a look at the biggest MAC game of the week that goes tonight, so we roll on into the rest of the league’s games, all of which are on Saturday.
12:00 PM- Gardner Webb at Akron: The Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs were 6-5 last season and beat Brevard College last week 28-14. Meanwhile the Zips managed only 3 points in a loss to Syracuse. No line, but this game is on upset watch.
2:00 PM- Eastern Michigan at Miami: Two schools that played much better than expected in week 1 losses face off for the second MAC league game of the weekend. Florida’s offense may have created a lot of their own problems, but Miami gave them fits nonetheless, and EMU’s 27 points against Army ties their best weekends from last year. Line: Miami by 15.5. That’s a ton of points, considering Miami hasn’t won a game by 16 or more points since 2007. I agree that they have the edge here, but maybe by a touchdown. Miami 27, EMU 20.
3:30 PM, ESPNU- Kent State at Boston College: BC is coming off a 38-20 win over Weber State, while Kent State dismantled Murray State 41-10. This is the third straight year these teams have faced off, with BC winning both so far 21-0 and 34-7. They’ve never been a team to overlook a smaller school, and the Flashes are going to have their hands full tomorrow. Line: Boston College by 17.5. Kent State is a pretty good team, but history suggests that Boston College will win this one by about three touchdowns. This is probably a 42-20 game.
7:00 PM- Bowling Green at Tulsa: These two gave up a combined 81 points last weekend, both to teams with a lot of new personnel in Troy and ECU, respectively. Thus, I think the team that discovers how to play defense should win this one, but otherwise I’m not sure Bowling Green has the firepower to match Tulsa score-for-score. Line: Tulsa by 17. That’s a lot of points for a team that can’t stop anyone. I think it’s closer, Tulsa 45-35.
7:00 PM- Nicholls State at Western Michigan: This is the second straight week that Nicholls State pops up on the Fringe, having lost to San Diego State 47-0 last week. In fact, Nicholls hasn’t scored a point against a FBS team since September 2008, when they eeked out 10 against Memphis. The Broncos should roll. No line.
7:00 PM- Toledo at Ohio: Arizona made Toledo look really bad last week, while Ohio handled Wofford with no difficulty. Toledo’s defense might be able to compete with the Bobcats, but the offense was just inept, and has a long way to go. Line: Ohio by 7.5. That’s about right, I was thinking somewhere around 7. But I think Ohio should be better than that, I think the Bobcats win their league opener 30-20.
7:00 PM- North Dakota at Northern Illinois: NIU should rebound from their loss to Iowa State when they take on the Fighting Sioux, who got trampled by Idaho 45-0 last Thursday. No line.
7:00 PM- Liberty at Ball State: Ball State is on upset watch again as they face their second FCS team in a row- this time a Flames team coming off a conference championship last year and a 52-7 demolition of St. Frances of Pennsylvania last week. No line.
7:00 PM, FCS Central- Buffalo at Baylor: Buffalo dealt with Rhode Island comfortably last week, notching a 31 point shutout. Baylor beat their FCS opponent by the same margin, 34-3 over Sam Houston State. This should be an interesting challenge for Buffalo- a chance to play against the bottom of a BCS barrel is one that should not be squandered. That said, it will be a while before Buffalo is favored against a Big 12 school. Line: Baylor by 16.5. I’m on the fence here, but I’m inclined to think that Buffalo can keep this one right around two touchdowns. I’ll go with 28-14, Buffalo should cover the 16.5.