Weekend previews will appear in this space on Thursdays and Fridays, to look at the games happening on Saturday and some Sundays. Of course, weeknight games will get special attention, with posts of their own.
Last year, the Mid American Conference had an abysmal opening week. This one should be better, with a ton of FCS games and even some upset potential in the bigger games. We hit the Ball State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Kent State and Northern Illinois games from tonight in our earlier posts, and we’ll give Toledo & Temple a once-over tomorrow. For now, let’s see what the weekend holds for the rest of the MAC. All games are Saturday, all times Eastern, all rankings USA Today, and lines are from Vegas.com and subject to change before kickoff.
*When Army & Navy play a non-BCS team, we’ll just lump them in with their opponents. When they play against the BCS, I’ll probably include them with the Sun Belt, since they have only 9 teams and are generally in the East.
12:00 PM, ESPN- Miami at #3 Florida: Obviously, this is not a game that many people have the RedHawks penciled in to win. Keeping it close to halftime will be an accomplishment, but after that it’s tough to compete against the depth of an elite program, especially in the 2 PM Florida heat. Line: Gators by 36.5. That’s a lot of points for a team that’s going to probably lead early and get some young players on the field. I’d take Miami plus more than five touchdowns.
12:00 PM, ESPN2- Western Michigan at Michigan State: These games can be funny sometimes, but again, WMU is likely overmatched in this one. Line: Michigan State by 23.5. That’s probably low enough for Sparty to cover, especially since we don’t know what kind of Bronco team will show up.
6:00 PM, espn3 only- Syracuse at Akron: This game has the makings of a fantastically ugly afternoon of football. Neither team has been very good lately. Line: Syracuse by 8.5. I’ve heard people call for the Akron upset, but Syracuse winning by 10 seems a lot more likely. I think I’d take the Orange there.
7:00 PM- Wofford (FCS) at Ohio: The Wofford Terriers were 3-8 last year. Ohio should win. No line.
7:00 PM- Army* at Eastern Michigan: Eastern Michigan has been one of the worst teams in America lately, and Army looks like they’re pretty good this year. Army’s run at a bowl game probably starts here Saturday. Line: Army by 9.5. Until we see otherwise this year, I’ll happily give Eastern Michigan less than 10.
7:00 PM- Bowling Green at Troy: Troy is the big question mark in this game. They’re depleted, but they also tend to have the best talent in the Sun Belt regardless. I think Troy is properly the favorite, but Bowling Green beat a better Troy squad last year at this time. Line: Troy by 14. Way too many. I think Troy wins by 7-10 tops.
And with more than half the league being done playing before the sun comes up on Saturday, that’s it.
*When Army & Navy play a non-BCS team, we’ll just lump them in with their opponents. When they play against the BCS, I’ll probably include them with the Sun Belt, since they have only 9 teams and are generally in the East.