MAC Basketball Already Underway!

In case you missed it, Wednesday night Buffalo barely squeezed out a victory over Ohio Valley winning 89-82 in the Coaches vs Cancer Classic. Junior swingman Greg Gamble scored a career high 25 points in the victory.

The Bulls face UConn today @ 9 PM EST on ESPN U. It should be interesting to watch, because UConn barely won their game over Morgan State 69-65. A perfect opportunity for the Bulls to upset the unsuspecting Huskies. Buffalo also put together a deal that would send UConn to play @ Buffalo next year because of this game.

Akron & Miami OH are still in their pre-season slates playing Walsh University and California (PA) respectively on Thursday. Xavier plays @ Oxford on Tuesday and Akron plays in Alaska in a week.

Friday

Brown visits EMU for their season opener at noon. Then a couple night games happen at 7 PM with Ball State hosting last year's surprise team Butler and NMSU visiting Athens for Ohio's opener. I expect a ton of points being scored in that game!

NIU must play 3 games in 3 days in the BTI Kickoff Tournament starting with an 8:15 game against UNI @ Cedar Rapids, IA. Get your scoreboards ready for that one! UMass & Cal Poly are the other opponents on the weekend for the Huskies.

Bowling Green also has a 3-game slate @ the Peggy Cronin Classic in Cincinnati. They play Western Carolina at 9 and then Belmont on Saturday & Cincinnati on Sunday.

Saturday

Toledo kicks off their season at 7 PM hosting the Missouri State Bears who are ranked #7 in the Mid-Major poll. Kent State is still in exhibition mode until next Sunday's Chicago Invitational, as they are playing @ Detroit-Mercy at 7 pm as well.

NIU and Bowling Green continue their tourney games, while Western Michigan heads west for the World Vision Invitational @ Eugene, OR. They start off with Pacific, Pepperdine on Sunday and then they play #12 Oregon on Monday.

Sunday

NIU & Bowling Green wrap up their tourneys, while WMU is in their 2nd game against Pepperdine. EMU hosts Radford at 4 PM.


I'll recap some of the games and look at the upcoming matchups at the beginning of next week sometime.

Breezy

Wednesday Preview: Ohio vs. Akron

When: 7:30 PM ET, ESPN2

Why You Should Care: Ohio was sort of left for dead a little bit ago. However, they've managed to string 3 victories in their last 4 games, that one loss coming on a heatbreaker of a meltdown to Toledo. Akron is struggling right now and they're looking to get some consistency on offense.

Ohio Will Win Because...: Akron's rushing defense is ranked 88th in the nation and the Bobcats have Kalvin McRae. Can somebody say, mismatch? The Zips haven't been spectacular against the run so Coach Solich should exploit that. In this little run, Ohio hasn't played a lot of defense, but maybe a 7-point-allowed game against Temple last Friday will turn that around.

Akron Will Win Because...: J.D. Brookhart is too good of a coach to have this poor of a season. Akron should be a whole lot better than this and there's no excuse to losing to Buffalo and Temple in the same season (even though both are mightily improvded). The Zips have had issues at QB especially, but they did get some offense generated against Bowling Green.

Keep an Eye on...: Let's keep our eyes peeled for Brion Stokes. He hasn't been a huge force on defense, but the guy has a lot of ability and he's one of the best LBs in all of the Mid-American Conference.

Prediction: Don't expect a scoringfest. Neither team has a great offense and I do think that the Zip defense will show up and play tonight in the Rubber Bowl. My only fear is that they won't have an easy day stopping McRae. Expect Kalvin to rush for about 150+ tonight on their way to a solid victory. Ohio wins, 27-17.

Wow! CMU/WMU Analysis

Holy cow! Where do we begin?

First off, if you didn't see it, you really missed out on a special game. Just about everything in the game was really fun to see (well, besides maybe the second quarter).

It starts off very heated because it is indeed a rivalry game. Things are a little chippy, Hiller spoke of a "clean" hatred for one another, and of course the biggie tonight and the probable game-changer for the Broncos: Jamarko Simmons' ejection.

Simmons was ejected for "kicking" (more like a "get-away-from-me" kind of shove and he happened to have his foot entangled) Red Keith, the Central Michigan linebacker. He sort of did an acting job because there's no way he was shoved that hard by somebody's foot and it didn't look like he exerted enough force on Keith to really move him that far. Anyway, the ref saw this and ejected Simmons. Simmons couldn't control his frustration and was sent to the lockeroom.

Western Michigan did start out strong scoring early and taking a 7-0 lead. The Broncos had a shot at taking a 10-0 lead off of a Dan LeFevour INT, but the snap was bobbled and they lost possession. Central responded with a FG near the middle of the second quarter. The receivers were not helping Hiller or LeFevour out at all. Both teams suffered a ton of dropped passes all of the way until the third quarter. Also, I haven't seen either team play as well defensively as these teams did for the first three quarters of the game. It was refreshing to see because CMU has been getting torched and Western has totally stunk defensively so far this season. I did notice one thing and Ray Bentley pointed out was the fact that CMU didn't burn a timeout which caused all sorts of confusion. They were in the red zone and had to settle for a FG instead of a TD.

The fourth quarter was when things really began to heat up. Western knocked a FG through the uprights to tie things up at 10 a piece. At this point in the game, Dan LeFevour starting ripping through the Western defense. It really wasn't pretty, but the Broncos did respond time and time again on offense. The spearing penalty really hurt Western on one of CMU's scoring drives and Bryan Anderson really stepped up to the plate being the only Chippewa who could catch a pass longer than 5 yards tonight....

Anyway, a great rush prevented Tim Hiller from making a wise choice, so he flung a football right at Calvin Hissong. He couldn't take it into the endzone though and CMU had to settle for a FG. I turned the channel over to Dennis Miller's new show on Versus for a second because even I had lost hope for the Broncos. The instant I flip it back to ESPN2, I see a fantastic catch by Herb Martin which put the Broncos within three points.

And, with a bit of foreshadowing in the mix, LeFevour failed to call a timeout (audibling instead) while the play clock was running low which caused all kinds of confusion. The blockers on the left side didn't pick up their blocks and LeFevour fumbled the ball right into Western's hands. Western scored on a dash from Brandon West which included two hideous arm tackles.

So, the score is now 31-27 and it looks like all hope is lost. After all, it's about time that something goes Cubit's way.

Turns out that wasn't the case. Wilson bit on a combo of the LeFevour pump fake and the great route running by Bryan Anderson. One accurate bomb later from the sophomore QB, CMU was setting up shop inside the one yard line with a little under a minute to go. CMU tried a QB sneak that probably was a TD and, after much reviewing, was ruled incorrectly due to lack of substantial evidence to overturn the call. The Chippewas tried it one more time (reminding me of the "Bush Push" which Bentley pointed out) and that should've been stopped due to FORWARD PROGRESS. It's clear that he was stuffed and the refs should have blown the whistle. Instead, LeFevour gets pushed into the endzone and after yet another review, the play stood.

But wait! It's not over. After a failed lateral on the kickoff return, the Broncos had two seconds. They were actually pretty successful on some of the laterals after a Tim Hiller completion and I started thinking, "Hmmmmmmm........Trinity/Millsaps, perhaps?" But, it didn't work out that way. Western suffered yet another devastating blow.

There are a few things we can take away from this game. Central Michigan finally played some defense which I suppose is newsworthy. Western Michigan played a little bit of that too by not getting steamrolled in the early going. I think both teams have some good resolve and they know how to bounce back from adversity. The Broncos had nothing to play for in this game besides embarrassing a despised rival and they played with an amount of intensity I haven't seen before. Central Michigan never lost faith that they could win and I think the coach, Butch Jones, deserves some credit for that.

One thing is for sure: This game cracks my all-time favorite-game list. No, it's not just because they're MAC teams, this was just a great rivalry game that won't be forgotten up here at least.

Where Does Akron Go From Here?

Now that any hope of winning something for the trophy case is over, it's time for coach J.D. Brookhart to start thinking of what needs to be done this year to lay a solid foundation for next year. And there is much to do.

Needs:

A starting quarterback that displays leadership skills. Can that role be filled by either Jacquemain or Jackson? Perhaps Jacquemain can mature to the point of being effective. Many of his mistakes were the mental errors of a rookie. In my opinion, Jackson shoud be at another position.

An offensive line.

With the loss of Jabari Arthur, receivers.

With the loss of John Mackey, someone to blitz and perhaps even more important - lead!

Rethinking the 3-3-5 defense.

Yes, coach Brookhart has to use these remaining games to right the ship. It starts this Wednesday night against Ohio U.

I sensed at the Bowling Green game that the Zips had given up, especially on defense. We know the D has talent. So, their play at BG can be nothing more than a lack of having the right attitude, as witnessed by defensive captain John Mackey chewing their butts out on the sideline. I'm not sure the offense ever had the talent this year, so whether or not they have raised the white flag on the season is difficult to determine.

Is thinking about next year giving up on the current season? No, not from a development stand point. But whatever arrangements Brookhart is going to make, he had better start now. It's too difficult to do this while the season is underway. He could actually look at this as an opportunity to improve.

We all knew going in to this season that the Zips were young, especially on offense...had to find a new starting quarterback...had to start developing a predominately new offensive line.

From what I've read on the Internet, many Zips fans have given up on Brookhart. The swager and confidence that they had in him after the 2005 MAC Championship, Motor City Bowl and victory over NC State in 2006 has been reduced to many of them asking, "Is J.D. the man?"

I was not looking for a MAC championship this year...just progress. The Zips, so far, have displayed neither. Clearly, the highlight of the 2007 season was winning the Wagon Wheel back from Kent State. In these final three games -- against Ohio, Miami and Central Michigan -- I'm holding out hope that now that the chance for a championship is history, the chance for progress is not.

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Tuesday Preview: CMU vs. WMU

When: 7:30 PM ET, ESPN2

Why You Should Care: Is Western Michigan going to roll over in this game? Trying to cap off a disappointing season (and a tough early OOC schedule), they could at least stop a little bit of the bleeding with a win over hated rival, Central Michigan. CMU has been great in MAC play, but awful out of it and, obviously, this is a conference game (meaning good CMU might show up).

Central Michigan Will Win Because...: The Chips aren't keen on running the football, but when they do, expect some fireworks. Western Michigan had a good rushing defense last year, but for some reason in 2007, they're just awful. Standing at 96th against the run, Justin Hoskins should have a good day. Plus, any time you've got Dan LeFevour, you have a chance to win football games. Western's offense has really been sputtering over the last few games here and Tim Hiller isn't getting a lot of help around him.

Western Michigan Will Win Because...: It's tough to say with the way they played against Eastern, but these guys have a real good chance to stick it to the defending MAC champions and play spoiler for a little bit. Ball State is still alive if they can defeat the Chips tonight. Hiller has some skill, it's just a matter of getting him in the right situations. They need to establish the running game as well. Also, Central Michigan's defense has done absolutely next to nothing all season long getting trounced when offenses execute halfway decently.

Keep an Eye on...: Red Keith. The guy just makes plays all over the place. By far and away the best CMU defender, Keith has a chance to keep the Bronco offense from doing too much tonight.

Prediction: This might be a little lower scoring than predicted. I think the weather situation might have an effect on that. The forecast calls for below-freezing temps (low 30's, high 20's), 10+ mph wind, and sleety/rainy/snowy forms of precipitation. However, this won't stop Dan LeFevour cold in his tracks (no pun intended). He'll be able to run and run and run and run against the Broncos and Hoskins has the potential for a big game. Still, with this being an in-state rivalry and all, Western won't roll over as badly as they did against Eastern. It'll be a battle, but Central will wind up on top at Waldo Stadium by a score of 34-28.

Youtubage: Part 1

Well, being a boring Tuesday, I figured this post might exert some kind of excitement for you. It's a video of the Ohio/Toledo epic that was an absolute joy to see.

Ugh...Monday....

Just cluin' you guys in, I'm going to recap the MAC action after Wednesday's Ohio/Akron game. I'll kind of be recapping a week and a half of football, but.............That's the plan, so there. :D

I'll get back to you guys then.

Deep Inside Central Michigan

Ah, yes, it's Tuesday once again and it's time for your old pal, GMoney, to drop some MAC knowledge on all you fools. Needless to say, I'm giddy as hell after the Redhawks win over Buffalo this past Saturday. I got back to the bar from Hineygate just in time to see Drew Willy fumble away his hopes and dreams and celebrated with 2 quick shots of Goldschlager and an Irish Car Bomb...not good.



Anyway, I survived and today I've got something special for you. That's right, insider information!!! For that, I've enlisted the help of Scott Rex, assistant Sports Information Director at Central Michigan. Scott and I played high school football together and since I succeeded in not letting him get sacked too much, I figured he owed me an interview. Here we go, sit back and learn about the Chips.



1. Brian Kelly left last season to be the head cheese at Cincinnati. In response, CMU hired West Virginia WR's coach, Butch Jones, to run the show. What kind of different things are the Chips doing on offense and defense under the new regime?


The biggest difference, I think, is on offense. It is a very up-tempo style that really limits a defense's ability to substitute. The scheme is not in the same mold of the run-and-shoot Buffalo Bills of our youth, but it is a no-huddle, spread attack that often uses four or five receivers. We lost a pair of deep threats in Damien Linson and Obed Cetoute from last year's team, so there is more of a focus on the intermediate passing game and creating mismatches with our receivers. I think there is also more of a commitment to the running game this season, which may sound strange with having a player like Dan LeFevour at quarterback.

The average fan probably does not see a huge difference in our defensive scheme from the past, but our linebackers are asked to do a lot both in coverage and in putting pressure on the quarterback. Our entire defense has really struggled with injuries all season. We have had nine different players start at least one game in the secondary alone this year, and that is almost exclusively due to injuries.

The great thing about Butch is that he was here before as an assistant, so a lot of our older players were already familiar with him. He also helped recruit Dan LeFevour before going to West Virginia.

2. I would say that last year was QB Dan LeFevour's coming out party. The guy was unstoppable. But it appears, at least through the box scores, that he's had an up and down sophomore season. What has changed? Has he been dinged up at all? Also, I love the way he plays. He kind of reminds me of a Tebow-type, doesn't mind the contact QB. You are a former high school quarterbacking great, who does LeFevour remind you of?

Dan's been healthy all year. His greatest attribute is his intelligence, but even he admits that worked against him a little early in the year and he was over-thinking in some situations. He has gotten more comfortable with the offense as the year has gone on and our retooled offensive line has not allowed a sack in four games entering Tuesday night's game at Western Michigan. Of the five starters up front, by the way, two are redshirt freshmen, one is a junior in his first season as a starter, and another is a junior who started at right tackle the last two years but moved to left tackle this season.

Back to LeFevour though. He is such a methodical player that a lot of times you don't realize the type of numbers he's putting up until you look at the box score at the end of the game. He just works his way through his progressions and is willing to take a 5-yard throw underneath if that is what is there. I wouldn't say that we design a lot of runs for him, but he can pick his spots and is faster than you would expect when he's in the open field.

It's tough to compare him with any one quarterback. He is the equivalent of a basketball gym rat in that he is always studying tape and seems to be ready for anything a defense will show him on any given week. Like I said before, he is an extremely smart kid and has this calmness about him on the field that is uncanny for a sophomore. He was a running back growing up, but moved to quarterback as a high school sophomore and was a varsity backup. This really is just his fourth season as a starting quarterback, so he is still continuing to grow into the position.

3. CMU is having somewhat of a strange season. The Chips are playing great in the MAC, but when they go out of conference, it's been pretty ugly. Now, I'm not going to say that they are terrible because losing at Purdue, Clemson, and Kansas is nothing to be ashamed of. But losing 44-14 to North Dakota State at home??? Come on, explain that one. Also, being an Ohioan, Kansas is never on tv yet I keep telling everyone I know that they are for real (Why, I have no idea). Are the Fightin' Mangino's the real deal?

North Dakota State came into our place with something to prove. They are a great football team, and I would expect them to win a I-AA national title sooner rather than later. They were big up front, physical, and had excellent athletes at the skill positions.

I think Clemson is a very underrated football team. Everybody knows about the running backs, but their defense is as fast as I've seen. The gameday atmosphere there is incredible too. As for Kansas, yeah I think they are for real. Reesing does a good job of managing their offense and they can run the ball pretty well. Obviously they have the ability to throw it too, which Nebraska found out last weekend. The defense is fast and physical. Aqib Talib could play for anyone in the country. Unfortunately for him, I think he gets lost in the mix a little bit because there are still a lot of people that just don't want to believe in the Jayhawks.

4. Finally (I said this would be quick), I've been to a few football games, in my younger days, up in Mt. Pleasant but it's been awhile. One thing that always stood out was the exubernace and intensity of the students at the game. It's refreshing that at least one school in the MAC has students that care! My question is, is it still like that? And if it is, do you think any of them would transfer to Miami to wake up our students? FIRE UP CHIPS!


Our student support is the best in the MAC. Their tailgating lot opens three hours before kickoff, and they start lining up to get into the lot at least an hour before that. The student seating section is now in the south end zone (closed end of the stadium), and they always fill those sections and spill around the corners of the end zone as well. When our players take the field before the game, they run out of the locker room in the north end zone all the way to the student section in the south end to help get the students fired up. It's a pretty cool thing to see. We led the MAC in attendance last season, and our students were a big reason for that. I hope that no one here ever takes the support we get for granted, because we do have a loyal fan base both on campus and in the community and surrounding areas.



Thanks a lot for your time, Scotty, time for you to focus on beating up on those Broncos. I hope to be going to head-to-head with you over the MAC title come December.

Friday Previews: Week 10

I'm going to be using the same format that I've been using over at SSO for these MAC Games, FYI.....



When: 7:00 PM ET (Fri.)

Why You Should Care: Will Temple continue their stunning streak of success? It's pretty unbelievable what they've been doing over the past few weeks against Northern Illinois, Akron, and Miami OH (ooh, sorry GMoney, but that's what I always call these guys :) ). Ohio on the other hand played a pretty decent game against Bowling Green on the road. The Bobcats are trying to surge back for a unlikely, yet still possible, attempt at a bowl bid.

Temple Will Win Because...: Why not? Temple has been playing really well lately, so there's no reason they shouldn't continue that heading into Peden Stadium. The Bobcats' Kalvin McRae will have a tough time running against Temple's run defense which has been one of the better ones in the MAC so far.

Ohio Will Win Because...: Ever since getting trounced by Buffalo, Ohio has really turned it up a notch offensively. Even if Temple has been decent against the run lately, they're going up against the best running back in the Mid-America Conference in Kalvin McRae. Theo Scott brings an added dimension to the attack for the Bobcats. Temple probably won't be able to do two very crucial things in this ballgame: protect the QB and win the special teams battle.

Keep an Eye on...: Kalvin McRae. This is the third time we've mentioned this guy in this tiny preview, but he's the definite X-factor of this game. If Temple can limit the damage that McRae will inevitably do, they might be okay.

Prediction: In the end, the Owls won't have enough offense to win the game. They're only averaging about 20 points per game right now going up against Ohio's suddenly efficient offense. Plus, this game is in Athens, Ohio. The edge certainly goes to the Bobcats, expect them to win. Ohio takes it, 27-13.




When: 7:30 PM ET, ESPNU (Fri.)

Why You Should Care: Bowling Green's bowl hopes rest on this one game. As of the moment, they're standing at 4-4 with their latest loss coming against Ohio last week in somewhat unimpressive fashion. Akron on the other hand will need to win out in order to be bowling in December (or January).

Akron Will Win Because...: The special teams game certainly plays to their strengths. Akron is one of the top kick and punt returning teams in the nation and that will be to their advantage. Bowling Green does have a potent attack, but the Zip secondary has been pretty solid all season long.

Bowling Green Will Win Because...: Akron's offense is about as exciting as watching paint dry. No offense intended to J.D. Brookhart's bunch, but their offense has really struggled to get moving. Tyler Sheehan has been having a rough go-at-it over the last couple of weeks, but he should be good to go at home. The bottom line is that Akron shouldn't be able to score enough points to hang on in this game.

Keep an Eye on...: John Haneline. While this unit won't get tested all that much, it'll be up to Haneline to make sure that the Falcon defense doesn't get complacent and take the Akron O too lightly. If he can make his tackles and disrupt Akron's gameplan, Bowling Green should be in control tonight.

Prediction: This is simply a gut feeling, but I'm going to go ahead and take Akron tonight. Look, the MAC is nuts right now. All signs point to Bowling Green in this game, so that, in effect, is making me take Akron. Satisfied with the reasoning? I am. Zips win, 28-24, it'll be a good football game.




When: 12:00 PM ET, Big 10 Network

Why You Should Care: Can Ball State compete with a Big 10 team? They've pretty much shown that they're capable against Illinois last week, but they can obviously do better. Last year, the Cardinals gave Indiana a real run for their money, so this could turn out to be a great matchup.

Ball State Will Win Because...: Ball State does have one of the more potent offenses in the nation. They didn't do as well as they could have against Illinois last week. Nate Davis ran all over the place with his legs and he might have similar success against the Hoosiers. Indiana ranks second in sacks, but the BSU protection has really been good so far this season.

Indiana Will Win Because...: I'm sorry to say this to our MAC readers, but, they're a Big 10 team; Ball State is from the MAC. Not really trying to sound pejorative, but it's the way it is. They have more talent across the board. Right now, Ball State ranks 116th against the run and that spells doom when going up against Kellen Lewis.

Keep an Eye on...: Darius Hill. He's one of the most athletic tight ends in the nation who looks more like a WR. Indiana has a decent defense, but they might struggle containing Hill who has a knack for a big catch every now and then.

Prediction: In the end, Ball State won't have enough in the tank. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see them compete a little bit better than they did against Illinois. The only thing keeping the Fighting Illini from winning that game by 20 points was the Fighting Illini. I see Ball State playing much better, but the Lewis-Hardy connection will be too tough to withstand. Indiana wins, 37-28.




When: 3:00 PM ET, ESPN Gameplan

Why You Should Care: The MAC is one the line in this one, literally. Buffalo can, stunningly might I add, take absolute control of the MAC East. A win here would allow for them to split the final two games of the season against Bowling Green and Kent State and they're in the MAC Championship game. But Miami OH is eager to pull a Lee Corso and tell them, "not so fast, my friends." The RedHawks are still alive and well in the chase.

Buffalo Will Win Because...: It's Cinderella. Come on. They're the classic team that is just absolutely inexplicably good that shouldn't be. The stats aren't there, but they're winning week in and week out. Turner Gill has done the best coaching job in the MAC, hands down. Drew Willy has been efficient and not many teams have been able to shut him and his efficient arm down.

Miami OH Will Win Because...: They're the better team. I hate to rain on Buffalo's parade, but the RedHawks do have the most talent on the field tomorrow. Eugene Harris has been playing very well and he won't be stopped easily. Even though the Bull defense has been decent over the course of October, Daniel Radabaugh has been baptized by fire and should be ready to face the challenge.

Keep an Eye on...: James Starks. Currently, Miami OH is 84th against the run and Starks has been as hot as they come. Against Syracuse and Akron, he was decent and it's possible that he may have cooled off a little bit, but the guy still has the potential to hit the 150+ yard mark tomorrow.

Prediction: Buffalo will hang in there, but they won't get enough from the offense in the end. Miami OH should take care of business in Oxford, but you never ever count Cinderella out of any game. They always find ways to win, but the string of good fortune will end at the hands of Shane Montgomery. The RedHawks were okay against Vanderbilt and the momentum will carry. Miami OH takes it at home, 30-17.




When: 7:00 PM ET

Why You Should Care: In what is a common theme this week, the MAC bowl situation is in flux. Central Michigan, Miami OH, Akron, Bowling Green, Ohio, Ball State, Buffalo, and Toledo are all vying for position. With a victory against the Eagles this week, Toledo just might be on the track to get back to bowl eligibility. Eastern though has been playing well lately highlighted by a decent effort against Northwestern and victory last week against Western Michigan.

Eastern Michigan Will Win Because...: They're beginning to see what defense is like under Jeff Genyk. They didn't let a Northwestern team that was just rolling offensively do that much on Ford Field and they held Western Michigan to a safety for two points. They've got the horses, at LB with Holtzclaw and at DT with Jason Jones, to at least keep them from scoring 70 points and gaining 812 yards in this game.

Toledo Will Win Because...: Aaron Opelt is beginning to catch fire. The Rockets have been tremendous offensively and Tom Amstutz should be pleased. They're also at home. Jalen Parmale is the 9th ranked rusher individually going up against a bad run defense in Eastern Michigan's. Right now, the Eagles are 81st against the run.

Keep an Eye on...: Barry Church. The QB situation at Eastern Michigan isn't really in good shape with Schmitt still a bit banged up and Kyle McMahon being a true freshman. Even though the Eagles will rely mostly on Pierre Walker, Church could be a pain in the side to the EMU QBs with his ability to fly around the field.

Prediction: Eastern will move the football and they won't let the Toledo offense do as much as they did against Northern Illinois, but it won't matter. The bottom line is that the Eagles won't be able to stop Parmale with a lot of success. Eastern's offense just isn't very potent and they won't be able to stay with Opelt and the rest of the offense. Rockets wins, 33-21.


GMoney's MAC Picks & Scores:

Akron 27, BG 24.
OU 16, Temple 10.
Miami 23, Buffalo 14.
Toledo 30, EMU 17.
IU 42, Ball St. 34.

Akron at Bowling Green Preview

OCTOBER WAS NOT KIND TO FALCONS

Everything I've been reading on Bowling Green lately has been really depressing for the Falcons. At the end of September, they were 3-1 with wins over Minnesota of the Big Ten (11), Temple and Western Kentucky in addition to a respectable performance against Michigan State. But since then, they have been hammered by Boston College and Miami, beat a limping Kent team, then lost to Ohio at home. Yes, October has been a tough month.

Injury Woes

The Falcons fortunes turned during the Western Kentucky game when quarterback Tyler Sheehan injured his shoulder. Since then, BG is 1-3. Sheehan's production has diminished. Since the Western game, he has thrown more interceptions (6) than touchdowns (5). Still, head coach Gregg Brandon has no intention of benching Sheehan in favor of backup quarterback, freshman Anthony Glaud.

In addition to a limping quarterback, the Falcons are also working through an injury to freshman running back Willie Geter, who has been hobbling on a bad ankle sprain.

Same for the Zips

It is not like Akron has been setting the world on fire either. After a respectable showing against Ohio State and emotional victories over Kent State and Western Michigan, the Zips have completely lost their mojo by getting waxed at UConn and suffering two conference setbacks to Temple and Buffalo. The Zips are also banged up on defense.

Match Ups

Despite their injuries, BG still has the MAC's top passing offense, averaging 300 yards per game. They'll be going up against the MAC's top pass defense in Akron, giving up only 198.5 yards per game. Offensively, the Falcons have been moving the ball, ranking fourth in total offense (401.4) compared to the dismal performance of the Zips offense, averaging 293 yards per game - last in the MAC. Comparing the defenses, Akron holds the edge, giving up 28.4 points per game to BG's 34.4 ppg. The Falcons' defense has been yielding almost 428 yards a game to the opposition, compared to 383 yards for the Zips. Lately, the BG defense hasn't been showing much, but then again, neither has the Zips offense.

Offense must come alive

This is the game where the Zips offense must show something...anything! If quarterback Chris Jacquemain struggles, coach J.D. Brookhart has got to relent and put in Carlton Jackson, who hasn't played substantial minutes since the Kent State game. At UConn, Jackson was benched for breaking a team rule, and he hasn't seen daylight since. Akron has got to exploit their best offensive weapon, receiver Jabari Arthur and balance out the pass with effective use of running back Bryan Williams. If Carlton Jackson gets in, his running ability will be another offensive threat. It's time to take some chances.

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AKRON AT BOWLING GREEN - THE TALE OF THE TAPE

Akron (3-5, 2-2 MAC) at Bowling Green (4-4, 2-2 MAC), 7:30 p.m. ET

Site: Doyt Perry Stadium

Series: Bowling Green leads 8-7 (Last meeting: Akron 35, BG 28)

Radio: SportsRadio 1350/Akron, WERE 1490/Cleveland

Television: ESPNU

Line: BG favored by 7

Outlook: A couple of weeks ago this game was setting up as potentially being one that would decide the winner of the MAC East but both teams have stumbled badly down the stretch with Akron dropping back-to-back divisional games against Temple and Buffalo while Bowling Green has dropped two of its last three divisional games. Both teams will need significant help to get back into the race. The Zips got a lift last week with the surprise return of DB John Mackey who was thought to have been lost for the season but Mackey's return was not enough. The Zips offense ranks last in the MAC, averaging only 293.4 yards per game and outside of WR Jabari Arthur, who is second in the MAC with 95.6 yards receiving per game, has been completely ineffective this season, scoring barely above 19 points per game, 11th overall in the MAC. The Falcons meanwhile have been probably the most inconsistent team in the MAC, looking like world beaters one week and then crashing and burning the following week, much as they did against Ohio at home in their most recent setback. To make matters a bit more dicey for the Falcons, BG may be without freshman RB Willie Geter who suffered a sprained ankle against the Bobcats and may also be without leading WR and return man Corey Partridge due to a thumb injury. QB Tyler Sheehan has struggled lately but BG still possesses the MAC's top passing offense, averaging 300 yards per game which presents an intriguing matchup, facing Akron, the MAC's top passing defense, allowing only 198.5 yards per game through the air. Both teams are struggling and if it weren't for their last second miracle finish at Western Michigan, the Zips would be on a four-game losing streak. Not much confidence in choosing either side here, but we will go with the Falcons at home. (source: MACReportOnline.com)

MACWire

MACReportOnline previews Week #10 action.

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The Philadelphia Inquirer previews the Temple-OU game.

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Miami wins the recruiting derby for an offensive lineman from Lakota West High School ...so reports the Pulse-Journal in Mason, OH.

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Ball State is preparing for Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis...take it from Akron...good luck!

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Surviving in the MAC requires defending the pass, which makes the University at Buffalo’s East Division title bid both unexpected and extraordinary...reports the Buffalo News.

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After a distraction last week with Vanderbilt, The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Miami RedHawks(skins) are back to MAC action this week with Eastern Division upstart Buffalo.

WKBW-TV7 reports that Buffalo is all abuzz over the success of the Bulls this year.

MAC Games on TV this week

Hi let me first introduce myself, I'm currently a Junior at Northern Illinois University (NIU, not UNI!) and am currently a student of one of the best business schools in the country. No matter how much we suck (especially this year), I try and make every home NIU Huskie Football game (and some away ones too). I also have a cleverly named blog, Red and Black Attack following all aspects of Huskie sports. I love this crazy MAC conference and will try and follow our basketball team a lot more this season.

Before this week, the #4 Arizona State @ #5 Oregon game was only going to be shown on Fox Sports Northwest and Arizona. The MAC deals with the same regional problems, unless ESPN decides to pickup games of national interest. The other option for teams in the MAC conference is to show games during the week so that they can be picked up for a national audience. However, this is controversial, because it affects not only the attendance of the games being played, but the academic integrity of the players that may have to miss some classes to get ready for the games. MAC games next week during the week include CMU @ WMU on Tuesday and Ohio @ Akron on Wednesday, both of which will be on ESPN2

All times EST

Friday:

7:30 - Akron (3-5, 2-2) @ Bowling Green (4-4, 2-2) -7

Why you should watch: It will be interesting to see which team will bounce back from their losses the previous week in which Ohio beat Bowling Green 38-27 and Akron losing to Temple and Buffalo 2 straight weeks. It will be Akron's 2nd of 3 games in a 12 day span and this game is vital for them to win. Also, make sure to watch Senior DB John Mackey try to come back from an ACL in just one month for Akron. BGSU QB Tyler Sheehan should be back 100% from his shoulder injury ready to fire down the field. A loss by BGSU would eliminate the Falcons from the MAC Championship.


Saturday:

12:00 - Ball St. (5-4) @ Indiana (5-4) -6.5

Why you should watch: Both teams are hungry to become bowl-eligible for the first time since the 90's so watch out this game could go back and forth all day. Ball State is 0-40 against teams from BCS conferences, and is looking to get their first tomorrow. Indiana should be in a sour mood after getting blown out last week by Wisconsin 3-33. Last year Indiana squeeked by in a 24-23 victory.

3:00 - Buffalo (4-5, 4-1) @ Miami (OH) (4-5, 3-1) -7

Why you should watch: Well, ESPN 360 isn't exactly on real TV, but it's free to watch online and is of great quality. Also will be shown locally on the Ohio News Network (whatever that is...) GMoney already did a preview on this game right HERE on this site a few posts down.


And if you're rollin' in dough, these games will be available online via All-MACcess $8 PPV:

Friday
7:00 - Temple (3-5, 3-2) @ Ohio (4-5, 2-3) -7.5
Can Temple win its 4th straight game???

Saturday
7:00 - EMU (3-6, 2-2) @ Toledo (4-5, 2-3) -7.5
Which suddenly surging cellar dweller will put a positive note on their season?