Written by Mike Perry

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Looking over this weekend’s slate of Mid-American Conference football games there really are not one or two games that stand out to me from a wagering perspective. In fact, if I were to set my own lines for these games everything would probably look relatively the same. When I was in school that was how I would choose what games I would wager on…after looking through the schedule I would put down numbers I thought were reasonable on each game. Then compare my numbers to the actual betting lines. If there was a big discrepancy on any of the games, that was where my wager would usually go.

Well, that technique did not work very well last weekend as the final verdict looked as such: two wins, five losses. The fictional $1,000 I started with is down to $820 so I better pick some winners this week.

Again, remember, this is for entertainment purposes only.

Northern Illinois -8 at Western Michigan: This is a bigger game for Western than it is for the Huskies, and it is being played at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo. However, the Broncos just don’t have the horses or front seven on defense to stop Chandler Harnish and Chad Spann. WMU is ninth in the conference in rushing defense, and though the Broncos score a lot of points the Northern Illinois defense is probably the most overlooked part of the most solid football team in the MAC. The Huskies are tops in the conference in total offense and third in total defense, behind Kent State and Ohio University. Though the crowd will be up for this one and the stakes are very high for the Broncos, I am going with Northern Illinois to cover.

The wager: $100 on Northern Illinois (-8)

 

Akron +28 at Temple: This is a sucker line. 28 points looks like a lot for a conference game, but that’s just one touchdown a quarter. The Zips are still looking for their first win of the season and against Temple, in Philly with the Owls looking to tie Ohio atop the MAC East standings (The Bobcats are 4-1 in the MAC and playing a non-conference game this week. Temple is 3-1 in the league) I don’t think things are lined up for Akron to shock the world.

The Zips, despite sitting winless at 0-8, are not a terrible football team. They are a program trying to get settled in with a first-year head coach that has totally changed the system. Akron will be back, but not this week and not against a motivated Temple team.

The wager: $50 on Temple (-28)

Ball State +10.5 at Kent: Ball State is dead last in the MAC in passing offense, third in rushing offense and 10^th in scoring offense. Kent just happens to have one of the premiere defenses in the country that is absolutely merciless against the run. Kent also leads the conference in sacks with 23.

The Golden Flashes’ offense is not very good, but neither is the Cardinals’ defense. The Kent defense will carry the day.

The wager: $100 on Kent (-10.5)

Bowling Green +11.5 at Central Michigan: This could be a very dangerous situation the Falcons are walking into. Central Michigan is having a nightmare season as the defending MAC champions are just 2-6 overall, 1-4 in the conference. However, Ball State waltzed into Kelly/Shorts Stadium a few weeks ago and ran the Chippewas off the turf.

I just have a feeling Central Michigan is looking to take out some frustrations on someone, and the struggling Falcons could be the unfortunate victims. Bowling Green is coming off a humbling home loss to Kent and does not have much to play for. This could get ugly.

The wager: $100 on Central Michigan (-10.5)

Miami -2.5 at Buffalo: This should be an entertaining football game as both teams feature middle-of-the-pack offenses and defenses. Miami has an exciting young offense with a good young quarterback learning the ropes in just his second season, Buffalo has a balanced attack that relies on the arm of quarterback Jerry Davis, who has 12 touchdown passes this season. The weather could be a little squirrelly, which could favor the better rushing team. Miami has less than 500 rushing yards as a team this year so the Bulls, despite losing the versatile back Bran Thermilus for the season with a knee injury this week, should have the edge.

The wager: $50 on Buffalo (+2.5)

Louisiana-Lafayette +14 at Ohio: The Raigin’ Cajuns are ragin’ awful. They can’t move the ball on offense and can’t stop anyone from moving it on them. They are near the bottom of the national rankings in pretty much every statistical category and are making a long trip from the Bayou. Their two wins this season were over North Texas (28-27) and Arkansas State (31-24). You know you are in trouble when your kickoff returner is ranked in the top ten in total kick returns, as does the Ragin’ Cajuns’ Darryl Surgent. This one will be all Bobcats.

The wager: $100 on Ohio (-14)

Just a quick note. The Toledo at Eastern Michigan game was taken off the board in Vegas due to the suspension of five key Eastern Michigan players.