2017 MAC Pick’em — Week 11
So never mind the darkness, the MAC games will be played, ‘cuz no lead lasts forever, in the cold November rain
Rivalry Week lived up to the expectations, with some solid football played on the weeknights. The picks were all over the place, with Kent State and NIU costing some pickers valuable points and Western Michigan costing nearly everyone a big two points.
However, the biggest loser on the week was Justin Coffin, whose late submission cost him six points for missing both the bonus points and the Tuesday games entirely. The move cost him his hold on first, and with a winning week from Ben Roush and Fitz, the overall standings now have a lovely new look.
It’s so beautiful.
This week sees all twelve MAC schools return to action with an important cross-over match-up and a big MAC East show-down as well as two rivalry games. Let’s get to picking! With a horrible match-up on Thursday and no big “Wow” game on Tuesday, this sharing this week nets you 1 bonus point.
Akron vs Miami — Man, the RedHawks just could not catch a break on Tuesday. The loss in the Battle of the Bricks means that for Chuck Martin’s team to go bowling again, they have to win out. Two extremely tough home games kick off the slate, with a MAC East contender in Akron the first up. The Zips do just enough to win at times, and with the Ohio showdown for the East next week, I like Terry Bowden to have his team focused and ready to play coming off a bye.
Bowling Green vs Buffalo — Buffalo hasn’t had the best season due to injuries at QB, but with Tyree Jackson back and well rested, look for the Bulls to begin their own trek towards bowl eligibility against a BG team that looked decent in beating a bad Kent State team. The Bulls know that if they can get through these next two weeks, a match-up with Ohio on Black Friday would be all that’s keeping them from a bowl berth. The Falcons are just playing for pride.
Kent State vs Western Michigan — Kent State is bad. Western Michigan is poorly coached. Look for the Broncos to roll behind its run game on Senior Night. Related: Jarvion Franklin currently has 4,509 career rushing yards. Only two players have ever rushed for 5,000 yards in MAC history (Prentice and Wolfe). He has 4 games to get 491 yards (122.8 yds/game). He can easily knock a good 40% off that figure in this game alone.
Toledo vs Ohio — The MAC West favorite vs the MAC East favorite. Really, I expect to see this match-up again in Detroit in 4 weeks, and it’ll be so good both times. If the Rockets lose, it’s not a big deal as they have BGSU and WMU left and would then need to match NIU’s record the rest of the way (sans both losing to Western).
If Ohio loses, it gets trickier with Ohio currently at 4–1 in the East. If Akron wins on Tuesday, then Ohio would be a game back and a game at a possibly 100% Buffalo team on Black Friday looming. They would have to win out against two tough opponents to win the East or hope Akron implodes. With more on the line and a whole two extra days’ worth of rest (which is insane from a scheduling standpoint), I like Nathan Rourke to carve up the Toledo defense like a nice ham.
Eastern Michigan vs Central Michigan — Eastern learned how to win again last week against Ball State. I think they carry that swagger against an inconsistent CMU team to strangely hand WMU it’s fourth straight Michigan MAC Trophy. Go Eagles.
Ball State vs Northern Illinois — The Bronze Stalk will remain in DeKalb yet another year. The Cardinals have given up 50+ in four of their five MAC games, and have not had a pulse all year. I don’t expect there to be one against a mad defense.
Game of the Week — Toledo vs Ohio. Look, it’s gonna be the MAC Championship, might as well acknowledge it as the Game of the Year while we’re at it.
