toledo (+7.5)
kent state is in unchartered territory this saturday against toledo. after weeks of performing well in the underdog role, ksu was installed as a massive 24 point road chalk against hapless temple this past weekend. though they never had much trouble with the owls, they were content to get out of philly with a 28-17 win. this week, they're laying points to a very capable toledo team. the rockets might not be as good as recent editions, but this is still a potent offensive team that can beat you in a lot of ways. ut flat out self-destructed in their home loss to central michigan last week, but despite numerous dropped passes, silly mistakes, and costly personal fouls/penalties, they still managed to put up 487 yards of total offense. freshman aaron opelt was very impressive in his first career start and he has to potential to be the next solid toledo quarterback. with a little bit of help, he would have put up even better numbers against cmu. he was the lone bright spot among several disappointing performances by normally reliable ut skill position players. kent state is playing incredibly confident football right now. but covering 7 points against a formidable opponent -- not to mention one who is a perennial mac power -- is going to take a near flawless effort from the flashes. and it's very hard to lay such a number with a team whose kicking game is as poor as kent's. the flashes are beginning to establish themselves as a contender in the mac after years of futility but this is a role they are not accustomed to. just winning straight up is no longer going to be good enough for kent. they are going to have to cover some chalk and that's not something they are good enough to do quite yet ... at least not against a team like toledo.
also bg (-10.5)
theyre not throwing the ball 35 times a game like they did with jacobs, but this offense is on the verge of being explosive with their young backfield of turner, barnes, and bullock. only real hesitation is that emu is healthy and off a bye and has underperformed this year. theyre not as bad as theyve played. but the falcons can name the homecoming score. with only 4 home games all season (and just one after this game), to lay another egg would be really surprising.
nothin on cmu/ball state.
ball state is horrible, no matter what they did against buffalo. their offense is better than expected but that defense is atrocious. cmu on the brink of breaking through to legitimately contend for a mac title. but not enthralled with the chalk.
ohio/illinois a tossup. bobcats are normally good for one solid showing against a power conference foe per year. this could be the one. but line is lower than expected. obviously illinois is nothin special but thought theyd be more in the (-8) or (-9) range. wouldnt be a shocker if ou won, but at under a touchdown, not enough reason to play it.
kent state is in unchartered territory this saturday against toledo. after weeks of performing well in the underdog role, ksu was installed as a massive 24 point road chalk against hapless temple this past weekend. though they never had much trouble with the owls, they were content to get out of philly with a 28-17 win. this week, they're laying points to a very capable toledo team. the rockets might not be as good as recent editions, but this is still a potent offensive team that can beat you in a lot of ways. ut flat out self-destructed in their home loss to central michigan last week, but despite numerous dropped passes, silly mistakes, and costly personal fouls/penalties, they still managed to put up 487 yards of total offense. freshman aaron opelt was very impressive in his first career start and he has to potential to be the next solid toledo quarterback. with a little bit of help, he would have put up even better numbers against cmu. he was the lone bright spot among several disappointing performances by normally reliable ut skill position players. kent state is playing incredibly confident football right now. but covering 7 points against a formidable opponent -- not to mention one who is a perennial mac power -- is going to take a near flawless effort from the flashes. and it's very hard to lay such a number with a team whose kicking game is as poor as kent's. the flashes are beginning to establish themselves as a contender in the mac after years of futility but this is a role they are not accustomed to. just winning straight up is no longer going to be good enough for kent. they are going to have to cover some chalk and that's not something they are good enough to do quite yet ... at least not against a team like toledo.
also bg (-10.5)
theyre not throwing the ball 35 times a game like they did with jacobs, but this offense is on the verge of being explosive with their young backfield of turner, barnes, and bullock. only real hesitation is that emu is healthy and off a bye and has underperformed this year. theyre not as bad as theyve played. but the falcons can name the homecoming score. with only 4 home games all season (and just one after this game), to lay another egg would be really surprising.
nothin on cmu/ball state.
ball state is horrible, no matter what they did against buffalo. their offense is better than expected but that defense is atrocious. cmu on the brink of breaking through to legitimately contend for a mac title. but not enthralled with the chalk.
ohio/illinois a tossup. bobcats are normally good for one solid showing against a power conference foe per year. this could be the one. but line is lower than expected. obviously illinois is nothin special but thought theyd be more in the (-8) or (-9) range. wouldnt be a shocker if ou won, but at under a touchdown, not enough reason to play it.
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