09-29-2008, 10:36 AM
09-29-2008, 07:28 PM
I still can't believe Toledo blew a 13-0 1st quarter lead and got drilled at home by FUI. That's as bad as it gets. Was that the last straw for Amstutz?
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Northern Illinois 37 - Eastern Michigan 0
Nick’s Pick: NIU 27 – Eastern Michigan 16
Comment: NIU jumped out to a 21-0 lead at the half as they rolled on the road to a 37-0 win over the Eagles. "Look for the improved NIU team to get a divisional road win in Ypsi," said Nick, and he was right on even though I think we all expected a much closer game. The Huskies travel to face a disappointing Tennessee Volunteers team next week while EMU is @ Bowling Green.
Ball State 41 - Kent State 20
Nick’s Pick: Ball State 41 – Kent State 23
Comment: Great pick from Nick on this one as he was just a Kent State field goal from a perfect prediction. Miquale Lewis rushed for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns and Nate Davis connected with Briggs Orsbon on 10 of his 23 completions as Ball State rolled to a 5-0 start. Kent State hosts Akron next weekend while Ball State travels to Toledo for a 7 pm kickoff on Saturday night.
Bowling Green 45 - Wyoming 16
Nick’s Pick: BGSU 23 – Wyoming 21
Comment: "The Falcons have had two weeks to prepare for this game while Wyoming has been destroyed twice this year and in fact, are just four points away from being 0-4. Look for the MAC to have an extremely rare road victory over a Mountain West team." Nice call Nick. BG bounced back from consecutive non-conference losses to pickup a solid road win. The Falcons begin conference play next weekend with a home game against Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
Ohio 51 - VMI 31
Nick’s Pick: Ohio 36 – VMI 12
Comment: "The I-AA Keydets will not offer much of a challenge to Ohio but will the Bobcats play to their potential against a Big South program?" It looked like Nick was off on this pick as the banged-up Bobcats trailed 24-17 in the 2nd quarter. But Ohio's offense was not to be stopped often in this game as they racked up 575 yards and both the defense and special teams added a touchdown a piece as the Bobcats won 51-31. Next up for the Bobcats is a trip to Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan on Saturday.
Western Michigan 7 - Temple 3
Nick’s Pick: Western Michigan 30 – Temple 10
Comment: Nick's pregame comments were "there were many Temple fans emailing me that this season the Owls would contend for a MAC title. I stated to all of that progress is being made on Broad Street but that Temple was at least one year away from any sort of divisional contention." The Owls proved yet again to be close, but not close enough as in their four-game slide they have lost three of those games by a combined nine points. At 0-2 in the MAC it is going to be difficult for the Owls to climb out of this hole, but with four teams in the MAC East having a conference already loss it keeps Temple just one game behind each in the loss column. A tough road is ahead for Temple as they have games @ Miami and @ Central Michigan in the next two weeks.
Cincinnati 17 - Akron 15
Nick’s Pick: Cincinnati 34 – Akron 17
Comment:
The QB problems continue for the Bearcats as Tony Pike tossed for 320 yards, 2 TD and one broken arm in defeating Akron. The difference in this game was a failed 2-point conversion run by Chris Jacquemain as Akron proved to hold UC much closer than Nick expected. The Zips have a matchup @ rival Kent on Saturday at noon.
Central Michigan 27 - Buffalo 25
Nick’s Pick: Central Michigan 37 – Buffalo 28
Comment: "This may be the most entertaining MAC game of the weekend...Look for Central to pull away in a thriller." Nick, you nailed this one. Just plain nailed it. There's something about Buffalo and thrilling conference games this year; UB is now 1-1 in the MAC with a last second win vs. Temple and a last second missed FG loss @ Central Michigan. Down 27-18 with 2:58 remaining, Buffalo scored with 1:37 remaining on a 65-yard TD pass to James Starks to cut the CMU lead to 27-25. With the clock as their enemy, the Bulls recovered the onside kick and were able to attempt a potential game-winning 46-yard field goal which was no good giving Central Michigan the win and a 2-0 start in the MAC. Buffalo has a week off before hosting Western Michigan on October 11th while CMU also has a bye and hosts Temple on the 11th.
FIU 35 - Toledo 16
Nick’s Pick: Toledo 45 – FIU 16
Comment: "FIU has only scored 19 points all season. Toledo needs a game like this after last week’s four-hour double OT marathon home loss to Fresno State." Ouch. In last week's recap I came down hard on Kent State for what I called a bad loss @ Louisiana-Lafayette, but this is far worse. Public perception may not have the MAC at the bottom of Division I-A/FBS conferences, but losses to Sun Belt teams are only going to hurt us. FIU came in at 0-3 with 99 points scored against them and they hold Toledo, a team that scored 54 in a loss to a ranked team last week, to just 16 points at home. I am so disappointed that I am just going to stop writing now...
By Luke Jernigan
VanDelay Sports Webmaster & Marketing Director
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Northern Illinois 37 - Eastern Michigan 0
Nick’s Pick: NIU 27 – Eastern Michigan 16
Comment: NIU jumped out to a 21-0 lead at the half as they rolled on the road to a 37-0 win over the Eagles. "Look for the improved NIU team to get a divisional road win in Ypsi," said Nick, and he was right on even though I think we all expected a much closer game. The Huskies travel to face a disappointing Tennessee Volunteers team next week while EMU is @ Bowling Green.
Ball State 41 - Kent State 20
Nick’s Pick: Ball State 41 – Kent State 23
Comment: Great pick from Nick on this one as he was just a Kent State field goal from a perfect prediction. Miquale Lewis rushed for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns and Nate Davis connected with Briggs Orsbon on 10 of his 23 completions as Ball State rolled to a 5-0 start. Kent State hosts Akron next weekend while Ball State travels to Toledo for a 7 pm kickoff on Saturday night.
Bowling Green 45 - Wyoming 16
Nick’s Pick: BGSU 23 – Wyoming 21
Comment: "The Falcons have had two weeks to prepare for this game while Wyoming has been destroyed twice this year and in fact, are just four points away from being 0-4. Look for the MAC to have an extremely rare road victory over a Mountain West team." Nice call Nick. BG bounced back from consecutive non-conference losses to pickup a solid road win. The Falcons begin conference play next weekend with a home game against Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
Ohio 51 - VMI 31
Nick’s Pick: Ohio 36 – VMI 12
Comment: "The I-AA Keydets will not offer much of a challenge to Ohio but will the Bobcats play to their potential against a Big South program?" It looked like Nick was off on this pick as the banged-up Bobcats trailed 24-17 in the 2nd quarter. But Ohio's offense was not to be stopped often in this game as they racked up 575 yards and both the defense and special teams added a touchdown a piece as the Bobcats won 51-31. Next up for the Bobcats is a trip to Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan on Saturday.
Western Michigan 7 - Temple 3
Nick’s Pick: Western Michigan 30 – Temple 10
Comment: Nick's pregame comments were "there were many Temple fans emailing me that this season the Owls would contend for a MAC title. I stated to all of that progress is being made on Broad Street but that Temple was at least one year away from any sort of divisional contention." The Owls proved yet again to be close, but not close enough as in their four-game slide they have lost three of those games by a combined nine points. At 0-2 in the MAC it is going to be difficult for the Owls to climb out of this hole, but with four teams in the MAC East having a conference already loss it keeps Temple just one game behind each in the loss column. A tough road is ahead for Temple as they have games @ Miami and @ Central Michigan in the next two weeks.
Cincinnati 17 - Akron 15
Nick’s Pick: Cincinnati 34 – Akron 17
Comment:
The QB problems continue for the Bearcats as Tony Pike tossed for 320 yards, 2 TD and one broken arm in defeating Akron. The difference in this game was a failed 2-point conversion run by Chris Jacquemain as Akron proved to hold UC much closer than Nick expected. The Zips have a matchup @ rival Kent on Saturday at noon.
Central Michigan 27 - Buffalo 25
Nick’s Pick: Central Michigan 37 – Buffalo 28
Comment: "This may be the most entertaining MAC game of the weekend...Look for Central to pull away in a thriller." Nick, you nailed this one. Just plain nailed it. There's something about Buffalo and thrilling conference games this year; UB is now 1-1 in the MAC with a last second win vs. Temple and a last second missed FG loss @ Central Michigan. Down 27-18 with 2:58 remaining, Buffalo scored with 1:37 remaining on a 65-yard TD pass to James Starks to cut the CMU lead to 27-25. With the clock as their enemy, the Bulls recovered the onside kick and were able to attempt a potential game-winning 46-yard field goal which was no good giving Central Michigan the win and a 2-0 start in the MAC. Buffalo has a week off before hosting Western Michigan on October 11th while CMU also has a bye and hosts Temple on the 11th.
FIU 35 - Toledo 16
Nick’s Pick: Toledo 45 – FIU 16
Comment: "FIU has only scored 19 points all season. Toledo needs a game like this after last week’s four-hour double OT marathon home loss to Fresno State." Ouch. In last week's recap I came down hard on Kent State for what I called a bad loss @ Louisiana-Lafayette, but this is far worse. Public perception may not have the MAC at the bottom of Division I-A/FBS conferences, but losses to Sun Belt teams are only going to hurt us. FIU came in at 0-3 with 99 points scored against them and they hold Toledo, a team that scored 54 in a loss to a ranked team last week, to just 16 points at home. I am so disappointed that I am just going to stop writing now...
By Luke Jernigan
VanDelay Sports Webmaster & Marketing Director
09-30-2008, 12:04 AM
Toledo has all makings of an elite program in the MAC. attendance, able to get quality home games, and winning tradition.
Quite frankly Toledo should be getting to bowls every year considering their competitive advantage being the MAC strongest program from a financial standpoint. Toledo has a Tv market and a loyal fan base. Few MAC teams can afford to get 2 non-conference home games like Toledo. Toledo is 1-3 and should be 3-1 with this schedule. You should win at home especially the amount of travel that Fresno State and FIU had to make. Toledo has a chance to beat Michigan. This was a year where Toledo could have been a top 25 team depending on its ability to beat Ball State or CMU. Instead Toledo is heading toward a losing season a no bowl. Years like this will cost Toledo in the future as Ball State, CMU and BGSU are able to recruit against Toledo.
Quite frankly Toledo should be getting to bowls every year considering their competitive advantage being the MAC strongest program from a financial standpoint. Toledo has a Tv market and a loyal fan base. Few MAC teams can afford to get 2 non-conference home games like Toledo. Toledo is 1-3 and should be 3-1 with this schedule. You should win at home especially the amount of travel that Fresno State and FIU had to make. Toledo has a chance to beat Michigan. This was a year where Toledo could have been a top 25 team depending on its ability to beat Ball State or CMU. Instead Toledo is heading toward a losing season a no bowl. Years like this will cost Toledo in the future as Ball State, CMU and BGSU are able to recruit against Toledo.