Quote:Saturday Sept. 18
Connecticut @ Temple 12 Noon ET ESPN Plus/Game Plan
Kent State @ Penn State 12 Noon ET ESPN HD or ESPN2 HD
Northern Illinois @ Illinois 12 Noon ET Big Ten Network
Ohio @ Ohio State 12 Noon ET Big Ten Network
Ball State @ Purdue 12 Noon ET Big Ten Network
Colorado State @ Miami 3:30 pm ET Ohio News Network (ONN)
Central Florida @ Buffalo 7 pm ET T-W Cable Sportsnet
Akron @ Kentucky 7:30 pm ET ESPN3.com/Game Plan
Also, Marshall @ BG.
Our best chances for wins in order are: Temple, Miami, BGSU, NIU, and Buffalo (long-shot). Temple's defense is as good or better than Michigan's and should hold a shaky UCONN offense in check long enough for the offense and/or special teams to make some plays. I think Temple takes the Huskies this season.
Miami is still a work in progress, but CSU has been horrible in the first two weeks. At home, give this one to the Redhawks.
BGSU appears to have a good coach in place but lost almost as much firepower on offense as CMU, and the defense is still very young. Still, the Falcons have played well against two tough opponents in losses on the road. Marshall came close to knocking of their in-State rivals but suffered a crushing OT defeat. Marshall has also played just one game. The Herd could get caught licking its wounds and run into a hungry Falcons team in their home opener. A MAC win here would not surprise me.
Illinois beat SIU, but the Salukis aren't what they were, IMHO. Whatever NIU folks seem to think, Kill still strikes me as a better game-day coach than Zook. If Kill pulls out all the stops and Harnish was able to shake off the rust Saturday, NIU has a shot at this one.
As for Buffalo, the Bulls are still finding their way after a radical shift in offensive philosophy, but the defense looks to have potential. They're a long-shot against the Golden Knights, yes, but UCF just might be looking ahead to the Kansas State game. If Buffalo can get a good start, everyone might just be surprised.
I'd give Kent a shot, and the Flashes might make things interesting, but Paterno's crew will be looking to get back on track after last night. No way Kent gets anything but Penn State's A-game.
Ohio has given OSU a game in recent years, but the Bobcats looked terrible on offense against Toledo at home. OSU looks only to be vulnerable in the special teams area, and Ohio looked bad there, also. The Bobcats will have to hope their defense can make a few plays early and that Ohio State comes out still celebrating the Miami win. Otherwise, this one could get embarrassing.
Ball State might actually have the talent to give a mediocre Purdue squad a game. But they also have Stan Parrish and an underachieving OL. I could see the Cardinals keeping it close, but that's about it.
Akron @ Kentucky - I doubt the Zips have much confidence left after the first two weeks. Kentucky
could get caught looking ahead to Florida, but I still don't see much hope here.
Worst-case, I see 2 MAC wins in these games. Best-case, four. Let's get 'em, men!
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