MAC Championship Game
By Brian Edwards
Ball State will be looking to remain perfect when it faces Buffalo in Friday’s MAC title game at Ford Field in Detroit. Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened the Cardinals as 14-point favorites with a total of 60.
As of Wednesday afternoon, most spots had Ball St. (12-0 straight up, 9-2 against the spread) listed as 15-point favorites with a total of 61. Bettors can back Buffalo (7-5 SU, 7-4 ATS) for a plus-440 return on the money line (risk $100 to win $440).
Brady Hoke’s team clinched the MAC West by virtue of back-to-back wins both SU and ATS over Central Michigan and Western Michigan in the last two weeks. The Cardinals took out the Broncos last Tuesday, cruising to an easy 45-22 win as 10-point home favorites.
Junior quarterback Nate Davis connected on 17-of-25 passes for 273 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Davis also had seven rushes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Junior RB MiQuale Lewis produced a workmanlike performance, rushing 32 times for 120 yards and three TDs.
Turner Gill’s squad saw its five-game winning streak come to a halt in its last outing, a 24-21 loss to Kent St. as a nine-point home favorite. The Bulls had a 21-17 lead midway through the final stanza, but they couldn’t contain Kent St. QB Julian Edelman during the Flashes’ game-winning drive.
Nevertheless, Buffalo is in position to win its first conference title, while Ball St. is shooting for its first MAC championship since 1996.
Both teams are going to Detroit for the first time because of brilliant play from their respective QBs. Davis ranks sixth in the nation with a QB rating of 169.3. He has completed 67.3 percent of his throws for 3,091 yards with a 24/7 touchdown-interception ratio. Davis has also rushed for 241 yards and three TDs.
Buffalo senior QB Drew Willy has connected on 64.5 percent of his passes for 2,885 yards with a 22/5 TD-INT ratio. His favorite target is junior WR Naaman Roosevelt, who leads the MAC with 86 receptions for 1,196 yards and 10 TD catches.
Both clubs also have outstanding featured backs. In fact, Ball St.’s Lewis ranks fourth in the nation in rushing yards per game, averaging 130.8 YPG. Buffalo’s James Starks is sixth in the country with 122.6 yards rushing per game.
Starks has eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second straight year. He has rushed for 1,226 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2008, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
Ball St. is 15th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 37.7 PPG. Meanwhile, the Bulls are scoring at a 30.2 PPG clip. They’ll face a Cardinals defense that has given up just 16.7 PPG.
Since Buffalo joined the MAC, Ball St. has won all four head-to-head meetings and covered the spread in the three games that had a line. The ‘over’ is 3-0 in those meetings that had a total.
The ‘over’ is 5-1 in Buffalo’s last six games, 7-4 overall. The ‘under’ is 5-2 in Ball State’s last seven games, 6-5 overall.
Kick-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2.
vegasinsider.com.