Toledo Rockets vs. Central Michigan Chippewas
The Toledo Rockets and the Central Michigan Chippewas will both be trying to pick up a win on Wednesday when they battle at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Oddsmakers currently have the Chippewas listed as 15½-point favorites versus the Rockets, while the game's total has not yet been posted.
Toledo dropped a MAC matchup with Miami (Ohio), 31-24, at Yager Stadium in Week 9.
The RedHawks covered as a 5-point home underdog while the final score played under the 57.5-point score.
Central Michigan lost a 31-10 battle with the ACC's Boston College at Alumni Stadium in Week 9.
Boston College covered as a 5.5-point home favorite while the final score played under the 48-point total.
Current streak:
Toledo has lost 2 straight games.
Team records:
Toledo: 4-5 SU, 4-5 ATS
Central Michigan: 7-2 SU, 6-2 ATS
Toledo most recently:
When playing in November are 4-6
When playing on turf are 5-5
After outgaining opponent are 1-9
When playing within the conference are 3-7
Central Michigan most recently:
When playing in November are 6-4
When playing on turf are 6-4
After being outgained are 7-3
When playing within the conference are 8-2
A few trends to consider:
Toledo is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games when playing Central Michigan
Toledo is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Central Michigan
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toledo's last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toledo's last 6 games
Central Michigan is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Central Michigan is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Toledo
Central Michigan is 16-4 SU in its last 20 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Central Michigan's last 5 games
Next up:
Toledo home to Eastern Michigan, Friday, November 20
Central Michigan at Ball State, Wednesday, November 18
TOLEDO (4 - 5) at C MICHIGAN (7 - 2)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
C MICHIGAN is 1-1 against the spread versus TOLEDO over the last 3 seasons
C MICHIGAN is 2-0 straight up against TOLEDO over the last 3 seasons
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
TOLEDO vs. CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Toledo is 7-16 SU in its last 23 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toledo's last 6 games
Central Michigan is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Toledo
Central Michigan is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Toledo
TOLEDO at C MICHIGAN
TOLEDO: 5-10 ATS in road games
C MICHIGAN: 4-0 ATS off loss by 21+ points
What Bettors Need to Know: Toledo at Central Michigan
By Nick Parsons
The MAC doesn't get a lot of attention, but when the Toledo Rockets (4-5 4-5 ATS) visit the Central Michigan Chippewas (7-2 6-2 ATS) the conference will have the spotlight all on its own, serving as the only college football game in play
Both teams are coming off disappointing losses and will look to put in impressive performances on national TV.
Missed Opportunity
On Halloween CMU visited Boston College with hopes of cracking into the Top 25 with an upset. The MAC West leaders were riding a seven-game winning streak after losing their opener to Arizona.
But the Eagles were too talented and easily won, 31-10. BC exposed weaknesses in CMU's one dimensional attack and was able to hold NFL draft prospect QB Dan LeFevour to 152 yards and zero touchdowns.
With 10 days of rest to get over the disappointment, CMU will now put all its focus on remaining unbeaten in MAC play. Last year the team missed out on a chance to get its third straight MAC Title, by losing the final two regular season games to Ball State and Eastern Michigan.
Toledo has had to deal with its own disappointment. The season began with a competitive game on the road against Purdue, which was then followed by a 54-38 upset over Colorado.
But the Rockets have struggled in their last couple of games winning only one game in their last four. One of those losses came last week in a 31-24 heartbreaker against Miami (OH), which was the Redhawks first win of the season.
Offensive explosion
It’s no secret that Dan LeFevour has been the star of CMU's offense. LeFevour has been a starter since his freshman year and has 90 career passing TDs and 41 TDs on the ground, which leads all active players including Tim Tebow.
While teams like Arizona and Boston College have been able to stop his attack, MAC teams have had little success.
LeFevour had to leave the BC game in the fourth quarter with a migraine but head coach Butch Jones claims that he will be ready for kickoff.
“He’s practicing and he’s fine. He’s had them (migraines) in the past and has been able to deal with them.”
All signs point to a CMU offensive explosion. Toledo has one of the worst defenses in the country giving up 424.9 yards per game.
Outscoring CMU?
With Toledo's defensive performance this season, even players on their own team recognize that they are only going to beat CMU in an offensive shootout.
“It’s real hard,” senior running back DaJuane Collins said. “We’ve got to look at it like we’ve got to outscore whoever we’re playing. We’ve got to just outscore Central’s offense no matter how the defense does.”
That could be tough will two banged up signal callers. First string QB Aaron Opelt and backup Austin Dantin remain questionable, even though coach Tim Beckman claims that Opelt will be ready.
Toledo ranks 18th in offense with 440.6 yards per game, but will have to deal with a solid CMU defense that has only given up 16.9 yards per game, a rarity in the MAC.
The line
Line opened at 16 and now sits at 17 at most sportsbooks. Central Michigan has only played three home games but the team is beating opponents by an average of 41 points at Kelly Shorts Stadium.
CMU is 6-2 ATS with its only ATS losses coming against Buffalo and Boston College
This is the second highest spread that Toledo has had to deal with. The Rockets lost 38-0 to Ohio State as 22-point dogs earlier this year.
Toledo (4-5 SU and ATS) at Central Michigan (7-2, 6-2 ATS)
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Central Michigan looks to bounce back from just its second loss of the season and move another step closer to the Mid-American Conference West Division title when it hosts the Rockets at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Toledo is coming off consecutive upset losses to MAC foes Temple (40-24 as a one-point home favorite) and Miami, Ohio (31-24 as a five-point road chalk). The Rockets field one of the worst defenses in Division I-A, giving up 31 points or more in eight of their nine games this year and nine of 10 going back to the end of last season. Overall, Toledo is surrendering 37.4 points and 425 total yards per game, including 177.8 rushing yards per contest.
The Chippewas have been idle since Halloween, when their seven-game winning streak came to a halt with a 31-10 loss at Boston College as a 5½-point road underdog. Central Michigan gave up a season-high in points while the 10 points was the lowest offensive output since a season-opening 19-6 loss at Arizona. The Chips (5-0, 4-1 ATS in conference) lead the MAC’s West Division by one game over Northern Illinois, and they’ve won their three home games by a combined score of 152-29, outgaining those three opponents by an average of 258 ypg (454-196).
Central Michigan has owned this rivalry lately, winning the last four meetings following a 10-game winning streak by the Rockets. Last year, the Chippewas went to Toledo and squeaked out a 24-23 win, but failed to cover as a 3½-point road favorite, ending a 4-0 ATS run against the Rockets as the underdog improved to 4-1 ATS in the last five clashes.
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The SU winner is 11-0 ATS in Toledo’s last 11 games and 11-2 ATS in Central Michigan’s last 13.
Both teams feature strong quarterbacks. Toledo’s Aaron Opelt is completing 59.4 percent of his passes for 1,863 yards with 15 TDs and six INTs, while Chippewas senior Dan LeFevour is connecting at a 68.8 percent rate for 1,848 yards with 16 TDs and five INTs.
The Rockets are 5-1 ATS in their last six games after SU loss and 6-1 ATS in their last seven non-covers, but otherwise they’re in pointspread ruts of 8-19 on the road, 5-12 as a road underdog and 1-4 after a bye.
Other than a 7-15-3 ATS slump in November, the Chippewas are riding positive ATS streaks of 36-15-3 overall, 16-4-1 at home, 22-7-2 in conference, 22-8-2 as a favorite, 13-3 as a home favorite, 4-1 as a favorite of more than 10 points (all at home), 6-1-1 after a bye and 16-5-2 versus teams with a losing record.
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Toledo comes into this contest on “under” runs of 8-1 against winning teams, 11-5-1 as an underdog, 3-1-1 after a bye and 6-0 as a double-digit underdog. The under is also 4-1 in Central Michigan’s last five overall and 7-3 in its last 10 as a favorite. Finally, the under is 4-2 in the last six meetings in this rivalry.
ATS ADVANTAGE: CENTRAL MICHIGAN and UNDER
Toledo Rockets vs. Central Michigan
By Who2BetOn
The Central Michigan Chippewas welcome the Toledo Rockets to Mt. Pleasant for a little MAC West battle under the Wednesday night ESPN2 lights.
The Central Michigan Chippewas (7-2, 6-2 ATS) will put their perfect MAC record on the line when they welcome in the division rival Toledo Rockets (4-5, 4-5 ATS) to Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Wednesday night. Both clubs last played on October 31st where the Rockets fell by a 31-24 final count as 5.5-point road chalks at Miami (OH), while the Chippewas stepped out of conference play and got beaten badly by ACC rep Boston College.
Currently the host Chippewas Broncos are installed as lofty 17-point home favorites with the game ‘total’ set at 60.
Toledo enters tonight MAC West tilt losers of two in a row after falling to both Temple and Miami (OH) its previous two games. They have two MAC wins under their belt beating the Cardinals of Ball State 37-30 as 5.5-point Muncie favorites, and toppling the Northern Illinois Huskies 20-19 as 7-point Glass Bowl underdogs. HC Tim Beckman has experienced some real ups and downs in his first season calling the shots for the Rockets program. Injuries have played a major role limiting his depth chart with the biggest one occurring to QB Aaron Opelt. His shoulder injury has limited his action throughout the bulk of the Rockets ’09 campaign. The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for this Rockets squad. It currently ranks 18th in total offense (440.6 YPG) but just 50th in scoring offense (28.6 PPG), while the defense has been a sieve allowing 37.4 PPG and 424.9 total YPG.
CMICH had its three-game SU & ATS streak snapped its last time out against a feisty Boston College squad on Halloween. Still, the Chippewas have been the toast of the MAC since the installment of QB Dan LeFevour into the QB1 spot winning the MAC Title two of the L/3 years. They look well onto their 3rd in 4 seasons as they come into tonight’s contest a perfect 5-0 in MAC play and 7-2 overall. While the Chippewas don’t rank out high in total yardage gained or allowed on both sides of the ball, they’ve gotten the job done in the points department. CMICH ranks 34th in the country in scoring offense averaging 30.6 PPG (#34), and they’ve limited opponents to an average of just 16.9 PPG (#18).
Toledo snapped its four-game ATS losing streak to CMICH in last year’s 24-23 home defeat as 3.5-point underdogs. The Rockets are a very poor 6-18 SU & 9-15 ATS as an underdog and 0-2 SU & ATS after the bye the L/3 seasons, while the Chippewas are 6-1-1 ATS their L/8 games after the bye and 16-4-1 ATS their L/21 home games.
Tips and Trends
Toledo at Central Michigan
Toledo: The Rockets come into tonight with revenge on its mind, after losing last year by 1 point at home to CMU. Toledo is 2-1 both SU and ATS when on the road this season. Toledo has had injuries to 3 QB's this season, which has ravaged a good passing game. Toledo has little consistency in its passing game, which makes them one dimensional. Only 1 time this season has Toledo held a team under 30 points. This defense appears to be in for a long day, as CMU posseses a high octane balanced offense. This will mark only the 2nd time this season Toledo will be a double digit underdog.
Toledo is 5-1 ATS last 6 games following a SU loss.
Toledo is 1-4 ATS last 5 games following a bye week.
Key Injuries - QB Austin Dantin (ankle) is questionable.
PROJECTED SCORE: 17
Central Michigan (-17, O/U 60.5): Central Michigan is 7-2 SU, and 5-0 SU in conference play. This is only the 4th home game of the season for CMU. CMU has scored at least 48 PTS in all 3 home games. Senior QB Dan LeFevour continues to amaze (1,850 YDS passing and 550 YDS rushing) with 25 total TD's. He leads an offense that averages 30 PPG. CMU has hovered near the Top 25 polls all season, with it's defense playing a huge role. This defense is only giving up 17 PPG on the season.
C. Michigan is 6-1-1 ATS last 8 games following a bye week.
C. Michigan is 13-3 ATS last 16 games as a home favorite.
Key Injuries - RB Tim Phillips (ankle) is questionable.
WR Antonio Brown (toe) is probable.
PROJECTED SCORE: 41 (Side of the Day)