Wednesday Night Football

Wednesday's MAC Tip Sheet
By Brian Edwards

Bettors have a pair of MAC games to wager on Wednesday night, so let’s take a look at both matchups.

**Temple at Kent State**

--Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Temple (3-6 straight up, 6-2-1 against the spread) as a 2 ½-point favorite with a total of 49. As of Tuesday night, the line for the side was the same, but the total had dipped down to 45. The Flashes are plus-115 to win outright (risk $100 to win $115).

--Kent State (2-7 SU, 2-6 ATS) has lost five of its last six games, including a 45-30 loss at Bowling Green on Nov. 1. The Flashes failed to take the cash as six-point underdogs.

--Temple is coming off a 33-27 loss at Navy on Nov. 1. The Owls hooked up their backers as eight-point road ‘dogs against the Midshipmen.

--Temple has only been favored twice this year, winning outright both times and compiling a 1-0-1 ATS mark. The Owls won 35-7 at Army as seven-point ‘chalk’ and beat Ohio 14-10 as four-point home favorites. The win both SU and ATS at Army is the only previous time that the Owls have been road favorites during Al Golden’s three-year tenure (before this spot, that is).

--Kent St. is 4-4 ATS as a home ‘dog during Doug Martin’s five years at the helm.

--The ‘under’ is 2-1 for the Flashes at home. They are 1-3 SU and 1-2 ATS at home in 2008. (Those numbers include a 21-0 loss to Boston College in Week 1 that was actually played in Cleveland.)

--The ‘under’ is 5-1 in Temple’s last six games.

**Central Michigan at Northern Illinois**

--LVSC opened Northern Illinois (5-4 SU, 5-3 ATS) as a four-point favorite with a total of 50. As of Tuesday evening, most spots had NIU as a three-point ‘chalk’ with the total down to 48 ½. The Chippewas are plus-135 on the money line (risk $100 to win $135).

--Central Michigan (7-2 SU, 5-3 ATS) is in a first-place tie with Ball St. in the MAC West standings. These teams collide in Mt. Pleasant next Wednesday, making this a look-ahead spot for the Chippewas.

--CMU has won five in a row, posting a 3-2 spread record during that stretch. Butch Jones’s team is off a 37-34 win at Indiana as a one-point underdog. Subbing for last year’s MAC Offensive Player of the Year Dan LeFevour, Brian Brunner threw for a school-record 485 yards and four touchdowns against the Hoosiers.

--LeFevour, who sat against IU with a sprained ankle, will return to the lineup against the Huskies. He has an 11/3 touchdown-interception ratio in 2008 despite missing a pair of games.

--No. Illinois is undefeated in four home games this year, but the Huskies are just 1-2 ATS. They are coming off a 45-14 loss at Ball St. as eight-point underdogs last Wednesday.

--NIU has a 7-2-1 ATS record in the last 10 head-to-head meetings against CMU.

--Both of CMU’s losses have come on the road to BCS schools – at Georgia (56-17) and at Purdue (32-25). The Chippewas are 2-1 ATS in three games as underdogs this season.

--The ‘over’ is 3-2 in CMU’s five road games. Meanwhile, the Huskies have watched the ‘under’ go 2-0-1 in their three home outings.

--ESPN2 will provide television coverage at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

vegasinsider.com.

What bettors need to know for Wednesday's college football
By MATT SEVERANCE

Game: Temple at Kent State

Line: Oddsmakers have set the Owls as 2.5-point favorites. The total is listed at 45.

All-time series: The teams have met twice, both times in Philadelphia with KSU winning 28-17 in 2006 and the Owls claiming a 24-14 victory last season in their first year in the MAC.

If it’s close late, Temple’s in trouble: The Owls might be the unluckiest team in the country. Why? Temple has lost three games on the final play (two in overtime) and it dropped another after giving up a late score. So instead of being bowl-eligible, Temple is 3-6.

The Owls’ loss on Nov. 1 to Navy is reflective of Temple’s season. Temple led the Midshipmen 27-7 with 13:41 to play in the fourth quarter. Trying to run out the clock, Temple RB Kee-ayre Griffin fumbled with 37 seconds left, which Navy returned 42 yards for the tying touchdown.

The Midshipmen would finish off the biggest comeback in the program’s history in overtime, thanks to Temple tight end Steve Maneri dropping a fourth-down pass in the end zone. The Owls also botched a conversion in the fourth quarter and lost a fumble near the Navy goal-line late in the first half.

Outside of that fumble, Griffin has been a find for the Owls, scoring a rushing touchdown in four straight games, which happens to be the same number of games he has played on offense after moving from the defensive backfield.

Griffin leads the Owls on the ground with 284 yards and four touchdowns on 69 carries.

Introducing Joshua Cribbs Jr.: Kent State senior QB Julian Edelman is putting up some stellar numbers this season. He is 24th in the nation in rushing with 951 yards and the 23 players ahead of him are all running backs.

In the Golden Flashes’ last game, a Nov. 1 loss to Bowling Green, he finished with 219 yards passing and 170 rushing, his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game. Through nine games, Edelman has 1,348 passing yards and 951 yards on the ground.

In the 86-year history of KSU football, only Joshua Cribbs, now a return star for the Cleveland Browns has thrown and rushed for 1,000 yards in the same season, doing so in 2001 (1,516 pass and 1,019 rush) and 2002 (1,014 and 1,057). With 21 touchdowns (11 pass, 10 rush) this season, Edelman is eight shy of Cribbs’ high mark for total TDs set in 2003 (14 pass, 14 rush, 1 receiving).

Edelman is following in Cribbs’ do-it-all shoes, as he has punted twice this season, is a mainstay on the punt coverage team and, starting against Temple, will be the team's full-time punt returner.

''In my opinion, and probably the opinion of most coaches in the MAC if you asked them, he is the best pure football player in this conference,'' Kent State coach Doug Martin said.'

KSU has the nation’s No. 13 ground game, which also includes Eugene Jarvis (96 carries, 451 yards, 5 TDs), who was the nation’s leading returning rusher this season. Jarvis, who missed three games with an ankle injury this year, needs just 52 yards rushing to reach 3,000 for his career.

Game: Central Michigan at Northern Illinois

Line: Oddsmakers have set the Huskies as 3-point favorites. The total is listed at 48.

All-time series: The Chippewas won 35-10 last year in Mount Pleasant to end a nine-game losing streak against the Huskies and take a 22-20-1 series lead.

NIU has played CMU more times than any other current Division I opponent and owns a 12-8-1 series lead in games played in DeKalb - the Chips haven’t won there since 1977.

Who will start at QB for CMU? Despite not having the reigning MAC Offensive Player of the Year in their last game, the Chips didn’t miss a beat in beating Indiana. With Dan LeFevour out with an ankle injury, all senior Brian Brunner did was throw for a school-record 485 yards against the Hoosiers, with five total touchdowns.

According to CMU coach Butch Jones, the decision on who will start Wednesday will be a game-time decision.

NIU has its own star: While Central Michigan’s LeFevour is the MAC Offensive Player of the Year, the Huskies have the defending MAC Player of the Year in defensive end Larry English, who needs only three sacks to set the school record.

English's 28 career sacks, including a team-leading 4.5 this season, rank second among all active Division I players, while his 206 sack yards are first. He has forced seven fumbles, including two in 2008. His 56 career tackles for loss are third in the country among active players.

The Huskies lead the MAC in total defense and are ninth in the country (in NIU’s five wins in 2008, it has 10 takeaways), but they were just shredded in their last game by Ball State for 529 yards. The 31-point loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Huskies, who had lost their previous three games by a combined 10 points. It also dropped NIU out of the West Division race.

Wednesday’s game will be the Huskies’ 29th appearance on an ESPN broadcast and NIU is 15-13 all-time in those games.

Temple (3-6, 6-2-1 ATS) at Kent State (2-7, 2-5 ATS)

Two teams floundering in the Mid-American Conference hook up at Dix Stadium as Kent hosts Temple.

The Owls have alternated SU wins and losses in their last five games, including a devastating 33-27 overtime loss at Navy on Nov. 1. In that one, Temple held a 27-7 lead with less than 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter before giving up 26 unanswered points, including a touchdown in overtime, to lose. Four of Temple’s last five games have been decided by 10, 6, 4 and 4 points, and the Owls are 1-3 in those contests.

Kent went to Bowling Green on Nov. 1 and lost 45-30 as a six-point road underdog. The Flashes, who have given up an average of 34.5 points per game in their last six contests, are mired in a 1-13 slump against Division I-A teams (2-12 ATS), including 1-11 against MAC rivals (2-10 ATS).

Temple dropped the Flashes 24-14 as a one-point home underdog last year, finishing with just 295 total yards but limiting Kent to a paltry 124 yards. In the only other meeting between the schools in 2006, Kent rolled 28-17, but the Owls easily cashed as a 23½-point road underdog.

In addition to its ongoing 2-12 ATS slump overall, the Flashes are stuck in pointspread funks of 1-8 at home, 3-13 in conference play, 2-11 against losing teams and 0-5 in November. On the flip side, Temple carries ATS streaks of 8-2-1 overall, 5-2 on the highway, 13-3-1 against the MAC, 4-1-1 against losing teams and 5-1-1 following a bye week.

For Temple, the under is on runs of 13-3 overall, 10-1 versus MAC foes, 4-0 on artificial turf, 6-0 against losing teams, 5-1 in November and 4-1-1 after a bye. Meanwhile, the over is 5-1 in Kent’s last six overall, including 4-1 in MAC play. However, the under is 11-5 in the Flashes’ last 16 home contests. Finally, last year’s head-to-head meeting at Temple stayed under the total.

ATS ADVANTAGE: TEMPLE and UNDER

Central Michigan (7-2, 5-3 ATS) at Northern Illinois (5-4, 5-3 ATS)

Northern Illinois looks to bounce back from last week’s blowout loss at Ball State when it hosts Central Michigan in another nationally televised prime-time MAC clash.

The Huskies saw their three-game winning streak come to an end in embarrassing fashion a week ago tonight, falling to undefeated Ball State 45-14 as an eight-point road underdog. Northern Illinois got outgained 529-275, produced just 12 first downs to Ball State’s 25 and committed the only two turnovers in the game.

Central Michigan stepped out of conference in its most recent contest on Nov. 1 and edged Indiana 37-34 as a two-point road underdog, the team’s fifth consecutive victory. During their winning streak, the Chippewas have averaged exactly 30 points per game, but given up 24.8 ppg, as all five victories have come by 10 points or less.

Central Michigan is 5-0 in MAC play (3-2 ATS) and sits a half-game behind Ball State in the West Division standings, while NIU is in fourth place in the West Division at 4-2 (3-3 ATS).

The Chippewas ended a nine-game losing streak to Northern Illinois in dominating fashion last year, winning 35-10 as a three-point home chalk. The Huskies actually outgained Central Michigan 521-381, but they committed six turnovers (four interceptions) and forced just one. Northern Illinois is still 7-2-1 ATS in the last 10 battles in this rivalry, and the host is 5-0-1 ATS in the last six clashes. Finally, Central Michigan has failed to cover in five straight trips to Northern Illinois.

Central Michigan is on ATS tears of 29-10-3 overall, 6-2-2 on the road, 21-6-3 in MAC play, 4-1 as an underdog, 17-6-2 on artificial turf, 8-3 against winning teams and 17-6-2 following a spread-cover. Meanwhile, despite last week’s blowout loss to Ball State, the Huskies are still on ATS hot streaks of 8-3 overall, 5-1 in November and 5-2 on artificial turf.

For the Chippewas, the over is on runs of 12-5 overall, 16-5-1 on the road, 4-0 in November and 5-0 against winning teams. Conversely, Northern Illinois sports under streaks of 20-6-1 overall, 13-3-1 at home, 13-3-1 on artificial turf, 19-7-2 in conference action, 7-1 in November and 7-1 against winning teams. Also, the last two meetings between these schools have stayed low after the previous three topped the posted total.

ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE

Gametimepicks.com

NCAAF RESEARCH REPORT
By Indiancowboy

Central Michigan vs. Northern Illinois

You can make a case for either of these teams. On one end, you have a 7-2 team in Central Michigan that has been the traditional powerhouse over the years in this conference. Dan Lefevour has thrown for more than twice the yards as Northern Illinois leading passer and he has thrown for twice as many touchdowns going for 11 td's and just 3 interceptions. Central Michigan comes off 5 straight wins and nearly beat Purdue on the road. Northern Illinois is undefeated at home of course and come off an ugly loss to Ball State on the road and will be fired up at home after such an ugly loss in front of their fans as they lost to this team 10-35 on the road last year. The total has come down from 50 to 49 in this game as it is a conference game and the temperature is expected to be below 40 degrees. Look, I know the numbers state how this game is likely to go over, but I like the under here as I've always believed conference games such as this can typically lead to unders. Although it is not enough for me to make a play, games in Northern Illinois in this rivalry have gone under in the past such as the previous two times. The under is 7-1 for the Huskies when facing a team with a winning record meaning that they show up defensively against the better teams in the league.

Are they for real? Central Michigan Chippewas
By Matt Josephs

MAC conference teams are often judged by how they perform in their non-conference games and if that’s the case, Central Michigan has to be considered at least a half-decent squad.

While the Chippewas were blown off the field by Georgia, they lost a close one at Purdue and pulled out a shootout victory in Bloomington over the Hoosiers. Last year the Chips were the MAC champions and lost a close game with Purdue in the Motor City Bowl 51-48.

Now CMU enters a key game Wednesday night against Northern Illinois with a huge matchup the following week against undefeated Ball State, which will likely decide the MAC.

Any discussion about CMU begins with QB Dan LeFevour, who is 18th in the nation in total offense averaging 278 yards per game by himself. The issue with LeFevour is his health, which has caused him to miss two of the past three games versus Western Michigan and Indiana.

Brian Brunner has performed more than admirably for the Chips in LeFevour’s place, winning at Indiana while throwing for a school record 485 yards in that game.

The team rushes the ball well with Onterio Sneed and LeFevour combining for 651yards this season, but the team’s bread and butter is the pass. The Chips rank 14th in the nation in this category and they get most of their work from Antonio Brown and Bryan Anderson, both of whom rank in the top 60 in receiving yards per game and have combined for 1,293 receiving yards this season.

Defense has never been a strong suit for this school. They are ranked 98th overall with the 104th pass efficiency defense. Teams have been able to move up and down the field on CMU, but the offense has managed to hide this weakness so far.

One star on this unit is Frank Zombo who averages almost a sack per game this season and is tied for 16th overall in that category. The team ranks 22nd overall in sacks, but the secondary gets gashed for yardage if it can’t get to the quarterback on the blitz.

Central Michigan has won four games by a field goal or less this year, though the team has still managed to turn a profit at 5-3 ATS.

If the Chippewas can beat Ball State they may get a solid bowl this year. A more likely scenario is that Central Michigan’s defense will continue to be its downfall and a bowl game in Canada is probably in the school's future.