totals are starting to drop now that the colder weather has moved into the michigan/ohio area. but the akron/ohio total just looks too low. that bowling green game from wednesday was just crazy, though not a surprise considering the way that natural grass field just gets abused and is in horrific shape anyways come november each year. the field turf at OU will certainly "play" better tonight and be more receptive to any rain showers. so the weather shouldnt be a factor. the offenses should have no problems moving the ball. and in a conference full of horrific special teams, these two actually have reasonably sound units. both teams could crack 20 here, although its the mac so a 14-13 barnburner is a possibility too. but in terms of pure value, this total is way low.
central michigan/northern illinois is an interesting game tomorrow. the fact that cmu is a road chalk in dekalb shows you how fu.cked up the mac has been this year. the huskies have grossly underachieved despite having some of the best skill position talent in the conference. their defense has been atrocious though and thats what has killed them.
a few things of note though re: central michigan.
1) this game means nothing to them. theyve already clinched the west and will play in the mac championship game.
2) that said, kelly doesnt want his team to let down after their mac-clinching win over rival western michigan last week
"we want the 2006 football team to go down in the history of division I-A as the best central michigan football team ...you don?t pull up just before the finish line. we have a chance to make a case to be the best team ever at cmu and that doesn?t come around often.?
and he might be right, that opportunity doesnt come around often. especially considering that he is on the short list of candidates to take over at michigan state. theres been a lot of buzz the last week or so about kelly and the msu job. during the wmu game last week, the comcast announcers were actually reporting that sources said he agreed to take the job. msu has denied all of that, but its clear he is one of their top choices and is being strongly considered. ive had my share of hits and misses when it comes to stepping out and making some bold predictions in the mac but this was one where im proud to say i had cmu pegged as a turnaround team 2 years ago when kelly got the job and now hes already being rumored to take the next step, a la urban meyer with a brief stay in the mac. then again, i thought eastern michigan would be much better than they are this season. so with every good prediction comes one that humbles you. emu just cant get over the hump in close games. but i digress.
having said all that, i still think northern illinois is a live dog. not in the truest sense because theyre not going anywhere this season and their pathetic goal-line sequence last week against toledo can be rivaled only by bowling green's against miami on wednesday. but cmu is still a young team with a young qb who is experiencing succes for the first time. its tough to justify laying points on the road against an ultra-talented northern team, especially now that the game means nothing to cmu in the standings. the chips can still win the mac title game and win their bowl game and go down as the best cmu team in recent history. but northern plus the points and on the moneyline makes the most sense.
eastern michigan and kent is a tough game. kent has been awful, then fantastic, and then awful again .... all in the span of two months. they werent as bad as the final score indicates against minny in the season opener. but they also werent as good as their destruction of toledo and akron midseason. but they werent as inept as they looked against buffalo and vatech either. this is another team that is trying to put together one of the best seasons in recent school history. the status of edelman and pruden is huge and no play should be made on either side until that info is confirmed. edelman is their spark plug and pruden is the best deep threat in the mac and far and away kents best receiver. emich has been snatching defeat from the jaws of victory all season. theyre better than their record but theyre still not good. they have no clue what theyre trying to do at quarterback. one week its jones. the next week its schmitt. there is just no consistency and thats hurt them. genyk is a solid coach and a bright offensive mind but this is one of those times where hes gotta pick a qb for the good of the team. enough with the back and forth. if schmitt is the qb, they need to make jones a slot receiver or something because he is too talented not to have on the field getting touches. the emu defense fell apart against navy last week. it just seems like theyre worn down from having to keep the offense in games all year. a few years ago, it was all offense, no defense for emu. this year, its mostly the defense stepping up to keep them in games while the young offense sputters. very difficult game to call. emu might be playing out the string now that their rivalry games are behind them and their ford field game against navy last week is in the past.
central michigan/northern illinois is an interesting game tomorrow. the fact that cmu is a road chalk in dekalb shows you how fu.cked up the mac has been this year. the huskies have grossly underachieved despite having some of the best skill position talent in the conference. their defense has been atrocious though and thats what has killed them.
a few things of note though re: central michigan.
1) this game means nothing to them. theyve already clinched the west and will play in the mac championship game.
2) that said, kelly doesnt want his team to let down after their mac-clinching win over rival western michigan last week
"we want the 2006 football team to go down in the history of division I-A as the best central michigan football team ...you don?t pull up just before the finish line. we have a chance to make a case to be the best team ever at cmu and that doesn?t come around often.?
and he might be right, that opportunity doesnt come around often. especially considering that he is on the short list of candidates to take over at michigan state. theres been a lot of buzz the last week or so about kelly and the msu job. during the wmu game last week, the comcast announcers were actually reporting that sources said he agreed to take the job. msu has denied all of that, but its clear he is one of their top choices and is being strongly considered. ive had my share of hits and misses when it comes to stepping out and making some bold predictions in the mac but this was one where im proud to say i had cmu pegged as a turnaround team 2 years ago when kelly got the job and now hes already being rumored to take the next step, a la urban meyer with a brief stay in the mac. then again, i thought eastern michigan would be much better than they are this season. so with every good prediction comes one that humbles you. emu just cant get over the hump in close games. but i digress.
having said all that, i still think northern illinois is a live dog. not in the truest sense because theyre not going anywhere this season and their pathetic goal-line sequence last week against toledo can be rivaled only by bowling green's against miami on wednesday. but cmu is still a young team with a young qb who is experiencing succes for the first time. its tough to justify laying points on the road against an ultra-talented northern team, especially now that the game means nothing to cmu in the standings. the chips can still win the mac title game and win their bowl game and go down as the best cmu team in recent history. but northern plus the points and on the moneyline makes the most sense.
eastern michigan and kent is a tough game. kent has been awful, then fantastic, and then awful again .... all in the span of two months. they werent as bad as the final score indicates against minny in the season opener. but they also werent as good as their destruction of toledo and akron midseason. but they werent as inept as they looked against buffalo and vatech either. this is another team that is trying to put together one of the best seasons in recent school history. the status of edelman and pruden is huge and no play should be made on either side until that info is confirmed. edelman is their spark plug and pruden is the best deep threat in the mac and far and away kents best receiver. emich has been snatching defeat from the jaws of victory all season. theyre better than their record but theyre still not good. they have no clue what theyre trying to do at quarterback. one week its jones. the next week its schmitt. there is just no consistency and thats hurt them. genyk is a solid coach and a bright offensive mind but this is one of those times where hes gotta pick a qb for the good of the team. enough with the back and forth. if schmitt is the qb, they need to make jones a slot receiver or something because he is too talented not to have on the field getting touches. the emu defense fell apart against navy last week. it just seems like theyre worn down from having to keep the offense in games all year. a few years ago, it was all offense, no defense for emu. this year, its mostly the defense stepping up to keep them in games while the young offense sputters. very difficult game to call. emu might be playing out the string now that their rivalry games are behind them and their ford field game against navy last week is in the past.
