Hello college football fans. It’s November and that means it’s MACNation time. I was planning to get this post done last night, but a) I was in San Diego with some clients and b) the World Series was on (Go Braves!!!). That said, there were 3 games last night when Ball St (122) invaded Akron (158), Miami OH (91) went to Athens to play Ohio (173), and E Michigan (82) visited Toledo (107). The GCR had the away team winning each. Vegas agreed on the first two, but had Toledo winning at home. What happened was Ball St won as expected eliminating Akron from bowl consideration. Ohio won just their 2nd game of the season is the upset over the RedHawks 35-33. At 10:30 in the 3rd, the Bobcats had a 28-0 lead. And E Michigan won a slugfest 52-49, making them bowl eligible. So the GCR is 2-1 overall, 1-0 in upset projections.
…..
Tonight C Michigan (141) is at W Michigan (57) where the score is knotted at 14 with 41 seconds in the half. Vegas has the Broncos -9.0 and the GCR agrees WMI 61.6%. The other game tonight is N Illinois (41) taking it to Kent St (97), leaders of the MAC West and East, respectively, in what might be (especially after Miami OH’s loss last night), a preview of the MAC championship. Vegas likes Kent St at home -3.5 and as much as I love underdogs (I am a Gamecock fan and went to Presbyterian after all), and my heart is pulling toward the Golden Flashes, the math is picking the Huskies for the upset 67.2%. N Illinois must be GCR fans because as I was typing that sentence, they scored to go up 21-17 with 3:35 in the half.
…..
Friday night gives us a game to watch when Virginia Tech (79) heads to take on Boston College (98). The Hokies are 4-4, 2-2 in the ACC, while the Eagles took a 4-0 non-conference start and dwindled to 4-4, 0-4. If I were to use emotion to pick this game, I would have to go with Tech. They have been somewhat successful in conference play, although a bit inconsistent. They just feel stronger. By the way, this year’s Hokies team is an exemplar of why I don’t bet on college football – I just don’t expect teenagers to behave the way I want them too very often. That said, they have the tools to stay with almost anyone in the ACC. BC has failed to respond to their competition. Their best win is Missouri (104), and their worst loss is Syracuse (72). Somewhere between 72-104 is the line. Tech at 79 is there. Vegas has a close win by the Hokies on the road -3.0, but the GCR says the Eagles soar in the ACC for the first time this season, but only by home field advantage 55.2%. It looks like a whoever has the ball last kind of game.
…..
Kent St had a big 39-yard run to retake the lead 24-21, held N Illinois and has the ball with 1:20 in the half.
…..
Saturday morning, I’m staying in the ACC. Undefeated Wake Forest (2) takes the short trip to UNC (75) at noon (all times Eastern). Can the Demon Deacons get any love at all? If Clemson, Virginia Tech, UNC, Miami FL, Florida St, or even Georgia Tech were 8-0, they would be in the top 4 of the playoff picture (WF is 9th). I’m sure they are not bothered too much by it because if they keep winning, they will have to be considered. And that continues in Chapel Hill. The last few weeks, it seems WF has been the underdog every game, but they continue to win. This week will be no exception. The Tar Heels are the Vegas favorite -2.5 which is less than home field advantage, granted, but the GCR says Wake will not concede a moral victory but will win outright, 89.8%. The Demon Deacons can score and they are just getting better as the season goes on. They have the 7th best offense by Offensive Efficiency (scoring 15.2 points for every 10.0 points their opponents allow per game) and they are facing the 154th best defense (allowing 10.0 points for every 9.7 points their opponents score per game).
…..
Kent St drove the field in the 2:00 drill and opened a 10-point (near) halftime lead: 31-21 with 0:05 to go.
…..
For the midafternoon, let’s shift focus to the SEC where two evenly matched teams compete. Both teams are 6-2, both are between 15 and 21 in the GCR, both are in a must win situation. Texas A&M (21) is 3-2 in the SEC, but holds the tie-breaker over Alabama. If they can beat Auburn (15) when they come to town this weekend, they still have a decent chance at winning the west. On the flip side, Auburn has just one loss in the conference (to #1 Georgia), and if they win this weekend on the road, own their own destiny for the West and a rematch with the Bulldogs. The teams are going to be fighting from the gun to the gun. It wouldn’t surprise me if we see another OT game here. At the end though, Vegas thinks the Aggies will pull it out -4.5, and the GCR agrees on the winner and a close game Texas A&M 55.8%.
…..
Now let’s begin our trip west in the evening to pick up Texas (28) at Iowa St (43). Both teams had higher expectations earlier in the season, but one of them is going to heading towards borderline embarrassment if they can’t find some wins. It’s do or die time at both schools, relevancy is not really part of the equation anymore, except maybe in the spoiler role. Vegas sees Iowa St winning at home -6.5 and the GCR agrees 62.2%. It won’t be pretty football, but it will be desperation football and that will make it entertaining.
…..
W Michigan is down 21-14 but in the red zone with 10:14 to go in the 3rd.
…..
The game of the week will be a little difficult for those of us on the East Coast when 8-0 UTSA (12) goes from San Antonio to El Paso to face UTEP 6-2 (62) at 10:15. Again, as a fan of the underdog, I would be willing to bet these two teams have never been bowl eligible after 8 games before, certainly not in the same season. The Roadrunners of UTSA weren’t even a team until 2006 and have been to 2 bowls (lost both). They’ve been around a bit longer and have a .398 winning percentage over 1045 games. They have made 14 bowl games are are 5-9, but haven’t won since 1967 with 6 straight losses. I love this game. UTEP relies on keeping the scoring low, while UTSA is in the top 50 in offense and defense. UTSA will win, but the fact that, in November, ANYBODY would be interested in this game is just beautiful. Vegas has the Roadrunners -11.0 and the GCR confirms UTSA 73.2%.
…..
W Michigan got a FG to get within 4 and then C Michigan ran the field to go up 28-17 7:22 in the 3rd. While that was happening, the Golden Flashes are flashing brilliant football at home and crushing N Illinois 38-17 11:47 in the 3rd.
…..
That’s it for tonight. I hope you have a great weekend. All of the games (except for Texas Wesleyan at C Arkansas (191) are listed below with the 9 GCR upsets listed in yellow. Please let me know what your thoughts, issues, complaints are. If you like the post or the blog, please share with others, thanks, G
…..
