Week 1 MAC predictions

[MarkL]

I can't believe we don't have one of these yet ... means we are so damn excited for the game tonight!!

Here's predictions for the conference this weekend:

Troy at Bowling Green
BG by two possessions. BG offense soars, defense proves its better than 3 returning starters would indicate, and Dave Clawson starts the era on a high note.

North Texas at Ball State
North Texas had no defense last year but a decent offense. Ball State is rebuilding a lot at receiver and O-Line but still has some great players coming back. Ball State by 2 or 3 possessions.

Kentucky at Miami
There isn't too much going for the Redhawks into this game ... even though Kentucky is likely to be lower tier SEC, they still completely outmatch Miami. Kentucky big.

Toledo at Purdue
Toledo returns basically their entire team from last year ... for better or for worse. Purdue is rebuilding offensively but should be fine there quickly, and defensively should be mediocre Big 10. Purdue by two possessions, but Purdue is on partial upset alert (I can't believe I'm saying that ...)

Akron at Penn State
Akron's got a lot coming back from a surprisingly good team but this upset is not happening period. Penn State big.

Western Michigan at Michigan
Michigan will be extremely improved going into this year, but WMU could be a big challenge. WMU gives Michigan everything they can handle but Tate Forcier and crew find a way to become explosive on offense and Michigan wins by at least a possession. That being said ... things could backfire and Michigan is on my upset alert.

Connecticut at Ohio
UConn is losing a lot of talent in Donald Brown, but they'll still be powerful enough to run over Ohio. I know Ohio is known for surprising, but I just don't see it happening. UConn big.

Northern Illinois at Wisconsin
Now that Wisconsin is really Bielema's team instead of Alverez's, they have really disappointed big. 2006 was a product of Bielema running what Barry created but he has not sustained at all. Wisconsin is in for a down year, but they always seem to handle MAC teams just fine. Wisconsin big in week one but not much as the year goes on.

Buffalo at UTEP
UTEP has been getting a lot of attention and I really don't see why. They have a lot of talent coming back, but they aren't going to be that good defensively IMO and are traditionally turnover-prone on offense. I would have said Buffalo big like last year (42-17), but with James Starks out, its going to be tough early on. I'd say a low scoring game with Buffalo winning small, but this one could go either way.

Coastal Carolina at Kent State
Kent should win, but they are not going to be good this year. Eugene Jarvis is a great player but he doesn't have the supporting cast around him, and losing Edelman is really tough. Kent wins, but its not indicative of the 2009 season.

Villanova at Temple
Temple is a legit conference title contender and probably has the conference's best defense. Offense could be a problem and they haven't been explosive on offense recently. 'Nova is a very good team and will be extremely fired up for this one. I'm picking Temple to win, but Temple is on upset alert. Remember ... CMU won the MAC in 2007 after getting blown out by FCS member NDSU. Temple losing this game doesn't mean they are a bad team or they can't win the conference.

Army at Eastern Michigan
EMU is explosive on offense but had one of the worst defenses in the nation last year. They gave up 30 or more points 9 times, 40 or more 6 times, and 50 or more 3 times. Army's new coach is known for doing a lot with a little and some bizarre and unique offenses. Sounds like a shootout, but EMU has been in more shootouts than Army ... Army is more known for being on the wrong side of blowouts (and I'm not saying EMU is not experienced in that department). I'd say EMU winning a shootout, but with two new head coaches, this could go either way.

Central Michigan at Arizona
Arizona has some rebuilding to do, but I think they are turning a corner. Offense should be fine even with a new QB, defense should be one of the better in the Pac-10. CMU has been having problems with non-conference games (52-7 to KU, 45-22 to Purdue, 44-14 to NDSU, 70-14 to Clemson, 56-17 to Georgia ...). Arizona big, but be ready for CMU to be extremely good in MAC play.

[Trojan1998]

BGSU by two possessions over Troy? Crap, so you think Troy sucks that bad that we're going to lose by two possessions? I hope you're wrong or else we Trojans are in for a miserable year in '09.

By the way, UTEP is going to blast Buffalo this time around.

[mjmorefield]

Troy in a close one
Ball State
Kentucky in Paul Brown Stadium (Cincy is the Capital of Northern Kentucky ya know)
Purdue
Penn State
Michigan
Ohio
Wisconsin
UTEP
Kent
Temple
Army
Arizona

[JH5]

Troy at Bowling Green
BG by 17. Success early on because of the huge crowd builds a pretty big lead with the passing attack. Our new found running game controls the ball in the second half and we pull away on a late Bullock TD run. Defense surprises and keeps Levi Brown in check. Coming out party for the Falcons and increases the hype for the Boise game. Player of the game: Sheehan (20-25, 258 yards 2 TD 0 INT) Other stats: Geter (20 Touches, 150 total yards, 1 TD) Bullock (10 Touches, 47 total yards, 1 TD) Barnes (6 Rec, 75 yards, 1 TD) Phillips: (4-4 XP, 1-1 FG) Basler (10 tackles) Spencer (1 INT) Mahone (1 INT, 8 tackles)

North Texas at Ball State
Ball State by 24. It's close early but Ball State just has too much. Player of the game: Orsbon

Kentucky at Miami
Miami by 3. Kind of an upset pick but Kentucky is down and I think Miami shows up. Player of the game: Raudabaugh

Toledo at Purdue
Toledo by 7. Toledo has a lot coming back and I think Beckman is gunning for the big ten. Player of the game: Church

Akron at Penn State
Penn State by 30. Penn State is really good and just has too much talent. Player of the game: Clark

Western Michigan at Michigan
Western Michigan by 6. This has the makings of a 10+ point win by WMU but it's at the big house so that keeps it close. Michigan is haunted by the 3 QB system and the recent allegations and gets upset again at home to a MAC team. Player of the game: Hiller

Connecticut at Ohio
UConn by 10. It’s close but UConn just has too much. Not really sure why, just don’t really like Ohio here. They come out flat. Player of the game: Jasper Howard

Northern Illinois at Wisconsin
Wisconsin by 21. Wisconsin just has too much for NIU and runs away with it in the second half. Player of the game : Zack Brown

Buffalo at UTEP
Buffalo by 5. Hardest game to pick IMO. Buffalo plays without Starks but they’ve got a good secondary and I think that holds UTEP’s passing attack in check. If this is a UTEP blowout it could be a bad sign of things to come for Buffalo. Player of the game: Newton

Coastal Carolina at Kent State
Kent by 14. Eugene Jarvis all day. Player of the game: Eugene Jarvis

Villanova at Temple
Villanova by 3. Upset pick..they’re good, and they’re motivated. Bad news for Temple.

Army at Eastern Michigan
Army by 7. Another upset pick. EMU should win but I just feel like Army is going to come ready to play. Player of the game: Ali Villanueva

Central Michigan at Arizona
CMU by 20. CMU dominates offensively in the most surprising game of the week. Player of the game: LeFevour

[Ineedbotox]

BGSU by two possessions over Troy? Crap, so you think Troy sucks that bad that we're going to lose by two possessions? I hope you're wrong or else we Trojans are in for a miserable year in '09.

By the way, UTEP is going to blast Buffalo this time around.

Ha! Yes, I think Troy is that bad, and UTEP will not beat Buffalo. On the other games, I will go with Ball State, Miami, Purdue, Penn State, Michigan, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Kent State, Temple, Army & Arizona.

GO FALCONS!!!!

[Trojan1998]

BGSU by two possessions over Troy? Crap, so you think Troy sucks that bad that we're going to lose by two possessions? I hope you're wrong or else we Trojans are in for a miserable year in '09.

By the way, UTEP is going to blast Buffalo this time around.

Ha! Yes, I think Troy is that bad, and UTEP will not beat Buffalo. On the other games, I will go with Ball State, Miami, Purdue, Penn State, Michigan, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Kent State, Temple, Army & Arizona.

GO FALCONS!!!!

Well, that settles it I guess. BGSU 56, Troy High School 6

[Troy87]

I will definitely be returning here after the game is over. If for anything else, to either admit we have over inflated the expectations of our team or to get the apologies from INeedBotox, and for her to admit that the Sunbelt has teams better than some of those in the Big 12.

[Trojan1998]

Rock on Falcons! Way to kick our candy asses tonight. Win the MAC. See you next year in Troy.

[Ineedbotox]

I will definitely be returning here after the game is over. If for anything else, to either admit we have over inflated the expectations of our team or to get the apologies from INeedBotox, and for her to admit that the Sunbelt has teams better than some of those in the Big 12.

Hee hee! Come back when you beat a Big 12 team and let me know how that goes for you!

[Bleeding Orange]

Rock on Falcons! Way to kick our candy asses tonight. Win the MAC. See you next year in Troy.

Don't mind her. She's gone totally insane over the Sun Belt this year, I have no idea what got into her Wheaties lately.

I wouldn't hang your head too much. There was a lot of talent on this team that was never effectively utilized by our previous coach. It looks like our new coach has realized that and knows what to do with it, which is so unbelievably refreshing for us BG fans. I don't know how Troy could have put together an effective plan for this game with so many unknowns.

Best of luck to you guys the rest of the way, and hopefully our teams will meet again in the near future. Your fans have been great to interact with!

[tiznow]

I will definitely be returning here after the game is over. If for anything else, to either admit we have over inflated the expectations of our team or to get the apologies from INeedBotox, and for her to admit that the Sunbelt has teams better than some of those in the Big 12.

Hee hee! Come back when you beat a Big 12 team and let me know how that goes for you!

I think Troy and their fans overlooked BG. Troy is a very solid team. Do you want reminded every time a BCS team loses to a non BCS team?

[bgsuman]

Troy at Bowling Green
BG by 17.

Villanova at Temple
Villanova by 3. Upset pick..they’re good, and they’re motivated. Bad news for Temple.

WOW. Spot on.

[Strouse]

Trojan Fans, you guys should not be hanging your heads at all after that game. Considering how you guys were able to move the ball in the 1st half (from what I could tell), the rest of your opponents should be in for a good hurtin'...As someone else mentioned (BO I think), we just have a lot of potential that our previous coaching staff never fulling utilized, and Clawson just got the team hungry for blood, hungry for the win, and it just so happened that you guys got caught right in our crosshairs...Again, as far as I could tell, Troy played a really good game, and I fully expect you guys to steamroll the Sun Belt. It's hard that you guys have to play at Florida next week, and I hope you guys give them a very tough game. I'll definitely be rootin' for ya to pull out the upset.

[FortWayneFalcon]

Go Troy! Beat Florida!!!!