Never, Ever Gamble on the MAC: What will Akron Gain From This?

Take my advice and just don't do anything I'd do.

Image via Eastern Michigan Athletics

Welcome to “Never, Ever Gamble on the MAC”! This is a weekly gambling/non-gambling series where I make five picks against the spread and you do the following:

• Don’t listen to my advice,

• Follow your heart instead,

• And just be wise enough to remember that you’re putting real money down on gambling what the outcomes of Mid-American Conference football games could be.

All odds used below are from various sportsbooks, visible through VegasInsider.

Previous picks: Conference win totals.

GAME PICKS: WEEK 1

UMass Week: Prepare for the Unexpected, Now More Than Ever Before

Y11 Audio: Getting Back to the Good Stuff

5 ATS PICKS (WEEK 1)

FORDHAM +15.5 AT BOWLING GREEN

Yesterday, I said Fordham’s going to win this one straight-up. Damn right I’ll take a two-touchdown spread here.

BUFFALO -3.5 VS. LAFAYETTE

Buffalo lost to an FCS squad last year.

And the year before that.

But, and hear me out on this, what if Pete Lembo’s a better head coach than Maurice Linguist? Maybe that changes some things.

Sure, Buffalo still, and always will, miss Lance Leipold. That doesn’t mean I think Buffalo will lose to three FCS schools in three years.

I say Buffalo by a touchdown.

TOLEDO -27.5 VS. DUQUESNE

Winning by four full touchdowns is definitely on the table here. Beats the -30.5 spread it opened with. As I’ve stated before, I think QB Tucker Gleason will be in for a big year.

WESTERN MICHIGAN +24.5 AT WISCONSIN

I don’t totally know if Wisconsin will runaway with this one. WMU might be in for a rough day on defense, mostly for having gone through a change at D coordinator, but offensively WMU might have enough of what it takes to actually compete here.

OHIO STATE -48.5 VS. AKRON

I hate taking spreads like these, but Ohio State just spent five trillion dollars and opened up a sweatshop overseas to help pay for this year’s roster. They absolutely will put up a disgusting score to start the year.

MAC GAMES NOT PLAYING:

• Central Connecticut +32.5 at Central Michigan

• Pittsburgh -24 vs. Kent State

• Eastern Michigan +3 at UMass

• Syracuse -17.5 vs. Ohio

• Miami +3.5 at Northwestern

• Northern Illinois -34.5 vs. Western Illinois

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