Never, Ever Gamble on the MAC: Could the MAC have multiple P4 victories this week?
Never, Ever Gamble on the MAC: Could the MAC have multiple P4 victories this week?
Take my advice and just don't do anything I'd do.
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 and are visible through VegasInsider.
Previous picks: Conference win totals | Week 1 (3-2 record) | Week 2 (3-2 record)
LAST WEEK: POSTED A 3-2 RECORD
OVERALL ATS RECORD: 6-4
Central Michigan was a huge whiff, having taken them at -4.5 and instead losing by 36. This is why I’d never make it with real money. I don’t feel bad about taking Toledo -19.5 and UMass covering that.
At least I had Ohio and Northern Illinois both covering in games they ended up winning their games outright. Plus, my EMU pick of covering +24.5 was good since it only lost by 21. Love that for me, I obviously know what I’m doing here.
5 ATS PICKS (WEEK 3)
Eastern Michigan +2 vs. Jacksonville State
Big home opener for EMU tonight at 7 p.m. This team wants to redeem so much of what went wrong last week. On the same token, this team wants to redeem so much of what went wrong last year against this Jax State team when it lost 21-0 on the road. Jax State’s favored here, but just barely. Are EMU’s O-linemen ready to establish the run three weeks into the season? Defending the Rich Rodriguez spread option attack is already a headache in itself. But JSU’s defense has yet to show that it can play great against the run. This is the spot in the schedule where EMU learns a lot about itself there.
And if not, just see if Jesus Gomez can hit some 60-yard field goals.
Toledo +10 at Mississippi State
This is certainly going to be the first time Toledo will be tested this year. They got off easy with Duquesne and UMass both at home, but now they face Mississippi State, which just lost on the road to a pretty decent-looking Arizona State squad. Unless they’re playing Ohio State, Toledo doesn’t really find itself losing by double digits on the road, even against top-10 teams.
Miami +3.5 vs. Cincinnati
A lakeside stinker and a bye week later, Miami’s going to get in the end zone this week. Northwestern clearly has a solid rushing defense after it limited Miami to 1.7 yards per rush and Duke to 3.1 last week. Had Cincinnati not given up 22 unanswered points to lose to Pitt, maybe I’d view this differently. Who’s to say? RedHawks edge out another win here.
Fingers crossed for the future of this rivalry series, which is set to finish in 2026. (Get this: the Battle for the Bell series record stands tied at 60-60-7.)
Illinois -20.5 vs. Central Michigan
After getting shellacked by Florida International at Pitbull Stadium — a real thing that gets funnier every time it’s mentioned — I don’t have high hopes for Central Michigan. At least not in the short term. Especially not when the Chips have to go on the road and face a Bret Bielema-led Illinois squad that took down Kansas (which fell to 1-2 after last night’s loss to UNLV, a G5 playoff hopeful at 3-0) last week.
Tennessee -49.5 vs. Kent State
Sorry Kent State, but if Pitt can put up 55 points on you in the opening week, how much damage does Josh Hueppel think his offense can do? Tennessee beat Chattanooga 69-3, and #24 NC State 51-10. Even if Tennessee put its backups in the second quarter, I don’t think this goes well for Kent whatsoever.
MAC GAMES I’M NOT PLAYING:
Buffalo -3.5 vs. UMass
Miami FL -36.5 vs. Ball State
Ohio -23.5 vs. Morgan State
Akron -14.5 vs. Colgate
Western Michigan -32.5 vs. Bethune-Cookman
