Never, Ever Gamble on the MAC: Toledo vs. Western Kentucky is honorary MACtion

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 | Week 1 (3-2 record) | Week 2 (3-2) | Week 3 (4-1)

GAME PICKS: WEEK 4

Physically, Max Reese Already Had the Goods

Y11 Audio: Hurting, But Not Declining

LAST WEEK POSTED A 4-1 RECORD

OVERALL ATS RECORD: 10-5

Hits: EMU covered and beat Jacksonville State, Toledo covered and beat Mississippi State on the road, Illinois absolutely beat Central Michigan by more than 20.5 points, and Tennessee did exactly what I told you they were going to do: smoke ‘em. Got Miami +3.5 wrong, but at least I can

With weekly records of 3-2, 3-2, and 4-1 this season, I say I’m due for another great week of shrugging my shoulders at some numbers and saying “Yeah, whatever.”

5 ATS PICKS (WEEK 4)

Buffalo +13.5 at #23 Northern Illinois

Buffalo might have to show up again on offense since NIU’s defense always comes ready for a fight. Honestly, this is probably going to be a good defensive battle for both sides, and I think we’re going to learn a lot about both quarterbacks here. Sure, NIU beat Notre Dame by running the ball come hell or high water, but Pete Lembo’s probably a better head coach than Marcus Freeman. I’m preparing myself for Buffalo to lead at the half.

Central Michigan -6.5 vs. Ball State

I want to stick up for Ball State here, but I just don’t see anything. If there was any reason to believe in Ball State here because of something you saw in the Miami FL blowout, then I have a list of follow-up questions about how you gravitate towards football spirituality. If CMU loses here, I think we can really, really start openly talking about Jim McElwain being on the hot seat.

Miami +28 at Notre Dame

A homecoming of sorts for Chuck Martin since he, a defensive guy, was a former offensive coordinator for the Irish. Miami’s offense has been really disappointing so far this season. Even if you lose some important players, 11 points per game, even if it’s through just two games, isn’t going to get the job done.

Toledo -2.5 at Western Kentucky

This is the kind of game that has that “whoever has the ball last” smell to it. Toledo, of course, followed up NIU’s Notre Dame win two weeks ago with a Mississippi State win last week. Western Kentucky also lapped its opponent last week: rival Middle Tennessee 49-21. WKU won by so much that it played three quarterbacks. The over/under is set at 59.5 points, which is really threatening my personal non-gambling streak.

Bowling Green +22.5 at #25 Texas A&M

Respect to Bowling Green. They played Penn State tooth-and-nail and now they get to try Texas A&M off a bye week. And if I may, Texas A&M isn’t exactly a wrecking ball of success on the field either. They’re only ranked to make Notre Dame look good. Their quarterback situation wasn’t great to begin with and maybe got worse after the starter’s injury.

MAC GAMES I’M NOT PLAYING:

• Ohio +19.5 at Kentucky

• EMU -22.5 vs. St. Francis

• Kent State +49 at Penn State

• Miami +28 at Notre Dame

• South Carolina -26 vs. Akron

---

The Ypsilanti Eleven is local, independently run, and is the only sports media hub on the internet (or anywhere) with this much coverage dedicated to Eastern Michigan. Your contributions will help pay for the year-round labor and improvements required to make this your favorite place to read about EMU and MACtion.