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.
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