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) | Week 4 (3-2)
OVERALL ATS RECORD: 13-7
Jinxes don’t exist and neither do weeks of losing records for me apparently. Slowly but surely, I’m 13-7 in Vegas picks for MAC games only this season, which goes to show just how easy this thing is and everybody should simply shift their gambling focuses to doing only MAC games, just like me. There really aren’t any wagons in this league either (thanks for nothing, Toledo).
5 ATS PICKS (WEEK 5)
Eastern Michigan -14.5 at Kent State
If EMU is going to take that next step up in everybody’s MAC power rankings, they’re going to have to show that they can dominate drives at-will, through the run and pass games, against an opponent like this. The offensive line is going to want to prove that it can give its running backs multiple chances of making sizable runs, and I think they’ll be challenged to do just that before it goes into the bye week.
Buffalo +6 vs. UConn
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Pete Lembo knows what he’s doing and these are the kinds of games this man lives for.
James Madison -21.5 vs. Ball State
James Madison, undefeated and pushing to leap UNLV in the rankings, needs more casualties than just North Carolina. Sorry, Ball State.
San Diego State +1.5 at Central Michigan
CMU gets the home advantage here, especially since SDSU has to make the West-to-Midwest flight. And SDSU isn’t doing particularly great here. If things get super one-sided here, it’ll go in CMU’s direction. But sometimes you don’t make picks based on logic and reason. Sometimes all you need is a little trust in God.
Ohio -9.5 vs. Akron
While I don’t really love this line considering how ‘meh’ Ohio’s passing offense is right now, I do think that Ohio still has more of an ability to play efficient football than Akron can. Maybe there’s just a wide difference in non-conference opponents faced, but Akron really hasn’t showed much of anything to be optimistic about this year.
MAC GAMES I’M NOT PLAYING:
NC State -7.5 vs. Northern Illinois
UMass +17 at Miami OH
Western Michigan +4.5 at Marshall
Bowling Green -10 vs. Old Dominion