Ohio v. Central Michigan Football Odds & Picks

The MAC East champion Ohio Bobcats meet the MAC West champion Central Michigan Chippewas in the 2009 MAC title game Friday night at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. NCAA football odds makers have the Chippewas hoisting the trophy Friday night, listing Central Michigan as a 13-point favorite with the total set at 53.

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Led by QB Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan boasts one of the best offenses in the country ranking 14th in the land with a 34.2 points per game scoring average and 28th in the country with a 420.8 yards of total offense tally. If your realm of curiosity doesn’t venture outside the BCS conferences, it’s high time you acquainted yourself with Mr. LeFevour. The Central Michigan signal caller has had an outstanding career. He is currently tied for 10th place in NCAA history with 146 touchdowns, passing for 99, rushing for 46, and even catching one. LeFevour is also seventh on the NCAA list for career completions with 1,110. In CMU’s last game against Northern Illinois, LeFevour passed for 255 yards and three touchdowns. He also got some nice help on the ground from running back Bryan Schroeder, who rushed for a career-high 128 yards. The other offensive weapon to watch for in this game is wide receiver Antonio Brown, who has caught a pass in 39 straight games and leads the Chipps with 954 receiving yards. The Chipps are coming off their first ever unbeaten and untied MAC regular season in program history to improve to 21-3 in the MAC in the Butch Jones era. It is worth noting that the Chippewas are 25-7-2 against the spread in their last 34 conference games. If you like the Chippewas to win the MAC title game by at least 14 points, bet Central Michigan at -13 at Bodog.

While offense is clearly the strength of Central Michigan, it’s been Ohio’s big play defense that has been catching headlines. Ohio has forced 35 turnovers this season after picking off three passes in its last game against Temple. It enters the MAC title game with a +14 turnover ratio, which is undoubtedly a big reason for the team’s success this season.

The big concern entering this game is QB Theo Scott’s ankle. The Ohio QB injured it on a fourth quarter sack against Temple and is currently listed as questionable for Friday’s matchup. But Scott has said that he will play. Against Temple, Scott led the Bobcats’ Pistol offense to perfection, helping them rack up 170 yards on the ground, which is the most Temple had allowed in MAC play this season. He rushed for 69 yards himself with touchdown scampers of 43 and 17 yards. He also completed 17 of 21 passes for a career-high 324 yards and three touchdowns. Scott’s 19 touchdown strikes this season is tied for tops in school history.  It will be a big blow to the Bobcats if he isn’t able to go.

Defensively, the Bobcats have been able to come up with big plays all season, but if those big plays don’t come, they must do a better job of stopping the run this week. The Bobcats gave up 255 rushing yards to Temple and that’s just not going to cut it against the Chipps. The Bobcats are capable of putting together long, clock-eating drives with their Pistol attack. That figures to be their best defense Friday as it keeps the explosive Central Michigan offense off the field. It is worth noting that the Bobcats are 5-0 against the spread in their last 5 games as an underdog of 10.5 or more points. If you like the Bobcats to keep this one within the number, bet Ohio at +13 at Bodog.

Join Jimmy Boyd this week for more winning football picks as he continues his strong 10-4 run on the gridiron!