Ball State vs Miami-OH 10/23/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Ball State Cardinals meet the Miami-Ohio RedHawks Saturday in Week 8 college football MAC-tion from Scheumann Stadium.

The Miami-Ohio RedHawks will look to build on their 34-21 win over Akron in their last game. AJ Mayer has thrown for 946 yards, 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on 54.4% passing while Keyon Mozee leads the RedHawks in rushing with 310 yards while Miami-Ohio has another three 100+ yard rushers this season. Jack Sorensen leads Miami-Ohio’s receivers with 34 grabs for 565 yards and 5 touchdowns while Mac Hippenhammer has 24 grabs for 440 yards. The RedHawks also have another three receivers with at least 100 receiving yards this season. On defense, Ivan Pace Jr. leads the Redhawks with 59 total tackles while Matthew Salopek has 55 total tackles and Lonnie Phelps has a team-high 5.5 sacks this season.

The Ball State Cardinals come into this one looking to add to their three-game winning streak after a 38-31 win over Eastern Michigan last time out. Drew Plitt has thrown for 1,364 yards, 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on 63.7% passing while Carson Steele leads Ball State’s ground attack with 379 rushing yards and Will Jones has 242 rushing yards as well this season with Steele and Jones combining for 8 touchdowns. Justin Hall leads Ball State in receiving with 44 catches for 474 yards and 3 TDs while Jayshon Jackson has 30 grabs for 359 yards and Yo’Heinz Tyler has 24 catches for 267 yards and a team-high 4 TDs this season. On defense, Jaylin Thomas leads Ball State with 55 total tackles while Bryce Cosby has 53 total tackles and 4 sacks. Yavion Woodard also leads the Cardinals with 4.5 sacks this season.

Miami-Ohio is 17-7 ATS in their last 24 conference games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall while the under is 5-0 in their last 5 games against a team with a winning record. Ball State is 14-29 ATS in their last 43 home games and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 conference games while the under is 7-3 in their last 10 games following a win.

This is the lowest the total has been between these two teams in quite some time, but I think it’s justified. Sure, the last three meetings have all seen or surpassed 63 points, but the offense hasn’t been consistent for either side, which stinks for me because Ball State was my prediction to win the MAC this year. Even if the offenses show up, I don’t see this one breaking 50 points, so give me the under.