The Miami-OH RedHawks and Western Michigan Broncos meet Saturday in week 8 MAC college football action from Yager Stadium. Western Michigan is coming off a game versus Ohio. The Broncos ended up falling in a blowout. As for Miami-OH, they played Bowling Green over the weekend. In that one, the RedHawks lost by four. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Western Michigan won just one of their first four games this year: 37-30 over Ball State. The losses came to Michigan State 35-13, Pitt 34-13 and San Jose State 34-6. After a win over New Hampshire 44-7 the Broncos fell again to Eastern Michigan 45-23.
In the Ohio matchup, the Broncos were down by just six points heading into the final quarter. Western Michigan ended up falling 33-14, however. QB Jack Salopek had 249 yards with one TD and five interceptions. Sean Tyler led the rush on 19 carries for 84 yards.
Over on the Miami-OH side, they kicked off the year on a 3-3 run over their first six. The RedHawks fell versus Kentucky 37-13, Cincinnati 38-17 and Buffalo 24-20. The wins came courtesy of Robert Morris 31-14, Northwestern 17-14 and Kent State 27-24.
Matched up against Bowling Green, the RedHawks had a 10-7 lead going into the second half but eventually lost 17-13. Quarterback Aveon Smith managed 91 yards with a TD, and also led the rush with 55 yards on 14 carries.
PICK: I’m likely sticking with Western Michigan. There’s not a lot to like about this matchup, though; both teams are coming off rough losses. In any case, the Broncos were rocked by six turnovers in their loss to Ohio over the weekend. The offense also stumbled with 17 first downs and a 4-of-13 run on third- and fourth-down tries. Western Michigan is a better team than that however, and I think they’ll bounce back here.
As for Miami-OH, they had a rough offensive game themselves with just 189 total yards and 10 first downs. The RedHawks should be able to hang around in this one if they’re playing well, but I still like the Broncos better on a cover.