Tuesday MACtion College Football Odds, Predictions & Picks for Ball State vs Kent State, Buffalo vs Ohio
- Are you ready for some MACtion? The MAC tradition of Tuesday night football begins this week.
- MAC East contenders Buffalo and Ohio square off; Kent State and Ball State look to gain ground.
- Read below for Buffalo vs Ohio and Ball State vs Kent State odds, analysis and prediction
The Mid-American Conference continues its tradition of early-week college football when Buffalo and Ohio meet for first place in the East Division in Athens on Tuesday. Buffalo (5-3,-4-0) is a 3-point favorite and the lone remaining MAC unbeaten. Ohio 5-3, 3-1) would earn a tie-breaker advantage with a win.
Kent State (3-5, 2-2) is a 7-point home favorite against to Ball State (4-4, 2-2). The Golden Flashes will look to gain ground in the East while Ball State can move within one-half game of Toledo in West. Ball State’s Carson Steele and Kent State’s Marquez Cooper are 1-2 in the league in rushing.
Here are predictions and picks for the first two MACtion games. Betting trends and money percentages can be found on our College Football Betting trends page.
Buffalo vs Ohio Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bulls | -3 (-112) | -152 | Over 58.5 (-110) |
| Ohio Bobcats | +3 (-109) | +125 | Under 58.5 (-110) |
Odds from Barstool Sportsbook on Oct. 31. Get the Barstool Sportsbook promo code to bet on MACtion.
Buffalo On a Five-Game Roll
The East Division-leading Bulls are 5-0 SU and ATS after dropping their first three this season and are looking to match their FBS record of six straight wins in a venue that had not been kind. Ohio is 10-1 at home against the Bulls since joining the MAC in 1999, and the Bobcats are 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS in the last six meetings at home.
INTERCEPTION, BUFFALO, AGAIN!
Marcus Fuqua pulls down his THIRD pick of the day and returns it into Toledo territory! Buffalo will try to add to their 31-27 lead late in the 4Q. pic.twitter.com/PgsMXeaDl3
— Hustle Belt (@HustleBelt) October 22, 2022
Buffalo has built its winning streak on a defense that is second in the league in points against (24.8 points per game) and has not allowed a point in the fourth quarter of its last five games. Safety Marcus Fuqua is tied for the Division I lead with five interceptions and had three in the Bulls’ 34-27 victory over Toledo the last time out, the Rockets’ first league loss and a blow to their chances in the conference title odds. Buffalo has 16 takeaways in its last six games, six against Toledo.
Ohio is 4-1 SU and ATS in its last five behind an offense that is second in the league in scoring (32 points per) and leads the league in passing at 308.5 yards per game. Three-year quarterback starter Kurtis Rourke has completed 68.5 percent of his passes for 2,408 yards and 16 touchdowns with three interceptions.
Kurtis Rourke had 🔟 big-time throws in Week 4.
Most in a game by an FBS QB since PFF began charting college football in 2014 🚀@OhioFootball pic.twitter.com/2GEajiRPH9
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 26, 2022
The Bobcats are near the bottom of the pack on the other side of the ball. They are 10th in scoring defense (34.4 per game) and last in total defense (509.6 yards per game) and passing defense (an FBS-high 335 yards per). The home trend in this series is hard to overlook.
- Pick: Ohio +3 (-109)
Ball State vs Kent State Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State Cardinals | +7 (-115) | +215 | Over 62 (-110) |
| Kent State Golden Flashes | -7 (-105) | -255 | Under 62 (-110) |
Odds from DraftKings on Oct. 31. Get the DraftKings Sportsbook promo code.
Ball State Holds Underdog Value
Kent State is a 7-point favorite in a game that features the top two running backs in the league in Ball State’s Carson Steele (890 yards, eight touchdowns) and Kent State’s Marquez Cooper (845 yards, eight scores. Steele is 13th in rushing in Division I and Cooper is 17th.
Carson Steele got UP @BarstoolBallSt
— Barstool Indy (@barstoolindy) October 15, 2022
Neither team has done much to inspire confidence heading into the stretch as each closes in on its number in the CFP win totals odds. Ball State and quarterback John Paddock (1,985 yards, 14 TDs, 9 interceptions) has won three of four, but its league victories are against bottom-feeders Northern Illinois and Central Michigan. The Cardinals lost to second-division Eastern Michigan 20-16 as a 2.5-point favorite the last time out — Steele had his sixth 100-yard game and Paddock threw two touchdowns and two picks, the second setting up EMU’s winning score.
Kent State, which played a much more ambitious schedule that included big-money games at Washington, Oklahoma and Georgia, is the only team to have beaten Ohio in league play. The Golden Flashes are 0-4 ATS since the Georgia game. They blew a 21-0 lead in a 52-31 loss at Toledo two weeks ago and enter after a 33-27 victory over Akron, when starting quarterback Collin Schlee was held out because of a lower-body bruise.
Kent State had both a 240-yard rusher (Marquez Cooper) and a 240-yard receiver (Dante Cephas) in its overtime victory over Ohio today.
The Golden Flashes are the first FBS team in the past 25 seasons to have both in the same game. pic.twitter.com/74KQpO4xa9
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 2, 2022
Monitor Schlee. He was called “50-50” earlier in the week but seems likely to play. Schlee is third in the MAC in passing efficiency. (Rourke is first.) Kent State leads the MAC in total offense and is 11th in total defense, the latter numbers skewed because of their Power 5 opponents. Ball State is in the middle of the pack in both. The teams have not played since 2019, when Kent State took a 41-38 victory as a 3-point home underdog.
- Pick: Ball State +7 (-115)
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Jack has covered college and professional sports for various Arizona media outlets since the 1980s and has written for the Associated Press, USA Today and Baseball America, among others. He staffed the 2015-17 World Series and has staffed four Super Bowls.
