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MAC Football Wednesday Night Picks – See Odds and Best Bets for All Games on November 4th

Chris Amberley

by Chris Amberley in College Football

Updated Mar 3, 2021 · 2:32 PM PST

Peden Stadium at Ohio University
Peden Stadium at Ohio University will play host to Wednesday's pivotal MAC East battle. Photo by Dan Keck (flickr) [public domain].
  • The MAC Football season begins Wednesday, November 4th
  • Ball State’s Drew Plitt racked up 2,918 passing yards and 24 TD in 2019
  • See below for odds and best bets for Wednesday’s 6-game MAC slate

So there will be MAC football in 2020 after all. The conference initially planned to skip the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, but have since reversed course.

The MAC starts its six-game, conference-only season on Wednesday, November 4th, with the conference championship game scheduled for December 18th in Detroit.

Wednesday’s slate features six games, including 2019 East Division champions Miami (OH) hosting Ball State.

November 4th MAC Football Odds

Team Spread Moneyline Total Game Time (Eastern)
Western Michigan -17.5 (-113) -1250 Over 54.5 (-105) 6:00 p.m.
Akron +17.5 (-108) +700 Under 54.5 (-117) ESPN3
Team Spread Moneyline Total Game Time (Eastern)
Eastern Michigan +6.5 (-109) +185 Over 61.5 (-112) 6:00 p.m.
Kent State -6.5 (-112) -235 Under 61.5 (-109) ESPN+
Team Spread Moneyline Total Game Time (Eastern)
Ball State +1.5 (-107) +108 Over 55.5 (-110) 7:00 p.m.
Miami Ohio -1.5 (-114) -134 Under 55.5 (-110) CBSSN
Team Spread Moneyline Total Game Time (Eastern)
Buffalo -10.5 (-110) -455 Over 51.5 (-106) 7:00 p.m.
Northern Illinois +10.5 (-110) +330 Under 51.5 (-114) ESPN2
Team Spread Moneyline Total Game Time (Eastern)
Ohio -1.5 (-103) -112 Over 59.5 (-113) 7:00 p.m.
Central Michigan +1.5 (-118) -109 Under 59.5 (-108) ESPN
Team Spread Moneyline Total Game Time (Eastern)
Bowling Green +21.5 (-110) +850 Over 61.5 (-114) 8:00 p.m.
Toledo -21.5 (-110) -1667 Under 61.5 (-107) ESPNU

Odds as of  Nov. 2nd at DraftKings

The RedHawks initially opened up as a 3.5-point favorite, but the line has been moving in the Cardinals direction ever since. It currently sits at Miami -1.5, and there’s plenty of reason to believe that Ball State is a live ‘dog in this one.

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Ball State Over Miami (OH)

The Cardinals finished 5-7 last season, but four of those losses were by four points or less. They return 17 seniors from last year’s team and were victorious in their only meeting with the RedHawks in 2019.

Ball State led the MAC in points per game last season (34.8), and the majority of the key pieces are back led by QB Drew Plitt.

Plitt, racked up 2,918 passing yards and 24 TD in 2019, and will have the luxury of throwing to two of his top-three receivers once again.

Senior running back Caleb Huntley will pace the rushing attack, after eclipsing 100 yards on the ground in all but one conference game in 2019.

The Cardinals are going to score early and often, the challenge will be keeping their opponents off the scoreboard. Ball State allowed 31.4 points per game last season, which ranked 94th in the FBS.

Miami meanwhile, has the second shortest MAC Championship odds, despite averaging just 24.1 points per outing in 2019. The RedHawks and are banged up on offense, as both of their top-two rushers from a season ago (Jaylon Bester and Tyre Shelton) will miss this game.

That’s going to put extra pressure on sophomore QB Brett Gabbert, who posted underwhelming numbers in nine starts. Gabbert threw for 2,411 yards, 11 TD and 8 INT as a freshman, and will need a big outing to keep pace with the Ball State attack.

Expect a lot of points from both sides, but I like the Cardinals to squeak out a narrow victory.

Toledo Trounces Bowling Green

The Toledo Rockets won four of their first five games in 2019, before sputtering down the stretch to finish 6-6. They’ll take on Bowling Green on Wednesday, as massive 21.5-point favorites. This game actually opened up Toledo -19, but bettors expect the Rockets to come out hot in 2020, led by their rushing attack.

Toledo ranked 19th in the entire FBS in rushing yards per game last season, racking up 224.5 yards per outing. Their top-two rushers (Bryant Koback and Shakif Seymour) are both back, with Koback fresh off a breakout 1,187 yards, 12 TD campaign. The duo should find plenty of success versus a Falcons defense that gave up a conference worst 38.6 points per game in 2019.

Eli Peters will be under center, but if everything goes according to plan he won’t have to do much. Peters has just 105 attempts on his resume, and the Rockets would much prefer to pound the rock.

Bowling Green meanwhile, is one of the youngest teams in the MAC, with a roster featuring nine freshmen, and seven redshirt freshmen. Starting QB Matt McDonald isn’t a freshman, but has thrown just eight career collegiate passes. He comes over from Boston College, looking to desperately improve the 120th ranked passing attack from a season ago.

The Falcons averaged only 16 points per game last season, and could be in for a long night against this revamped Toledo defense. The Rockets overhauled their coaching staff in an effort to fix a defense that wildly underachieved last season.

I like Toledo to overwhelm Bowling Green in this matchup, and the trends tend to agree. The Falcons are 0-6 ATS in their last six contests as a road underdog, and 0-7 ATS in their last seven games as a double-digit ‘dog.

Toledo on the other hand, is 5-1 ATS in its last six contests as a double-digit favorite.

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