It’s Week 2 of the college football regular season, and the Mid-American Conference schedule kicks off for 2 teams. A few other MAC schools are cashing a fat paycheck for their troubles, while a couple of other teams pick on some FCS institutions. It should be another fun week of MACtion.
Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the MAC’s Week 2 slate, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
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MAC best bets for Week 2
All games listed are Saturday and ET unless noted
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 6:39 p.m. ET.
Ohio at Penn State OVER 54.5 (-108) – noon (ABC)
The Ohio offense looked pretty impressive last week against FAU in the opener at Peden Stadium. The Bobcats outlasted the Owls 41-38, as the teams easily smashed the Over of 50.5. Ohio managed 26 first downs, 131 rushing yards and 345 passing yards. The kicking game was sound, too, connecting on both field goal attempts.
Defensively, Ohio was gouged for 364 yards through the air, and another 114 yards on the ground. Penn State had an impressive 35-31 win at Purdue and should be able to move the ball up and down the field without much resistance.
These teams have met 6 times, with Penn State winning 5 of them. The Nittany Lions lost the last meeting 24-14 in 2012. Penn State has scored 32 or more points in all 5 of the victories, however.
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Western Michigan -5.5 (-115) at Ball State – 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
We have to make a pick in the 1st league game of the 2022 season, right?
Western Michigan actually held a brief lead at Michigan State, up 3-0 with less than five minutes to go in the first quarter, until the Spartans rattled off 21 unanswered points. The Broncos fought back in the 3rd quarter, making it a 1-score game. Michigan State was up just 21-13 until it scored 2 late TDs, backdooring the cover, and handing anyone holding a WMU +21.5 (-110) ticket a little bit of a bad beat.
Western Michigan looked pretty good at times against a Power 5 opponent. The same cannot be said for Ball State.
The Cardinals were routed at Tennessee, and at no point was it anything more than a nuisance to the Vols. Ball State allowed a touchdown just 23 seconds into the game, and it was 17-0 at the end of the 1st quarter, and 38-0 at halftime. The Cardinals didn’t score until midway through the third quarter, making it a 45-7 game.
It should help that Ball State is back at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie for this one. However, the Cardinals are just 2-5 ATS in the last 7 home games dating back to 2020, and 1-4 ATS in the last 5 MAC games, with an 0-5 ATS mark in the last 5 played in September.
We’re going to buck a lot of trends here picking WMU, though, as the underdog is 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings, Western Michigan is 0-4 ATS in the last 4 against Ball State, and the Broncos are just 2-8-1 ATS in the last 11 MAC contests.
Akron at Michigan State OVER 55.5 (-110) – 4 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
The Zips struggled with St. Francis of the FCS last week, scratching out a 30-23 overtime victory at InfoCision Stadium. The undersized Red Flash piled up 189 rushing yards on 40 carries (4.7 yards per attempt). Imagine how much the larger Spartans will be able to gash the Zips very giving D.
Akron also allowed 264 yards through the air, so QB Payton Thorne and the Spartans receivers have to licking their chops as well.
Michigan State took care of another MAC team, Western Michigan, by a 35-13 margin last week. The Under did cash in that game, and Sparty was strong on defense, allowing 141 yards on the ground and just 193 passing yards. It also had 7 sacks, so Akron will have a strong pass rush to contend with, too.
Don’t expect the Zips to contribute much to the point total, but that’s OK. Sparty could take care of the Over mostly on their own against one of the worst teams in FBS.
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Northern Illinois at Tulsa OVER 62.5 (-110) – 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Northern Illinois got the job done last weekend against Eastern Illinois of the FCS. It certainly wasn’t pretty, and NIU came nowhere near covering a 35-point number in the 34-27 victory. But NIU did have a very balanced attack, going for 187 yards on the ground, 192 yards through the air and it was sound in the return game.
The Huskies had 7 penalties, and will need to clean that up a bit, and there was a misfire in the kicking game, too. The good news is that NIU recorded 2 sacks, allowed just 1, and NIU was plus-2 in the turnover department.
On the flip side, Tulsa suffered a heartbreaking 40-37 loss in overtime at Wyoming. The Golden Hurricane defense offered little to no resistance against the pass, allowing 460 yards. QB Rocky Lombardi should be able to rock and roll against the Tulsa pass D, keeping the Huskies close.
Betting the Over, albeit a rather high total, looks to be a sound investment, and perhaps pair that with NIU (+6.5, -110) for a small-unit parlay opportunity. It would be even more attractive if NIU can get to a flat 7, or 7 and a hook.
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