Previewing Saturday’s MAC Championship Game between the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks and Central Michigan Chippewas, with betting odds and picks.
The Miami (Ohio) Redhawks (7-5, 6-2 MAC East) and Central Michigan Chippewas (8-4, 6-2 MAC West) tangle at Ford Field in Detroit at 12:00 p.m. ET for the Mid-American Conference championship. We analyze the Miami (Ohio)-Central Michigan odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.
Miami (Ohio) vs. Central Michigan: Three things you need to know
1. Miami clinched its spot with two games to play, and really struggled down the stretch. The Redhawks narrowly escaped with a 20-17 win against winless Akron Nov. 20, and were blasted 41-27 at Ball State last weekend.
2. The Redhawks lost QB Brett Gabbert to an undisclosed injury for the second half last week, but he is expected to be available for this one. He left last week’s game with Miami up 27-14 at half. The ‘Hawks were outscored 27-0 in the final 30 minutes without him.
3. Central Michigan crowned Toledo by a 49-7 score last week, and it has posted 144 total points across the past three games. The Chips have been cover kings this season, too, going 11-1 against the spread while the Over is 6-1 across the past seven.
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Miami (Ohio) vs. Central Michigan: Odds, betting lines and picks
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 10:50 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Central Michigan 44, Miami (Ohio) 23
Central Michigan (-250) has been impressive from start to finish this season, and it probably should have beaten the ‘other’ Miami, you know, the one from Florida, back in late September. The Chippewas fell in 17-12 as 30.5-point underdogs. The Chips are as explosive as anyone and that’s bad news for a Miami (Ohio) team (+200) which enters amid what’s probably its worst stretch of the season.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN (-6.5, -121) is a great play, as the Chips covered in 11 of 12 games this season, and they’re 5-0 ATS in their past five as the favorite. Miami (+6.5, +100) is 13-4 ATS across its last 17 league games, but the Redhawks have failed to cover in the past two. The Redhawks are 2-2 straight up in their four appearances in the title game. The Chippewas are a perfect 3-0 SU in their previous three showings.
The MAC title game has a history of points under the roof at Ford Field since 2004. The OVER 54.5 (-105) is a nice play here, as we have seen an average of 65 total points in the previous seven installments. The Over is also 5-2 in Miami’s past seven against winning sides while going 6-1 in the past seven for CMU.
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