Penn State has had little problems dealing with #MACTION, but two MAC schools own active winning streaks against the Nittany Lions.
Historically speaking, Penn State has been very good against teams currently residing in the MAC. That should be expected given Penn State’s place in college football history compared to most of the programs in the MAC. But two schools in the MAC will enter the 2021 season with active winning streaks against the Nittany Lions with no future game son the schedule lined up to give Penn State an upcoming chance of breaking those streaks.
The Toledo Rockets are the only non-power conference program in college football to own a 100 percent winning percentage against the Nittany Lions (excluding teams from the Ivy League), putting Toledo in some very elite company with programs like Clemson, Oklahoma, and Florida (and Vanderbilt!).
Penn State’s brief run under former head coach Bill O’Brien got off on the wrong foot with a home loss to the Ohio Bobcats in Beaver Stadium. Ohio is the only other MAC team with an active winning streak against the Nittany Lions. In fact, those are the only two games Penn State has ever lost to a team in the MAC to this day.
Here is a look at how Penn State fares all-time against schools currently in the MAC.
All data referenced is credited to College Football Reference. Rankings referenced are AP Top 25 where available.
Check out the game details, keys to the match-up, and my game prediction in this Michigan State-Western Michigan preview.
Michigan State basketball returns to the floor on Sunday for their third game of the week, this time against the Western Michigan Broncos. This marks the Spartans’ third match-up against an in-state opponent, with MSU picking up wins against the previous two in Eastern Michigan and Detroit Mercy.
The Spartans are a perfect 4-0 on the season, but that undefeated start to the season was in danger on Friday against Detroit Mercy. MSU needed a late rally to survive the Titans’ upset bid, winning 83-76. Spartans fans will be hoping for a less stressful match-up against Western Michigan on Sunday.
Let’s take a look at this match-up against the Broncos, with game details, things to watch, and last but not least my prediction for this game.
Slowly but surely we are seeing the MSU basketball schedule pieced together, with another non-conference match-up being reported on Thursday
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Slowly but surely we are seeing the Michigan State basketball schedule pieced together, with another non-conference match-up being reported on Thursday afternoon.
Adam Zagoria — a freelance sports journalist for The New York Times — has reported that Michigan State will host in-state foe Western Michigan on Dec. 6 at the Breslin Center. He also reconfirmed an earlier report that the Spartans will play Notre Dame on Nov. 28 — which is looking like the season-opener for MSU.
Schedule for the Michigan State MTE:
Nov. 28: Notre Dame at Michigan State Dec. 2: Western Michigan at Notre Dame Dec. 6: WMU at MSU
Michigan State topped Western Michigan last season, 95-62, in the two schools’ first match-up since 1998. MSU is 20-4 all-time against the Broncos.
It was expected that Michigan State would play some regionally close opponents to fill out the rest of the non-conference schedule, so the Broncos traveling to East Lansing makes a lot of sense. Oakland University is another in-state team that many expect to land on the Spartans’ schedule this year.
Head coach Tom Izzo virtually met with the media on Wednesday and hinted at the entire schedule being finalized in the next few days. It was also reported last week by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports that the Big Ten planned on revealing the conference schedule this week, however, there’s been no announcement yet by the league.
Izzo hopes to have a schedule by the end of this week. Says it's 90 percent done. Will depend on if @KevinPauga sees his shadow when he comes up from underground
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Western Michigan Broncos Offense 3 Things To Know
– When the offense worked and scored, the team won. Duh – that’s how this whole thing is supposed to work – but WMU was 6-0 when it scored more than 35 points, and 1-6 when it scored fewer.
The rushing offense averaged 2-5 yards per game, the passing attack was efficient enough to get by, and there weren’t a whole lot of giveaways. Consistency, though, will be the key going forward with a group full of potential All-MAC talents.
CFN in 60 Video: Notre Dame Preview
Western Michigan at Notre Dame, Sept. 19
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– No, the running game didn’t get better after losing LeVante Bellamy – who ran for 1,472 yards and 23 scores – but the backfield just got very, very interesting. No. 2 back Sean Tyler is back after averaging close to six yards per carry with five scores, and coming in is La”Darius Jefferson from Michigan State for more thump, and Jaxson Kincaide from Nevada for more splash.
They’ll work behind a line that gets back four starters and was excellent in pass protection and blasted away for Bellamy. Second Team All-MAC performer Mike Caliendo is the best of the bunch at left guard, and Jaylon Moore is a good one at tackle. Replacing all-star C Luke Juriga its the one blip.
– All-star QB Jon Wassink is done, but Kaleb Eleby is ready to go after getting a little work in as a freshman in 2018, but redshirting last year. Backup Griffin Alstott – a former Purdue transfer – is back, too.
All-MAC TE Giovanni Ricci is done along with 50-catchWR Keith Mixon, but Skyy Moore is a dangerous playmaker coming off a team-high 51 catches for 802 yards and three scores.
Also back is D’Wayne Eskridge, who missed most of last year and might end up working as a defensive back. It’s going to be a deep overall group as the season goes on.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Western Michigan Broncos Defense 3 Things To Know
Previewing Monday’s SERVPRO First Responder Bowl betting odds and lines between Western Michigan Broncos and Western Kentucky Hilltoppers with betting picks, tips and bets.
The Western Michigan Broncos (7-5) and Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (8-4) meet up in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. Kickoff at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas 12:30 p.m. ET Monday. We analyze the Western Michigan-Western Kentucky odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.
Western Michigan vs. Western Kentucky: Three things you need to know
1. The Broncos head into this game with a 1-8 straight-up (SU) career record in bowl games, while the Hilltoppers have won three of their five all-time appearances.
2. Western Michigan ranked 23rd in the nation with 457.3 total yards per game and are 24th in the country with 212.7 yards per game on the ground, while posting 34.2 points per game to check in 25th.
3. Western Kentucky covered in seven of its final nine games despite the fact it ranked just 87th in the country with 380.0 total yards per game on offense. The defense is rather stout, however, allowing just 20.1 PPG to rank 21st.
WESTERN KENTUCKY (-164) is a moderate favorite. Playing the moneyline isn’t a bad bet since the Hilltoppers are laying 3.5 points. Anything less and the play is to just look to the spread.
New to sports betting? Every $1.64 wagered on the Western Kentucky ML will profit $1 if the Broncos win.
AVOID. Western Kentucky (-3.5, -106) is laying three and a hook, and I expect this to be a one-possession game. I’d rather play the moneyline and cheer for a straight-up win. Western Michigan (+3.5, -115) could easily cover the line and still lose this game, which should be a close, defensive slog.
UNDER 54.5 (-106) is the way to go, as Western Kentucky’s defense has been stout this season. Western Michigan can sling it, but expect the Broncos to struggle finding as many open spaces as they’re used to in MAC play.
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Recalling the 2017 Cotton Bowl (January, not December) between Paul Chryst’s Wisconsin Badgers and P.J. Fleck’s Western Michigan Broncos.
The Cotton Bowl had two games in 2017: One was played in late December, when Ohio State defeated USC. The other one was played on January 2 of that year, when the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Western Michigan Broncos, 24-16. Western Michigan was the Mid-American Conference champion, the first (and still only, to date) MAC champion to win the Group of Five championship and play in a New Year’s Six bowl. The coaching quality of PJ Fleck emerged that season, when WMU went unbeaten in the regular season and earned its big date with Paul Chryst and Wisconsin in Arlington, Texas.
This was the first really big game between Fleck and Chryst. Their second really big encounter is this Saturday, as the Minnesota Golden Gophers try to win the Big Ten West for the first time and deny the Wisconsin Badgers a rematch with the Ohio State Buckeyes in Indianapolis in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Last year’s Fleck-versus-Chryst game didn’t sizzle. I say that not because Wisconsin was on the short end, but because Wisconsin didn’t have a very good team. Minnesota was also trying to find its bearings under Fleck and gain an identity as a program. This 2019 meeting, on the other hand, is a clash of quality teams and a battle for a division championship, maybe even a ticket to the Rose Bowl (with Penn State being in the mix for that latter prize as well). It is worth looking back on the first especially significant encounter between Fleck and Chryst on a national stage.
One key note to make about that (January) 2017 Cotton Bowl was that Chryst went into battle against Fleck and offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca (who accompanied Fleck in moving from Western Michigan to Minnesota) with Justin Wilcox as his defensive coordinator. The Western Michigan-Wisconsin Cotton Bowl is therefore not a renewal of the assistant coach battle (and Broyles Award semifinalist showdown) between Ciarrocca and current UW defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
Yet, even though so many faces were different — Wisconsin had T.J. Watt and Vince Biegel on defense, Corey Clement and Troy Fumagalli on offense — a few details of this game are certainly worth noting in connection to what we will see this upcoming Saturday in Minneapolis.
Jan 2, 2017; Arlington, TX, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Corey Clement (6) and head coach Paul Chryst and tight end Troy Fumagalli (81) celebrate the win over the Western Michigan Broncos in the 2017 Cotton Bowl game at AT&T Stadium. The Badgers defeat the Broncos 24-16. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The third-down conversion rates for both teams were impressive. Western Michigan was 5 of 11, Wisconsin 7 of 11. The Badgers won this battle, and it certainly mattered in propelling them to victory. However, Western Michigan’s ability to convert a reasonable percentage of third downs enabled the Broncos to stay close. Time of possession in this game was a virtual tie: 30:05 for Wisconsin, 29:55 for Western Michigan. The Broncos kept the ball from the Badgers long enough to keep the game close. Western Michigan did cover the 8.5-point Wisconsin betting line. However, Western Michigan — with receiver Corey Davis on its roster — needed to hit the home-run pass to beat Wisconsin, and that did not happen against Wisconsin and Wilcox’s defense.
Davis had six catches for only 73 yards — 12 per catch — and was outgained by Wisconsin’s best offensive player that day. Fumagalli made sensational grabs in that contest, accumulating 83 receiving yards and powering the Badgers’ offense on a day when Clement was held to 71 yards by Western Michigan’s resolute defense.
I don’t need to tell anyone that Minnesota is more physical and skilled than that 2016 Western Michigan team. The Gophers are a much more formidable version of Fleck’s first great team in his coaching career. Nevertheless, the game flow Wisconsin established that day against Western Michigan is something Chryst and his staff will certainly want to replicate against Minnesota. If you offered Chryst a deal in which his team would get a 14-0 first-quarter lead, and get an 11-of-12 passing line for 159 yards — as Bart Houston delivered on that day — from Jack Coan, he will take it. He would sign on the dotted line. Sure, he wouldn’t like the part of the deal in which his lead running back gains only 71 yards, but the 7 of 11 number on third downs would likely lead him to accept this larger package of circumstances.
Strong third-down conversion rates, supremely efficient situational passing, and a two-touchdown first-quarter lead — with the opposing offense, coached by Fleck and Ciarrocca, not hitting a long downfield pass play — give Wisconsin and Paul Chryst a roadmap for how to play this game Saturday. The biggest concern and question mark: Can Jim Leonhard get a Fleck-busting defensive performance which was every bit as impressive as Justin Wilcox in the 2017 Cotton Bowl? More precisely, can Wisconsin’s back seven defend the RPOs and other delights the Fleck-Ciarrocca brain trust has in store for the Badgers in Minneapolis?
