| MAC
CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW - Thursday -
MAC Championship - Ford Field - Detroit, MI
Akron won the tiebreaker over Miami Ohio
and Bowling Green to get to the MAC title
game and the Zips will be looking for their
first ever MAC Championship. For those who
don't know Akron very well, this is not that
much of a surprise. The Zips finished 6-5
last season but were the only bowl eligible
team not to go to the post season last year
so they are out for some redemption. A loss
in this game will even the record at 6-6 and
send them home again this year.
Northern Illinois took care
of Western Michigan to win the MAC West in
a tiebreaker over Toledo, who it defeated
the prior week. The Huskies ended the season
winning six of their final seven games, the
only loss a surprising 14-point defeat at
home against Ball St. They finished 7-4 on
the season and were a couple plays away from
going 9-2. Northern Illinois won its final
three road games after starting the season
0-3 away from home.
The Zips lead the MAC and are
22nd in the country in total defense, allowing
just 322 ypg, just ahead of Toledo. It was
a great turnaround after Akron finished 98th
in the same category a season ago. A demoralizing
20-0 loss at home to Army dropped its record
to 3-4 but instead of throwing in the towel,
the Zips fought on to win three of their final
four games to get to this point. The defense
allowed only 10.8 ppg over that four game
stretch and gave up an amazing 226 total yards
in the final two games combined.
The Zips allowed two teams
to surpass 500 total yards this season and
one of those was Northern Illinois. The Huskies
racked up 536 total yards in that overtime
loss which was one of five games that they
generated at least 500 yards. Northern Illinois
finished the regular season 1st in the MAC
and 15th in the country in total offense with
451.7 ypg. The Huskies averaged 32.6 ppg on
the season and scored 31 or more points eight
times on the season including their final
three games.
The Northern Illinois defense
strengthened over the final four games as
its points allowed decreased in each contest.
The Huskies finished 4th in the conference
in total defense but it was very inconsistent
this season. They allowed single digits to
four opponents but also allowed 31 or more
points four times as well. It all balanced
out however as they finished 1st in the MAC
in scoring defense, allowing an average of
22.1 ppg. After surrendering 491.3 ypg to
its first three 1-A opponents, Northern Illinois
allowed only 318.8 ypg in its final seven
games.
The Zips are not a very
strong team on offense but their best game
came against the Huskies where they totaled
48 points and 525 yards of offense, both season
highs. Only six points were scored in overtime
so the numbers are not inflated because of
that.
The rushing offense
finished 9th in the MAC with only 113 ypg
but Akron did average 156.5 ypg in its final
four games which should provide some good
momentum as the Huskies allowed 163.3 ypg
on the ground over that same span. Both teams
finished with six wins against the number
this year but it was Northern Illinois who
performed better away from home, going 4-1-1
ATS on the road. These teams have only played
twice in the past five year with the home
team winning and covering.
Akron finished the season with its final five games and
seven of its final eight games going under.
The Huskies went 3-1 under at home but 2-3
under on the road although they ended the
year with a 4-1-1 under run. Both teams play
their home games on the fake stuff so neither
has an edge playing at Ford Field on the FieldTurf.
Matt Fargo is a documented member of The Professional
Handicappers League.
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