Mac Championship Game Prediction
The 2020 Mac Championship Game will be held once again at Ford Field in Detroit, MI where this year 5-1 Ball State will take on 5-0 Buffalo at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday night. Is the over a safe bet despite the number sitting in the high 60s?
Game Snapshot
197 Ball State Cardinals (+13.5) at 198 Buffalo Bulls (-13.5); o/u 67.5
7:30 p.m. ET, Friday, Friday, December 18
Ford Field, Detroit, MI
TV: ESPN
Ball State Cardinals Game Notes
Ball State redshirt senior QB Drew Plitt completed 22-of-33 passes for 249 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in Saturday’s 30-27 win over Western Michigan. Plitt (6’2/215) outdueled Western’s Kaleb Eleby in a head-to-head battle between two unheralded signal callers. He wrapped up the regular season with five straight victories, and he tossed at least two touchdowns in each of the past four. Plitt also ended up with three 300-yard performances in six 2020 outings. Next up for Ball State is a trip to Detroit to face the Buffalo Bulls in the MAC Championship Game, a rematch of the 2008 league title game. Hopefully it ends better for the Cardinals, as they lost that one 42-24, their only previous appearance in the title game.
Buffalo Bulls Game Notes
Buffalo junior RB Jaret Patterson rushed 16 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s 56-7 rout of Akron. Patterson (5’9/195) rushed for 304 fewer yards and six less touchdowns than his previous outing against Kent State. That was fun and amazing to say. In each of his five games this season he found the end zone at least two times, ending up with 1,025 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns across just five games, breaking the two-game FBS record of Ricky Williams with 710 rushing yards along the way. He split the tailback touches with RB Kevin Mark, who actually outgained Patterson with 182 yards and 12.1 yards per tote. The Bulls will look to keep the ball rolling in next week’s MAC Championship Game against Ball State in Detroit.
Ball State vs. Buffalo Betting Prediction
The over has cashed in six of the last eight meetings between these two teams and is 7-3 in the Cardinals’ last 10 games overall. The over is also 5-2 in Ball State’s last seven games after allowing more than 200 yards rushing in its previous game, is 5-2 in its last seven games when facing an opponent with a winning record and is 7-3 in its last 10 conference games.
On the other side, the over is 9-2 in the Bulls’ last 11 games overall, is 13-3 in their last 16 games after allowing less than 20 points in their previous game and is 20-5-1 in their last 26 games coming off a win. The over is also 12-2 in their last 14 games after accumulating more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game and is 11-2 in their last 13 games after scoring more than 20 points in their previous contest.
MAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PREDICTION: BALL STATE/BUFFALO OVER 67.5