 College Football Friday
Buffalo Bulls at Bowling Green Falcons
Line: Bowling Green -3.5
The Bulls have reeled off four straight wins, going 2-1 against the spread during the stretch. Most recently, they pulled out a W in a 43-40 quadruple-overtime classic against Akron last Thursday.
Buffalo charged to the top of the MAC East standings and can now claim its first outright division title and a ticket to the conference championship game.
“This is a great win for our program” head coach Turner Gill told reporters following Thursday's game. “The whole team were warriors today. These guys played hard and did not give up”
The return of running back James Starks sparked the Bulls late-season streak. He missed action mid way through the season due to injury. But since returning, the junior has sped for 513 yards on the ground and seven rushing touchdowns in the last three games.
“It’s a great feeling to be sore but come away with the victory,” Starks told reporters after rushing for three touchdowns Thursday. “If it was the other way around it would have been sad. I’m just proud to win this game. A total team effort.”
Starks is also a threat on pass plays. He caught 13 balls for 90 yards last week and has 247 yards receiving so far this season.
Bowling Green is riding a streak of its own into Friday's game. It's won back-to-back contests, including a 28-3 beat down of Ohio Saturday. The Falcons defense shut down the Bobcats for just 228 total yards with only 40 of those coming on the ground. However, that performance came against one of the weakest running offenses in the MAC.
They can keep their conference championship hopes as well as bowl game plans alive with a win over Buffalo Friday. But they may have to do it shorthanded.
The Falcons roster has been plagued by injuries since early in the season. Heading into this week's crucial contest junior receiver Freddie Barnes, leading rusher Anthony Turner and fellow running back Willie Geter are among the wounded.
Their status for Friday is unknown and head coach Gregg Brandon likes it that way.
"I'm going to be a hockey guy. Hockey never talks about their injuries, do they?" Brandon joked with the Toledo Blade. He later confessed that he expects these players to at least practice this week.
Miami (Ohio) Redhawks at Toledo Rockets
Line: Toledo -3
The Redhawks dropped three straight games following 31-16 loss to ranked conference foe Ball State last Tuesday. Miami (Ohio) did well to keep pace with the Cardinals in the first half but managed just a field goal in the final two quarters.
The struggling offense can be blamed on the Redhawks’ quarterback woes. With freshman Clay Belton watching from the sideline due to a shoulder injury, the team handed the ball back to junior Daniel Raudabaugh, who lost his starting gig to Belton earlier in the year.
Daniel Raudabaugh passed for 252 yards but could only muster one touchdown pass. The lack of scoring through the air has been Miami's biggest vice this season. It averages just over 214 yards per game and has scored just seven passing touchdowns.
The Redhawks have had 10-days rest to help get Belton back on the field. He is currently listed as questionable along with defensive tackle Jordain Brown and corner back Jeff Thompson.
"We always tell our guys that after the first couple days of practice, you're not going to feel 100 percent the rest of the year," coach Shane Montgomery told the Dayton Daily News. "When you play a 12-game season, especially when you play different days of the week, it's good to have a couple extra days to get those guys away from football and get them refreshed."
Toledo dropped its fourth game in a row with a 27-17 defeat to Western Michigan Saturday. This current slide has moved the Rockets to 2-8 (5-5 ATS) on the season and has them sitting at the bottom of the MAC West.
Toledo's offense is playing far better than the team's record would indicate. Over the last three games the Rockets are averaging over 23 points on 369 total yards. It currently ranks 11th in total offense in the conference, averaging just 329 yards per game.
"We're doing whatever we can to try to get the ball down the field, try to get more points on the board," head coach Tom Amstutz told reporters last weekend. "We took some risks to do that, to get the ball down in there to see if we can get some more points. That's what our philosophy was, and we went for it."
Amstutz has just two games remaining as head coach. He is stepping down at the end of season following a string of unsuccessful seasons.
"I'm staying focused on my job at hand to coach the Rockets in (two) more games," Amstutz said. "That's my main focus. I'll do more reflecting at the end of the season. I'm enjoying our last games."
Fresno State Bulldogs at San Jose State Spartans
Line: San Jose State +2.5
Fresno State snapped a two game losing skid with a win over New Mexico State Saturday. The Bulldogs were tagged as 17-point favorites but barely squeaked out the victory with a fourth-quarter score.
Numerous injuries have left FSU's depth chart looking like swiss cheese. Running backs Ryan Mathews and Lonyae Miller are both battling injuries. Mathews has missed three games and numerous plays with a foot injury and is doubtful for Friday.
Miller had a couple carries against the Aggies before getting pulled by coach Pat Hill, who said the running back didn't look to be at full strength. He is currently listed as questionable. The short week between games doesn't help the numerous other injuries piling up in the trainer's room.
"We're going to need these guys down the stretch," Hill told the the Fresno Bee. "This San Jose State [game] is big, a lot on the line."
With a win, the Bulldogs can jump to as high as second if they knock off the Spartans at home Friday. However, they have WAC darlings Boise State on deck and could suffer a classic look-ahead spot this week.
San Jose State has lost back-to-back games after struggling to keep opponents out of the endzone. The WAC's second stingiest defense has given up 62 total points over those losses, most recently 41 points to Nevada Saturday.
The Spartans allowed big plays to burn them as well as the Pack's rushing attack. Nevada ran for 333 yards picking up almost seven yards per carry. San Jose averages just 139 yards against on the ground this season.
The other big issue hanging over SJSU Friday is at the quarterback position. Head coach Dick Tomey has yet to side with a starter after junior Kyle Reed went down with a groin injury last week. If the first stringer is unable to go, the Spartans will give the ball to either Myles Eden or Sean Flynn.
"Our quarterback situation is going to be evaluated throughout the week. It will be a game-time decision,” Tomey said during the weekly press conference. His is being very quiet about the condition of Reed as well as the readiness of his backups.
Reed has thrown for over 1,500 yards and nine touchdowns this season. Eden has thrown 60 passes for 450 yards while Flynn has passed for just 3-of-6 for 14 yards.
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