The Bulls need a rebound after suffering their first MAC loss of the season last week. BU is still 4-1 and in play for a trip to the conference championship game but absolutely need a win in the Buffalo at Central Michigan betting matchup.
Central Michigan is just 2-3 in MAC play but is still a -2.5 favorite for Wednesday night’s tilt. The Chippewas are just 1-3 at home though while the Bulls are 3-3 on the road. It’s looking like roughly 54% of the betting public are on CMU giving the points at home.
Bulls Offense Set to Tumble?
It doesn’t seem like the 5-4 Bulls (4-1 conference) should be underdogs against 3-6 Central Michigan (2-3 conference) on Wednesday, even on the road. Oddsmakers seem to be taking Buffalo’s 54-24 loss at Ohio last week into consideration (as -2.5 road favorites) but the Bobcats are also 7-3 on the season, 5-0 at home, and atop the MAC East at 5-1.
The Buffalo at Central Michigan betting matchup is important for the Bulls as they’ve lost the tie-breaker to Ohio and are still dealing with Bowling Green who also has just one conference loss (to Buffalo). If the Bulls can escape with a win in Mt. Pleasant, they finish up the regular season with Kent State (3-6) and Akron (1-9) – both back in Buffalo.
The big problem facing the Bulls in this game is the Central Michigan defense, which ranks second in the MAC in total yards and rushing yards allowed. Four of the Chippewas first five opponents hung 33+ on them, but they’ve buckled down to hold opponents to 22 or less in three of the last four.
Chippewas Can Play Spoiler
CMU has gone 2-2 in their last four games, strangely enough with both of the losses coming at home 17-16 to Ball State and 34-18 against Bowling Green. Both of those teams are better than average conference squads, but the 28-21 win at Akron and the 35-22 victory at Northern Illinois came against the two last place teams in their respective MAC divisions.
Buffalo doesn’t do anything particularly well, although they did have a five game win streak prior to the loss to Ohio last weekend. The Bulls rank 7th in the MAC in rush offense so that should get shut down on Wednesday, but they do have a top 4 pass offense
Central Michigan is fifth in the MAC in rushing offense but third in passing. The Chippewas did run for 245 yards last week against Northern Illinois, who had been fairly solid vs. the run this season. CMU’s biggest problem is holding on to the football, as they are the second worst team in the country in turnover margin fumbling the ball on average of 2.5 times a game this year – 11 times in the last three games.
Free Buffalo at Central Michigan Betting Pick
The big question that’s been looming for the Chippewas the last couple weeks is if they can hold on to the football? Those issues have led to beating Akron by just a TD and holding just a six point lead in the 4th quarter over Northern Illinois over the last three weeks and those are the two worst teams in the MAC.
Buffalo has their season on the line on Wednesday, and although they lost to Ohio last week to snap a five game streak this looks like a take the points play.
Free Pick: Buffalo +2.5
