Ball State vs. Bowling Green Prediction: Can We Trust Connor Bazelak, Falcons at Home?
The Bowling Green Falcons host the Ball State Cardinals and will look to stay hot at home. Can Connor Bazelak lead the Falcons to victory in Wednesday night's MAC battle? Joey Ruiz gives his analysis and Ball State vs. Bowling Green pick.
Joey Ruiz - November 1, 2023, 2:59 PM EDT
5 minBall State vs. Bowling Green Prediction: Can We Trust Connor Bazelak, Falcons at Home?
These two teams have been the bottom feeders of the MAC for the last few seasons, but each team has shown marked improvement over the last few weeks. Who has the edge in tonight’s match up? Let’s break it down.
Ball State vs. Bowling Green Date, Time, and Where to Watch
- Date: November 1, 2023
- Game Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: ESPN2
Ball State vs. Bowling Green Odds
- Spread: Ball State +5 (-106), Bowling Green -5 (-110)
- Total Odds: O 40 (-110), U 40 (-105)
- Moneyline Odds: Ball State (+185), Bowling Green (-205)
Ball State vs. Bowling Green Prediction
Bowling green enters this match up with a record of 4-4, which is a pretty solid résumé to this point, but it’s an even better record when you consider their schedule. Bowling Green‘s four losses on the year have come to Liberty, Michigan, Ohio, and Miami OH. These four teams have a combined record of 29-5 and Liberty/Michigan are both sitting undefeated at 8-0. The other two teams they lost to, Ohio and Miami Ohio, are typically two of the better teams in the MAC, and will both have their shot at a conference championship this season.
So really when you break it down, Bowling Green does not have a single bad loss on the season, as they played one of the toughest schedule in the nation to this point and have still done quite well. Bowling Green even had Michigan on the ropes in the first half of that game as Michigan’s quarterback, JJ McCarthy, had his worst game of the season as he threw three interceptions in a game where the score was just 14-6 at halftime. Bowling Green also has a straight up win over Georgia Tech, in a game where they were 21-point underdogs on the road and won by double digits by a score of 38 to 27. The Falcons scored 38 unanswered points in that game, which was an incredible effort from them to erase a 14-point deficit. Bowling Green has also been taking care of business in MAC play against some weaker opponents as they defeated Buffalo as a 3-point underdog, and blew out Akron by a score 41 to 14.
Bowling Green has been getting it done on the ground as they ran for over 200 yards in each game against the Bulls and the Zips and in conference play to this point, have rushed for an average of just under 150 rushing yards per game. They have had a lot of success on the ground to this point and their opponent tonight, Ball State, has not been the best team at stopping the run this season, as they are allowing over 125 rushing yards per game in MAC play.
Ball State as a group has also been slightly over achieving lately as they are coming off a straight up win over Central Michigan as six point underdogs and also nearly knocked off Toledo a few weeks ago as a double digit dog. We watched this Ball State team struggle mightily against Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan as they lost those two games by a combined average margin of 16 points. Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan are also two of the lesser teams in the MAC this season as they simply do not possess the same level of talent that a team like Bowling Green has.
It is rare to see this Bowling Green team as a favorite but tonight, I actually think they should be much larger of a favorite given their strength of schedule and how they have performed as a team to this point. With that being said, I am rolling with Bowling Green -4.5 at -106 for 2U as my Most Confident College Football Play of the Day for tonight’s action.
Ball State vs. Bowling Green Pick
Pick: Bowling Green -4.5 -110 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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