CFB Week 13 Wednesday

Kyle Kirms
Nov 18
3 min read

MIAMI OHIO @ BUFFALO - 7 PM

Loser's eliminated from MAC Championship contention.

So the lead story with Miami OH is DeQuan Finn. Abruptly left the team to prepare for the NFL draft.

The new QB is redshirt senior Henry Hesson and he didn't look great last week against Toledo.

But I don't think that's an accurate representation here. He played 2 games earlier in the season. DeQuan Finn got injured in the UNLV game. It was 14-10 when he left the game, the final score of that game was 41-38. So he went up and down the field plenty of times in that one. He's been with Miami Ohio for five years under Chuck Martin. So he should fit right in.

This is gonna be a tough matchup. Remember, Miami OH's star RB Kenny Tracy is out for the season and Buffalo's defensive front is very strong. The run might not be here... so pressure's gonna be on Hesson to make throws in this game.

I do think the Buffalo secondary is vulnerable. They were really bad against the pass last year. They've gotten exposed a few times this year, including last week.

Miami Ohio's offense has looked terrible. I'm not expecting a ton out of them against Buffalo's defense. But we do have to keep in mind that they played 3 extremely tough games in a row. Western Michigan and Toledo are the two best defenses in the conference.. and on the road in Athens against an Ohio team that's 22-1 in their last 23 at home.

But the real matchup advantage is on the other side of the ball... because Miami Ohio's defense is elite and Buffalo can't move the ball.

Buffalo is an offense that has to run the ball with Al-Jay Henderson. Here's the problem... it hasn't really been there. And look at the opponents. They haven't played MOH, TOL, WMU.

Ta'Quan Roberson really hasn't played well.

This might be the best pass rush he's seen all year. Adam Trick is one of the best defensive players in the conference. Roberson also limped off the field last week injured. If he's hobbled, this offense is going to be extremely limited.

I bet Miami OH +2.5. To be honest, I don't really like it though.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN @ KENT STATE - 7 PM

So it's looking like Central Michigan really hit a home run with Drinkall. This is year 1. They're in contention for a possible trip to Detroit for the MAC Championship game. And they've been cover machines.

I gotta ask... has the market taken this too far? They're laying 9.5 on the road here. They haven't looked the same on the road.

Kent State is playing pretty well and specifically... they've been great against the run.

Look at the numbers from their last 5 games. Keep in mind... all Central Michigan does is run the ball.

Central Michigan's run game hasn't looked very strong the last 2 games since losing QB2 Angel Flores and RG Matthew Nehf to injury (Flores is questionable but Nehf is out for the season).

Central Michigan might really struggle to move the ball here. The home environment should be unusually cool. Kent State's program is trending upwards and people are hyped about it. It's also Senior Day.

On the other side of the ball, this is gonna be a real tough matchup for Kent State. This graphic doesn't tell the story... Kent State's offense has looked pretty good recently. But Central Michigan's defense is official.