The Battle for the Victory Cannon headlines the MAC slate for Wednesday night as rivals meet up in the Western Michigan at Central Michigan pick. Both teams are off to 2-0 starts, but this series has been fairly one-sided lately with WMU taking 5 of the last 6.
There is value on both sides on Wednesday however. Western Michigan is a -1 point favorite and has had the better of the Chippewas for the most part since 2014. Central Michigan is a home underdog, and they were 6-0 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium last year en route to winning the MAC West. There’s been a lot of blowouts in this conference the first two weeks, but Wednesday’s meeting looks like a good one.
Western Michigan Riding Momentum
No team comes into the 3rd week of Mac-tion with more mojo than Western Michigan, who rallied for two TDs in the final 0:45 to stun Toledo 41-38 last week. It was a thrilling win for the Broncos who were -1 home favorites, but should the game have been that close against what was the league’s bottom ranked defense of the Rockets last season?
Either way a win is a win, and WMU is 2-0 coming into the Western Michigan at Central Michigan pick. Tim Lester might even tell you that his team needed a close game after the 58-13 thumping of Akron in the season opener as -19.5 favorites.
There’s a lot of reasons to like Western Michigan on Wednesday night, but at the top of that list is the play of Kaleb Eleby. The WMU QB had ice water in his veins last week leading three TD drives with less than 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, and has been incredibly accurate this season completing 71.1% of his passes with 6 TD to 0 INT. Central Michigan had the 3rd worst pass defense in the MAC last year.
Central Michigan Struggling In This Rivalry
The Chippewas finished a game ahead of their in-state rival Western Michigan last season, meaning they won the war, but lost the battle in WMU’s 31-15 win head to head. It was the 2nd straight loss in the series for Central Michigan, and three of their last four losses to WMU have been by at least two scores. CMU hasn’t won at home in this series since 2010.
Regardless of their struggles in the Battle for the Victory Cannon, the Chippewas are off to a 2-0 start which includes a 30-27 win over Ohio as +2.5 home underdogs and a 40-10 stomping at Northern Illinois last week to easily cover the -5.5 number.
Central Michigan should have some confidence in this matchup after the WMU defense allowed 162 yards on the ground and 339 through the air in their escape against Toledo last week. Daniel has been solid at QB for CMU, throwing for 2 TD last week, but the team is also eligible to get last year’s starter David Moore back from suspension on Wednesday. Do you make the switch with a 2-0 team though?
Free Western Michigan at Central Michigan Pick
Central Michigan is a tempting play at home on Wednesday, considering they were 6-0 in Mt. Pleasant last season. That being said, laying just 1-point on a team that has won 5 of the last 6 head to head and has a QB completing over 70% of his passes is simply an automatic.
Western Michigan 34 – Central Michigan 28
Free Pick: Western Michigan -1
