Wednesday MACtion College Football Odds, Predictions & Best Bets for Ball State vs Bowling Green & Kent State vs Akron

Sep 2, 2023; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Ball State Cardinals running back Marquez Cooper (15) during the game at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY SportsBall State is an intriguing road underdog vs Bowling Green in the first Wednesday MACtion of the seasonKent State travels to Akron in a matchup between two of the worst teams in the FBSRead below for Wednesday MACtion odds, predictions, analysis and picks for both games

The first Wednesday MACtion of the college football season features two matchups on the slate. Ball State takes on Bowling Green in the first matchup of the night, while Kent State battles Akron in the second game of the evening.

We break down the two MACtion matchups and offer our Ball State vs Bowling Green prediction and Kent State vs Akron prediction in the story below.

Ball State vs Bowling Green Odds

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All odds as of October 31st at Bet365 Sportsbook. Check out the best College Football Betting Apps for MACtion betting.

Ball State vs Bowling Green Prediction & Analysis

The Ball State Cardinals (2-6, 1-3 MAC) will travel to Doyt L. Perry Stadium to take on the Bowling Green Falcons (4-4, 2-2 MAC) on Wednesday, November 1st at 7:00 PM ET. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

According to the MACtion odds, Bowling Green is favored by 5.5 points and the over/under is set at 40 points. Ball State is coming off a 24-17 home win over Central Michigan last week, while Bowling Green dominated Akron in a 41-14 home victory last week.

We like targeting Ball State in this game, as they are being undervalued by the betting market due to poor performance early in the season. In Week 9 vs Toledo, Ball State was a 17.5-point underdog but lost by only seven points. They followed up with an outright win against Central Michigan as 5-point underdogs.

Bowling Green recently had an upset win against Georgia Tech but has been inconsistent overall, including a shutout loss to Miami. The Falcons are allowing 135 rushing yards per game, and will be tasked with shutting down Cardinals’ star running back Marquez Cooper, who is averaging 4.8 yards per carry.

This game has a fairly low total at 40, which indicates oddsmakers don’t expect either team to blow the game open. As long as the Cardinals’ defense, which ranks middle-of-pack in the MAC, can keep the game low-scoring, they should be able to cover the 5.5 points.

Pick: Ball State +5.5 (-110) 2023 College Football Conference Championship Odds TrackerRead More

Kent State vs Akron Odds

Kent State vs Akron Prediction & Analysis

The other college football game on the Wednesday MACtion slate pits two of the worst teams in the conference against one another. The Kent State Golden Flashes take on the Akron Zips at 7:30 PM ET on ESPNU.

Both teams have identical 1-7 records for the season and are each winless through four games of conference play. Oddsmakers are siding with the home team in this one, installing the Zips as 4-point favorites at InfoCision Stadium. The over/under is listed at 38 points.

Neither team is performing well this season, but Kent State’s performance on the road has simply been miserable. The Golden Flashes have suffered three consecutive double-digit road losses: 53-1 against Fresno, 42-17 against Ohio, and 28-14 against Eastern Michigan.

Final. On to homecoming against Buffalo.#KentGRIT⚡️ pic.twitter.com/JSYgAX92fz

— Kent State Football (@KentStFootball) October 14, 2023

There’s slightly more upside with Akron in this game, as quarterback Jeff Undercuffler has starting experience from last year that could prove pivotal. Kent State quarterback, Michael Alaimo, is in his first year as a starter and has only completed 54.9% of his passes for two TDs and four interceptions.

We simply can’t trust this Kent State offense, which is averaging only 12.5 points per game. That’s part of the reason the Golden Flashes haven’t covered the spread in five straight contests dating back to September.

Still, even though Akron has more upside, we have this game projected as a pick’em on a neutral site. Depending on how many points you want to give Akron for home-field advantage, this MACtion spread is pretty accurate.

We’d like this line a lot more if it hadn’t climbed up from -3.5 and was sitting near a field goal, but we also can’t bet on a team that is 0-7 straight up as a betting underdog. With Kent State’s defense allowing an average of 33 points per game, the “over” is our best bet.

Pick: Over 38 Points (-110)

 

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