The Buffalo Bulls host the Bowling Green Falcons at UB Stadium tonight, and the ESPN2 audience should be treated to a shootout with the 'over' paying off in the end.
It’s “Prime Time” for Buffalo and Bowling Green as the two Mid-American opponents throw down on ESPN2 Tuesday night College Football.
On a travel day for the World Series, this could be the most popular bet in town. Neither team is overpowering but both are competitive and those matchups produce some of the more entertaining games for bettors and sports fans alike.
The Falcons (3-5, 2-2) are led by first year head coach and Western New York native Dave Clawson, who comes to BGSU after a successful career at Fordham and Richmond. Clawson, who is 3-5 in his brief Falcon career, is 61-54 overall in 10 seasons as a head coach.
Bowling Green's offense is led by third-year signal caller Tyler Sheehan who will be making his 34th consecutive start. Through his first 33 games as a Falcon he has thrown for 8,743 yards (second-best in school history) and 58 touchdowns. Sheehan and the Falcons are first in the MAC and fourth nationally, averaging 341.4 yards per game through the air.
Sheehan has 1,612 yards passing the last four games. After throwing for 390 yards versus Ohio, 505 versus Kent State, 376 versus Ball State and 341 versus Central Michigan, the senior QB is averaging 403.0 yards per game over that span. Sheehan’s main offensive weapon is Freddie Barnes, who after eight games this season, has already amassed 99 receptions and 1,054 yards. Conventional wisdom says that a strong running game is the way to control the clock, but the airborne Falcons rank first in the MAC and fifth nationally in time of possession.
Defensively the Falcons are allowing 201.7 yards per game on the ground on an average of 5.7 yards per rush. Through their first eight games this season the Falcons have allowed an opposing player to rush for at least 100 yards six times. Bowling Green is 1-5 SU in those games.
Buffalo enters tonight’s game with a 3-5 overall and 1-3 MAC record. The Bulls lone conference win was a 21-17 victory over Akron. The Bulls also own an out of conference win over UTEP. Offensively, Zach Maynard averages 249.8 yards a game through the air, helping the Bulls average 23.1 points and 410.9 yards of offense. Defensively, UB allows 25.6 points and 352.8 yards per game.
One last add on Bowling Green: While the Falcons are just 3-5 overall and 2-2 in conference play, you can’t say they’re not challenging their team when it comes to the schedule. Overall the Falcons have played six of their eight games against teams with winning records: Boise State (7-0), Central Michigan (7-1), Troy (5-2), Marshall (5-3), Ohio (5-3) and Missouri (4-3) have a combined 33-12 record (.733).
The Bulls opened as four-point favorites and the number has dropped to 3½. The total has held steady at 53½. Buffalo is 2-4 SU and 4-2 ATS in the series while the underdog is 5-1 ATS.
It looks like both teams can put some points on the board and most MAC games late in the season have historically turned into shootouts. I’m putting my money on the 'over' tonight.
Free Pick: Bowling Green-Buffalo 'over' 53½ (-110)