Cordelia Van Doren wears a cardigan and ambushes people with Cradle of Coaches trivia. Brynn Haverkamp races snowmobiles and says "Ope." This is the most MAC sentence ever written, and it's Senior Day in Mount Pleasant.
Miami (OH) (4-3) at Central Michigan (3-4), Saturday at 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+ at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. It's a MAC game. DraftKings has Miami (OH) RedHawks −2.5 with a total of 42.5. My card: Central Michigan Chippewas +2.5, Over 42.5, and a final of Miami (OH) RedHawks 24, Central Michigan Chippewas 23.
Cordelia speaks for Miami. "Trivia ambush, darling. Miami has won five in a row in this series, most recently 46-7. Rodney Nelson ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns against Akron. And we hold opponents to 3.6 yards a carry. I keep a chart."
Brynn speaks for Central Michigan, a marketing grad from up north who tracks sacks like hunting-season tags. "Ope! Charts melt in the snow, Cordelia. Angel Flores has 618 rushing yards. He ran 31 times against Western Michigan. He's the whole snowmobile some weeks."
Miami should win, and my final says by one. But you're getting 2.5, and this is a coin flip with a cardigan on. Four of Miami's seven games this year were tight, including a 20-19 win at Massachusetts. And Central Michigan has a plan that makes sense: Matt Drinkall coached Army's blockers, his 2024 group won the Joe Moore Award, and the Chippewas run on about 66% of their plays.
That matchup is the game. Flores against a Miami run defense allowing 3.6 a carry. If the RedHawks stop him, Central Michigan has trouble. But Miami has allowed 16 sacks, and Central Michigan has 12, so Brynn's tags are in play when David McComb drops back.
The caveat for the Chippewas is the history. Their last win in this series came in 2014. And Central Michigan allows 4.82 yards a carry, which is an opening for Nelson.
Why the Over? Both teams have a back who can break one. Nelson had 142 on 13 carries last week. Flores keeps the chains moving. My 24-23 adds up to 47, four and a half over 42.5. That's a low number for two teams that can both run.
Now the room, and the boss is in the majority for once. The Formula has the exact same 24-23 and likes the Over. Next Man Up and Letdown Watch both have Central Michigan winning outright, 24-22, and both like the Chippewas and the Over. In The Trenches likes Central Michigan too. Follow The Money is the lone RedHawk, at 23-20.
Next Man Up opened: "Twenty-four to 22, Chippewas. Senior Day, the run game, and Brynn's sack tags. Ope."
Follow The Money answered: "Miami has won this five times running. Twenty-three to 20. History has a vote."
Letdown Watch fired back: "History lost its last vote in 2014. Same 24-22 as Next Man Up. We're a voting bloc."
The Formula sat back: "And I'm the tiebreaker with the boss. Twenty-four to 23. Pass the trivia."
Bottom of the card: a coin-flip game, a home underdog on Senior Day with a run game built by a blocking coach, and two and a half points. Pin a blue ribbon on Brynn. I'll take the points.
Miami (OH) RedHawks 24, Central Michigan Chippewas 23. Central Michigan Chippewas cover the 2.5. Over 42.5.