Week 12 College Football Expert Picks: Buffalo At Western Michigan
Posted by Henry Watkins on Wednesday,November 16, 2016 7:33, EDT in
Most of the smaller schools in the nation play out their season with little or no fanfare, but there are a few that can rise and get noticed on the big stage. The Western Michigan Broncos are one of those teams, as their 10-0 record this season has them sitting in the top 25, and gives them a legitimate shot at what would be a major bowl game. Given the smaller stature of this program, you might imagine that there wouldn’t be that much pressure on the Broncos, but you better believe that this school wants a big game that will be nationally televised over the holiday period. To have that happen, they probably must win out, and that means beating the Buffalo Bulls this coming weekend. On paper, this looks like a pretty straightforward task, and the bookies have the Broncos coming into this meeting as a 35-point online betting favorite. Things can get a little trickier when there is a big reward on the line, though, and that is something that Western Michigan are going to have to overcome.
Analyzing The Week 12 College Football Expert Picks: Bulls At Broncos
When: Saturday, November 19 at 3:30 PM EST
Where: Waldo Stadium, Kalamazoo
TV: ESPNU
Live Stream: Watch ESPN
NCAAF Odds: TBA
Why bet on the Buffalo Bulls
The Buffalo Bulls have a major problem heading into this game, and that is their inability to stop the run. Their stats in the MAC show that they have the best defensive numbers when defending the passing game, but they also have the least amount of throwing attempts against them. Their opponents understand the key to success against this Bulls team is to pound the ball on the ground. The Bulls have only picked up two wins this season, and are also not a very good bet to cover, going just 3-7 ATS so far. Their only real hope of keeping things close in this one is if Western Michigan get off to another slow start as they have done a few times this season.
Why bet on the Western Michigan Broncos
The Broncos are starting to look like a sure thing to end up in the top 25 and a major bowl game, and the only thing that can get in their way at this point is themselves. They have had several games this season where they have stumbled out the gate, only to recover and hit full speed by the time the game is over. That is exactly what happened against Kent State last week, as the Broncos found themselves down 14-0 early. They did rebound to win 37-21, but that slow start meant that they did not cover in the game. That said, the Broncos have been solid ATS this season, going 7-3, which included covering the last time they were favored by more than 30 points.
Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction
I don’t see any way that Buffalo are going to be able to slow down an explosive Western Michigan run attack, and I believe that this thig is going to get out of control very quickly.
Buffalo Bulls 7 Western Michigan Broncos 55
