This was a play for us just two Fridays ago and Western Mich got robbed. I'm comfortable backing them again as they have two common games with Kent State with Akron and Toledo. Western Mich is +393 yards in those two games while Kent State is -55 yards. That should tell it all, but it doesn't. Kent State has gotten a lot of credit because of their run defense which was ranked #1 for a few weeks, but slowly moving backwards. What most people don't know is this team does not have an offense and against Western Mich a team that can force turnovers and has some speedy athletic guys on that side of the ball they should have issues. This team used 3 QB's vs. Army and that won't really help them this week against another good pass defense ranked #54 in the nation. Kent State has not run the ball and I doubt they'll take advantage of the Western Mich weakness.
The #17 total defense is the best Western Mich has faced all year, but that number is flawed as they have faced an average 97th total offense. In fact Western Mich is the best offensive team they have faced year to date. Yes that includes Boston College and Penn State. Western Mich with the #10 passing attack behind Alex Carder and WR Jordan White and Juan Nunez are explosive. They balanced it out last week with an effective running game 27 for 169. They won't run on this defense, but they'll score their points as Army which has the same scoring offense in terms of national ranking put up 45 a week ago. The closest passing game to what Western Mich does was Miami Ohio and Kent State lost on the road 21-27. Western Mich is much more explosive and they see a bowl game in site. I think Carder and the offense keep ticking and they come home with a win.
Can Georgia Tech blow a team out by double digits? I don't think so even at home I don't think it's possible. Duke has too many options on offense including backup QB Brandon Connette who has rushed for six scores in his situational role. I like this team to continue that success and their defense is really playing better especially vs. the run. The triple option is hard for any team to contain, but Duke has already seen Navy and Army's triple threat and they were in both of those games including a win over Navy. Georgia Tech has their back up QB in their with no Nesbitt and the early struggles of Duke turning the ball over seem to have gone away as Renfree has not thrown an interception in 3 games or 116 attempts. He's found a big target in Conner Vernon who had 12 receptions against a BC team that has a good defense compared to Georgia Tech. Tech has been sloppy with penalties including 8 false starts in the past two games and they have not been able to put the ball int he end zone which means it's going to be hard to win by double digits without a dominating game in the red zone and forcing TO's from Duke.
