Six Mid-American Conference teams take the field Wednesday night with Buffalo and Toledo leading the league at 4-1 in conference play. The Bulls travel to Muncie, Indiana, to face Ball State in the shortest line of the night, kicking off at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN2.
Buffalo has won four straight games, including road victories over Toledo and Miami (Ohio). Sophomore quarterback Jason Wright threw for 358 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Miami, though he has completed just 47.8 percent of his passes this season. The Bulls rank 133rd nationally in yards per play but have improved from 4.19 yards per play in nonconference action to 5.08 in MAC games.
Pete Lembo's team also owns a slight positive yards-per-play differential in conference play after allowing 6.36 yards per play in nonconference games and 5.06 in league action. Buffalo ranks 61st nationally in special teams according to SP+, the highest mark among MAC programs.
Ball State enters at 5.64 yards per play on offense against 5.79 allowed on defense. Transfer quarterback Keldric Luster has completed 63 percent of his passes with a 10-to-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Running back Jalen Bonds rushed for 132 yards on 17 carries last week against UMass and scored the go-ahead touchdown in overtime, though a missed extra point led to a 31-30 loss.
Central Michigan hosts Sacramento State as a heavy favorite looking to reach 5-5, while UMass visits Toledo hoping to secure the program's first bowl berth as an FBS member since 2012. The Minutemen have not played a postseason game since 2007.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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