Joe Licata and the Buffalo Bulls battle Blake Frohnapfel and the Massachusetts Minutemen in a game that will feature two of the best players in the MAC. Buffalo (5-6) has won three of its last five, showing signs of life in what has been a relatively disappointing season. The game will air Friday, Nov 27 at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPU.
In last week’s matchup, Buffalo got blown out by Akron 42-21. Ron Willoughby had a great game in the loss, pulling in 11 receptions for 105 yards. Marcus McGill also had a great game with 80 receiving yards and a TD on seven catches. Massachusetts also fell short, losing to Miami (OH) 20-13. Marquis Young had a good performance running the ball for the Minutemen, rushing 13 times for 77 yards and one TD.
The Minutemen are a six-point underdog against the Bulls and the Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is currently not available.
Sitting at 5-6 Straight Up (SU) and 6-5 Against The Spread (ATS), the Bulls will look to improve heading into Week 13. In their five most recent matchups, the Bulls went 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS. Teams complete passes at a high percentage against the Minutemen. They allow a completion rate of 63.7% to their opponents, 111th in the nation. During their last five games, the Bulls have improved their pass coverage, giving up an average of 239.0 passing yards. Keeping the ball 27:55 minutes per game, Massachusetts ranks 115th in average time of possession. They probably won’t be controlling the clock against the Bulls.
In the other locker room, the Minutemen head into Week 13 with records of 3-8 ATS and 2-9 SU. Over their last five games, the Minutemen have a SU and ATS record of 1-4 for those betting with them. Averaging 164.8 rushing yards over their last five games, Massachusetts’s running backs have turned it on lately. For the season, they’ve only averaged 128.4 yards per game. Over the last five games, the Minutemen turned it up on defense as well, only allowing an average of 25 PPG. Their season average is 31.9 points, so they’ve shown a marked improvement. Massachusetts’s pass defense has performed well over those five games as well, holding its opponents to just 244.0 passing yards per game. Massachusetts has put in some strong special teams performances this season. The team has averaged 120.3 return yards per game, ranking them 11th in the nation.
Predictions: SU Winner – Buffalo, ATS Winner – Buffalo
Notes
Buffalo is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Buffalo’s last 6 games.
Buffalo is 13-6 SU in its last 19 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Buffalo’s last 6 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Massachusetts’s last 12 games on the road.
Massachusetts is 2-1 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. Buffalo is 4-0 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Remarkably, Buffalo is winless (0-6 SU) in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet undefeated (3-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
The Buffalo rush defense is ranked 76th in the country this year, and will look to contain the 115th-ranked offensive ground attack of Massachusetts.
