[TomWilkinson]

The MAC has what really amounts to a playoff game tonight on ESPN 2 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. If Toledo wins they can go to the MAC Championship game as the West Champ if Western Michigan beats Northern Illinois tomorrow. A win by Bowling Green gives the Falcons the outright East title and a berth in the MAC Title game. If they lose, Akron would be the East Champ if they beat Kent State on Wednesday.


Bowling Green is a 6.5 point home favorite against Toledo with a total of 43.5. The strange part about this line is that it opened much lower. Bowling Green opened at only –4 but money has poured in on the Falcons driving it up to 6.5 and it may hit 7 by game time. There is also a difference of opinion on why the line is moving. Both teams badly need the game, but perhaps the bettors are putting confidence in Bowling Green’s Omar Jacobs to have another big game. The problem with that theory is that the weather may be bad, and also that Jacobs is oftentimes inconsistent. He has a wealth of talent, but is very often erratic. The other problem in this game is that Toledo needs to win and that giving points to the Rockets is always a dicey proposition.


It should be interesting to see what type of weather we get tonight, and it will also be interesting to see if some of the wise guys take Toledo as game time approaches.