College Football Upset Alert, Week 16: Championship Weekend edition
MAC: Buffalo (-13.5) vs. Ball State
Buffalo is really, really good. They’re ranked in the AP Poll for the first time in program history and have one of the best ground games in all of college football. UB has a two headed monster in the backfield and they’re being led by a dominant offensive line.
That’s the key to this game for Ball State: they have to stop Buffalo’s run game. Ball State’s ability to win in the trenches to stop the holes opening up for Buffalo’s power backs will obviously go a long way.
Jaret Patterson is 8th in the country in rushing yards despite playing in just five games this year. In fact, Patterson has more rush yards this year than 41(!) FBS teams. His highlight came against Kent State: 36 rushes, 409 yards and eight (not a typo) touchdowns. It was like watching someone play NCAA 14 on easy mode.
Stopping him is big, but Kevin Marks, who has over 500 yards himself, is also critical. Buffalo quarterback Kyle Vantrease is more of a game manager style quarterback so forcing him to make throws is key to a Ball State win.
Would it be an upset? Very much so. Buffalo is clearly the better team — dare I say the MAC’s best since PJ Fleck’s Western Michigan team in 2016 — and that should show on the scoreboard.