The Ball State Cardinals and Miami of Ohio Redhawks face off on Tuesday in some college football MACtion at Yager Stadium. The winner of this game will make a bowl game, while the loser will have their season ended.
Ball State comes into this game with a 5-6 record, and they have gone 5-6 against the spread. In the last game against Ohio, the offense wasn’t good enough, scoring only 17 points, and they ended up losing by 14 points. Quarterback John Paddock completed 29 of his 48 passes for 273 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Ball State is averaging 23.8 points, while their defense is giving up 27.7 points per game. Paddock on the season has thrown for 2,606 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
On the other side of this matchup is the Miami of Ohio Redhawks who sit with a 5-6 record, and they have gone 5-6 against the spread. In the last game against Northern Illinois, the Redhawks scored 29 points, and that was enough to secure the victory. Quarterback Aveon Smith had a big game through the air and on the ground. He threw for 185 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for another 105 yards and two touchdowns. The Redhawks are averaging 20.5 points, while their defense is giving up 23 points per game.
Ball State is 4-1 against the spread in their last five games against a team with a losing record. The under is 9-0 in the Cardinal's last nine games in November. The under is 4-0 in the Cardinal's last four road games. The under is 6-1 in Ball State’s last 7 games after scoring less than 20 points in their previous game.
All the trends point towards the under, and points are going to be hard to come by in this game. Miami is averaging only 20.5 points per game, and I don’t think they will even reach that here. Look for plenty of field goals and not many touchdowns. Ball State is going to find a way to slow down Smith, and the under is going to cash.