Toledo Rockets vs Central Michigan Chippewas Game Preview and Prediction - 10/16/2021

Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, October 16, 2021

Venue:  Kelly/Shorts Stadium, Mt Pleasant, MI

Where to Watch:  CBS Sports

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Toledo -4.5, CMU +4.5; Over/Under:  51.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Toledo -4.5, CMU +4.5; Over/Under:  51.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Toledo -4.5, CMU +4.5; Over/Under:  51.5 points

 

Toledo Rockets:  3-3 (6th place, MAC West)

Central Michigan Chippewas:  3-3 (5th place, MAC West)

 

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Ben Burns is 82% 9/10* CFB TOTALS with those plays! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

 

Toledo Rockets:  lost at home on Oct. 9 against the Northern Illinois Huskies 22-20.

Central Michigan Chippewas:  won on the road on Oct. 9 against the Ohio Bobcats 30-27.

 

 

 

Toledo is coming into this game with a 3-3 record overall and they are 2-1 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 3rd conference matchup of the year and they are currently 1-1 in their conference games this season. Their 1 win came against Ball State while their 1 loss came against NIU in their last game. They lost 22-20 in a game that was very close the entire length of it. DeQuan Finn played well at the quarterback position as he completed 10/17 passes for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bryant Koback led the team in rushing with 91 yards and 1 touchdown on 12 carries but he was pretty much their entire running game in that one. He also led the receivers with 85 yards and 1 touchdown on 2 receptions. Drew Rosi had 46 receiving yards on 1 reception and Devin Maddox had 34 yards and 1 TD on 5 receptions. Overall, it was a pretty quiet day for the receiving corps. Jamal Hines led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 5 assisted ones. Desjaun Johnson also played well in that one with 4 solo tackles and 7 assisted ones while Samuel Womack was right behind him with 4 solo tackles and 5 assisted ones. Hines recorded the only sack for the defense in that game while Chris McDonald came away with the only interception. They have scored 171 points in their first 6 games averaging 28.5 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 105 points against them allowing 17.5 PPG. Their offense is averaging 392.5 YPG while their defense is allowing 314 YPG. 

 

 

CMU is coming into this game with a 3-3 record overall and they are 2-0 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be the 3rd conference matchup on their schedule this year and they are currently 1-1 in their conference games this season. Their 1 loss came against the Miami-OH RedHawks while their 1 win came against Ohio in their last game. They won 30-27 in what was a very close game the entire way. Daniel Richardson did not play well in that game as he completed 16/30 passes for 257 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Lew Nichols had a massive day on the ground though as he led the team in rushing with 186 yards and 1 touchdown on 30 carries. No one else really did anything in the run game but him. The receiving corps had an alright day as Dallas Dixon led the team in receiving with 91 yards on 4 receptions while Kalil Pimpleton was right behind him with 5 receptions for 78 yards and the only passing TD in the game for them. Devonni Reed led the defense in that game with 9 solo tackles, 2 assisted ones and 1 sack. Alonzo McCoy also played well with 5 solo tackles and 3 assisted ones, Gage Kreski had 5 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones, and Donte Kent had 5 solo tackles. Justin Whiteside and Tico Brown both combined for 1 sack but no one on the defense came away with an interception in that one. They have scored 168 points in their first 6 games averaging 28 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 165 points against them allowing 27.5 PPG. Their offense is averaging 460.7 YPG while their defense is allowing 396.8 YPG.

 

CMU is coming into this game as a 4.5 point underdog with the current betting odds according to Draftkings sportsbook. CMU has looked good on offense all year, they are moving the ball well gaining a lot of yards in their games and they are also finishing those drives as they average over 30 points per game. Besides one big win over a very bad UMass team, Toledo has not looked good in their recent games failing to score over 22 points in their last 3 games, not counting the UMass one. CMU has the home advantage here and they are going to keep this game close as their offense may even overpower Toledo. The best bet to place in this game is on CMU to cover the spread here or even on CMU on the moneyline as they are going to win and upset in this game.

 

Toledo Central Michigan Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 16, 2021 (3:30 pm ET start time) is CMU 31 Toledo 24.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today.  And if you enjoyed this Toledo Rockets Central Michigan Chippewas prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

 

 

Toledo Rockets: 140-129 ATS in all games. 37-30 ATS when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 95-71 ATS as a favorite. 32-24 ATS as a road favorite. 99-83 ATS against conference opponents.

Central Michigan Chippewas: 22-31 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 10 points. 70-83 ATS as an underdog. 84-92 ATS after playing a conference game. 46-37 O/U when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 59-43 O/U as an underdog. 

 

 

Toledo Rockets:  None.

Central Michigan Chippewas:  D. McNary (DB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. J. Sullivan (WR) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. J. Keller (QB) Out Indefinitely - Undisclosed injury.

 

 

Toledo Rockets: Bryant Koback is one player to watch in this contest. He leads his team in rushing yards and in touchdowns scored this season. He is coming off of a game where he led the team in rushing and receiving while also finding the end zone yet again. He is a focal point of this offense and they will need to use him as much as they can in this game so look for him to get a lot of work and looks in this game. 

 

Central Michigan Chippewas: Lew Nichols is one player to watch in this one. He leads his team in rushing yards this season. He is coming off of a massive game where he had almost 200 yards rushing and really led his team’s offense. He is a key part of this offense so look for him to have another big day as he tries to help his team get the win here.

 

 

“Attention to detail, coming together. That’s all it really is. We’re just a few little things here and there from the game being completely flipped.” - Bryant Koback on his team turning things around for the remainder of the season.

 

 

“They just kept hanging in and I thought that was big. We didn’t (give up) a lot of those huge explosive plays. We did wrap up fairly well and got guys to the ground and more than anything made them earn it. And that’s really what we needed to do.” - Jim McElwain on the performance of his team’s defense in their last game.

 

 

WR McKinley-Lewis, Danzel 

WR Mitchell, Bryce 

WR Maddox, Devin 

TE Rosi, Drew 

QB Bradley, Carter 

RB Koback, Bryant 

 

WR Kalil Pimpleton

WR Sullivan, JaCorey 

WR Dixon, Dallas 

TE Wilson, Joel 

QB Richardson, Daniel 

RB Lew Nichols III

 

Passing: C. Bradley (962)

Rushing: B. Koback (455)

Receiving: D. Maddox (375)

Touchdowns: B. Koback (5)

Sacks: T. Taylor (3)

Tackles: D. Johnson (16)

 

Passing: D. Richardson (1020)

Rushing: L. Nichols (591)

Receiving: D. Dixon (501)

Touchdowns: J. Sullivan (6)

Sacks: T. Hairston (3)

Tackles: G. Kreski (27)

 

Coaches:

Toledo Rockets: Jason Candle (7th season)

Central Michigan Chippewas: Jim McElwain (3rd season)

 

53 degrees F scattered showers, 76% humidity, 40% chance of rain, up to 12 mph wind speeds NW.