Central Michigan Chippewas vs Kentucky Wildcats Point Spread Picks

A high total for a pair of teams breaking in new quarterbacks. Central Michigan goes with new quarterback sophomore Tony Poljan, who was mainly a wide receiver last season. He is a good runner and the Chippewas will look to run the football behind junior RB Jonathan Ward, who had 1,017 yards on the ground last fall. All that running chews up yards and the clock. Central Michigan stepped up twice last season and scored 17 points at Syracuse and just 8 at Boston College. They face a Kentucky squad that also looks to run the pigskin behind junior running back Benny Snell, who ran for 1,333 yards last season with 19 TDs. Snell is the top returning rusher in the SEC. The Wildcats also have a new QB in Terry Wilson, a gifted runner. Kentucky's strength is on defense, with eight starters back. Two of those returning starters, senior outside linebacker Josh Allen and senior safety Mike Edwards, both considered entering the NFL. Kentucky has gone six straight non-conference games UNDER the total, as well as a 4-1 UNDER run versus the MAC. They allowed 17, 16 and 13 points to open last season against better offenses and this total is too high. Play Central Michigan/Kentucky UNDER. 

Last week Kentucky had what should have been a cake walk vs. lowly Western Kentucky. It was anything but. The Wildcats offense, which is expected to be in a rebuilding state, was a complete no-show. Kentucky generated just 14 points in the game. The significance comes from the fact that Western Kentucky has been playing at this level of football only since 2007-08. During this time period, Western Kentucky has faced-off against 11 BCS Conference teams prior to last week, and proceeded to allow 461 total points or 42 points per game! Central Michigan certainly didn’t heighten any expectations of their offense, as they managed just 21 vs. South Carolina State at home. Both of these teams are going to struggle offensively in the early going, while their defenses will have to carry the load. Neither allowed their opponent in the end-zone last week. This one will be low-scoring, so I'm playing the UNDER.