Central Michigan vs. Akron Odds, Picks: College Football MAC Betting Preview

Central Michigan vs. Akron Odds

Saturday, Oct. 15

12 p.m. ET

ESPN+

Central Michigan Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
-13.5 -105	58.5 -114o / -106u	-520

Akron Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
+13.5 -115	58.5 -114o / -106u	+385

Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute college football odds here.

If there's one game that could veer completely off the rails in the MAC during Saturday's Week 7, Central Michigan vs. Akron fits the bill.

The fact the game is being played in the early Saturday time slot is doubly electric — wake up, watch chaos, rake and then do whatever the rest of the day? Solid.

Both offenses chuck, neither defense tackles and special teams is essentially optional.

With that, let's make a play on the Week 7 game.

Central Michigan Chippewas

The Chippewas are 1-5 entering Week 7, but you can certainly chalk it up to their schedule.

Central Michigan drew Oklahoma State out the gates and has since played South Alabama (a good team!), Penn State and MAC-favorite Toledo.

The Chippewas also lost last weekend outright vs. Ball State as a 7.5-point favorite — the pass-happy offense was sapped by 20 mph winds.

Central Michigan's defense has been laughably bad in years past, but the 2022 unit has been formidable in key areas.

Although they can't defend the pass worth a lick, the Chipps are generating a fantastic push up front (No. 6 in Line Yards) and rank just outside the top 20 in Havoc.

Head coach Jim McElwain has notably struggled as a favorite. He's covered just three of the last 10 when his club is laying points, as opposed to 5-1 in the last six as underdogs.

Akron Zips

Only Hawaii and Colorado are being outscored by more points per game this season than Akron (28.4).

The defense is the second-worst nationally from a Pass Success standpoint, giving quarterbacks seemingly whatever they want.

The Zips allow the third-most yards per completion (15.6), while opposing signal callers are completing close to 70% of attempts.

Offensively, the Zips are about as one-dimensional as possible.

Akron doesn't even average 2.5 yards per carry, so it's all up to quarterback DJ Irons to pilot an offense throwing the ball at the sixth-highest rate in the country.

He is coming off of his best game of the year in a 55-34 romp of Ohio. However, there's one variable in particular affecting this matchup.

Central Michigan vs. Akron Matchup Analysis

Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Central Michigan and Akron match up statistically:

Central Michigan Offense vs. Akron Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	108	118
Line Yards	126	89
Pass Success	45	130
Pass Blocking**	112	100
Havoc	76	127
Finishing Drives	101	125
** Pass Blocking (Off.) vs. Pass Rush (Def.)

Akron Offense vs. Central Michigan Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	119	58
Line Yards	39	6
Pass Success	93	98
Pass Blocking**	106	37
Havoc	127	21
Finishing Drives	114	84
** Pass Blocking (Off.) vs. Pass Rush (Def.)

Pace of Play / Other

PFF Tackling	54	116
PFF Coverage	78	129
SP+ Special Teams	119	129
Seconds per Play	22.7 (12)	25.3 (38)
Rush Rate	44.0% (114)	41.1% (125)

Data via CollegeFootballData.com (CFBD), FootballOutsiders, SP+, Pro Football Focus and SportSource Analytics.

Central Michigan vs. Akron Betting Pick

Central Michigan quarterback Daniel Richardson struggled through the air in last week's wind game vs. Ball State.

He completed just 19 of his 40 attempts and failed to eclipse a rating of 100 or better for the first time all year.

In fact, Richardson's struggled in both games with double-digit mile-per-hour winds this season.

Against Bucknell in Week 2 — which closed with 11 mph winds at kickoff — he posted season lows in yards (198), completion percentage (46.9%) and QBR (25.3).

Central Michigan vs. Akron, meanwhile, is projected for winds around 13 mph.

It could potentially be a hurdle for the Chippewas offense, as we've seen this season. For Akron, there isn't a shot to move the ball if the wind is any sort of factor.

Special teams will likely be a disaster, too.

There were some 59.5s that popped up earlier in the week, but 59 is fine — it may be trending the other way as gametime nears, and this number is key when betting full-game college football totals.

Pick: Under 59