Staff Predictions: Kent State
With Western Michigan's MAC road tilt against Kent State just hours away, BroncoBlitz.com's staff members submit their final predictions on the outcome.
David James: Kent State at 5-1 appears to be a bad matchup for a somewhat reeling Western Michigan team, but I don't think the records tell the entire story. KSU is having a better season for sure, but the schedule has played a role in their record.
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With that said, I really think Trayion Durham represents a matchup problem for the Broncos this week, perhaps even more than Dri Archer does. If the Broncos sell out against the run and actually manage to force KSU to throw the ball, it might be a different story, but I don't think they succeed. KSU controls the pace and wins a fairly low scoring one possession game but controls throughout.
Kent State 20, Western Michigan 14
D.J. Duckett: WMU has really struggled lately, and this matchup could spell disaster for them if they cannot come up with a gameplan to stop Dri Archer. Jaime Wilson and Tyler Van Tubbergen seem to be coming along nicely, as the WMU offense continues to gel. I think that this could be a high scoring game, ultimately coming down to which teams defense can get the critical stop.
Look for the WMU defense to mix things up and try to confuse the KSU offense. I see Kent using Archer in many different ways, and any time he has the ball in his hands, keep your eyes on the endzone.
Kent State 38, Western Michigan 27
Brian Persky: If Western Michigan is going to win this game, their offense will really have to be clicking on all cylinders against a Kent State defense that's among one of the best in the conference. I'm still concerned about the Broncos' lack of depth at the wide receiver position and I think that continues to haunt them against Kent State this weekend.
I think the Golden Flashes will game plan to stop the run, which will prove costly to a depleted WMU offense that has become so heavily dependent on the success of the running game as of late.
Kent State 31, Western Michigan 17