Western Michigan Broncos vs Ball State Cardinals Prediction, 9/10/2022 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Michigan Broncos vs Ball State Cardinals

Date: Saturday, September 10, 2022

Location: Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, IN

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Cardinals (+7.5)

Total/Over-Under: 57

The Western Michigan Broncos (0-1) are hitting the road to Scheumann Stadium on Saturday where they will take on the Ball State Cardinals (0-1). Ball State opens this matchup as 7.5-point underdogs. The over/under is set at 57.

The Western Michigan Broncos come into this matchup with a record of 0-1 this season. In their last contest, the Broncos played the Michigan State Spartans and ended up losing by a score of 35-13. Jack Salopek went 21/36 with 193 yards through the air. He had a QB rate of 103.4 and walked away from the game with no interceptions. Sean Tyler was the leader on the ground for the Broncos with 13 carries for 68 yds (5.2 yards per attempt). In the game, they ran 73 plays which gave them a total of 334 yards. The Western Michigan Broncos ran the football 37 different times and totaled 141 yards, which is an average of 3.8 yards per attempt. In the running game, the Broncos conceded 197 yds on 32 attempts, which is an average of 6.2 yds per run surrendered. Western Michigan gave up 12 completions on 24 attempts for a total of 233 yds, and a completion percentage of 50.0%.

The Broncos earned 6,074 total yards for the previous season. Western Michigan amassed 23 touchdowns through the air and 31 touchdowns via the ground. They surrendered the football 16 different times. Western Michigan recorded 322 1st downs as an offense, and they were called for 88 infractions for 766 yards. As a unit they averaged 213.5 yds via the ground game, ranking this team 18th in the country. In terms of scoring, the Western Michigan Broncos had an average of 32.5 points per outing.

The Broncos ranked 81st in the country concerning team defense, conceding 28.2 points per contest. They gave up 4.5 yards per rushing attempt and 145.5 rushing yards per game throughout last season. During the campaign, they gave up 1,892 rushing yards through 13 games. Regarding yards via the pass, the Broncos allowed 2,423 yards which put them in 13th in the nation. During their 13 games played last season, they allowed 186.4 yards per contest via the pass in addition to surrendering a completion percentage of 55.1%. They relinquished 331.9 yards/game putting them at 20th in Division 1. They surrendered 23 passing touchdowns and 17 rushing touchdowns.

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The Cardinals come into this game with a record of 0-1 for this season. The last time they took the field, the Cardinals walked away with a loss by a score of 59-10 when they faced the Tennessee Volunteers. John Paddock (1 touchdown) finished the contest with 269 yards on 27/43 passing while his QB rate was 113.7. He had 2 picks and his average yards per attempt was 6.3. Carson Steele carried the ball 11 times for 27 yards, walking away from the game with 2.5 yards per carry for Ball State. The Cardinals finished the game with a total of 343 yards while running 70 plays (4.9 yds per play). Ball State rushed the ball for 2.7 yards per carry, finishing the game with 74 yds on 27 attempts. Ball State allowed 51 run attempts for 218 yards (4.3 yds per carry). The Cardinals secondary allowed a completion rate of 77.1%, relinquishing 351 yds on 27 out of 35 passing.

The Ball State Cardinals averaged 337.6 yards per outing, which had them ranked 111th in D-1. The Ball State offense racked up 530 penalty yards on 64 violations, which had them ranked 105th in college football in terms of giving up free yards. Last year, the Cardinals threw for 2,699 passing yards together with averaging 207.6 passing yards per game, which ranked 89th in Division 1. When looking at their scoring prowess, the Cardinals earned a ranking of 94th in D-1 with 24.1 points per game.

The Cardinals conceded 28.4 PPG, which had them sitting 87th in D-1. Ball State gave up a total of 2,297 yards on the ground (176.7 yards per contest) and 22 touchdowns by way of the ground game over the course of last season. In total, they gave up 369 points in total. They allowed the opposition 17 touchdowns from the passing game and 243.0 yards/outing, ranking them 91st in college football. The Cardinals defense was on the field for 922 plays, which ranked them 102nd in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's Broncos/Cardinals college football game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Cardinals +7.5

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