Beware the emotionally wounded animal. On Saturday, Western Michigan visits a Toledo team coming off an overtime loss to Central Michigan.
Western walloped Kent State last week for a 64-31 Mid-American Conference win at home.
Here’s the latest on this week’s showdown before the MAC moves to midweek games.
Western Michigan at Toledo: NCAA Football Week 8 Odds
Oddsmakers give Western Michigan slight edge over Toledo
Early odds from Michigan sportsbooks show they do not expect another rout when Western heads to Ohio on Saturday, but the Broncos do have the edge.
As of late Monday evening, BetMGM Sportsbook had the largest spread by a half-point, favoring the Broncos by 3 points. BetMGM also had the best moneyline for takers of the favorites, offering -140 for Western and +120 for Toledo.
The Golden Nugget Sportsbook moneylines were at -145 for Western and +125 for Toledo. FanDuel Sportsbook’s moneyline ranged from -150 to +122.
Both of those latter oddsmakers gave 2.5 points to the underdogs, which is where BetMGM has since settled and a consensus has arisen.
Golden Nugget initially gave the over/under at 55 points. FanDuel’s was 54.5 and BetMGM had the highest at 55.5 points before temporarily taking its number off the board.
For the latest and best real-time odds, consult our live tracker above.
In trending terms, Western Michigan is 4-2-1 against the spread this season. Toledo won three games against the spread and failed to cover three times.
The Broncos are 4-1 in games when they have been moneyline favorites.
How to watch: Western Michigan Broncos at Toledo Rockets
- Who: Western Michigan (5-2, 2-1 MAC) at Toledo (3-4, 1-2)
- When: 3:30 p.m., ET, Saturday
- Where: The Glass Bowl Stadium, Toledo, Ohio
- TV: CBS Sports Network
- Radio: Bronco Radio Network
Western routs Kent State in homecoming win
Western’s football team entered homecoming week hurting from a 45-20 loss against Ball State on Oct. 9 that broke a four-game win streak.
The offense’s four turnovers in the Ball State game undermined a decent showing from a Bronco defense ranked 26th nationally and with a rushing defense that tops the MAC.
It’s safe to say the Broncos made up for those offensive woes against Kent State.
Western racked up a whopping 648 total yards on offense and dominated possession at 37 minutes, 41 seconds against the Golden Flashes.
The Broncos received the kickoff and scored first on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Kaleb Eleby to Skyy Moore. That eight-play drive got an early boost from Sean Tyler’s 21-yard rush on second down.
Eleby’s electric performance included three passing touchdowns and one rushing. The sophomore finished 15-for-22 with 307 passing yards and gained 33 yards off three carries on the ground.
Moore netted 140 yards on eight catches and scored two touchdowns. Jaylen Hall had five catches for 144 yards and a touchdown.
The ground attack netted 341 yards and five touchdowns for the Broncos. Tyler finished with 17 carries for 169 yards and a score.
La’Darius Jefferson had 62 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown for his efforts.
Senior Jaxson Kincaide rushed for 61 yards on nine carries and earned two touchdowns, his first scores of the season.
Kicker Nick Mihalic put 16 points on the board by way of three field goals and punching in seven of eight point-after attempts.
Western had no turnovers in the contest that ended a two-game homestand and extended its win streak against Kent State to three for a series total of 36-20-1.
Toledo’s comeback effort falls short against Central Michigan in OT
The Rockets slipped below .500 overall and fell to 1-2 in conference play, good for last place in the MAC West, after losing 26-23 in overtime against Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant last week.
Freshman quarterback Dequan Finn sparked a comeback attempt on a 3-yard touchdown dash with about three minutes left to play in the third, making it 20-10 Central.
Two Toledo field goals and one from Central put the Chippewas on top, 23-16. Finn scored the tying touchdown on an 18-yard run with 35 seconds left in regulation.
Central got the ball first in overtime and scored off a 38-yard field goal via Marshall Meeder. Finn got sacked on third-and-12 on the CMU 27, setting up a 51-yard field goal try from Thomas Cluckey that went wide left.
Finn finished 15-for-32 and 208 yards by air and rushed for 43 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
Bryant Koback had 15 carries for 87 yards. Isaiah Winstead caught four passes for 108 yards.
Finn was sacked seven times in the loss.
As for this weekend’s matchup, Toledo was on a three-game win streak against the Broncos, prior to Western’s 41-38 win in Kalamazoo last November. The Rockets lead the overall series, 44-31.
