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Analysis

Mitten Masterkey: Week 11, #MACtion time

With #MACtion underway, the schedule gets a bit funky for the Mitten FBS teams, but Mitten Football has you covered.

Andrew Graham

— 3 min read
Mitten Masterkey: Week 11, #MACtion time
(Courtesy of Eastern Michigan Athletics)

Well, #MACtion is here and the schedule is getting weird because of it. 

And with Michigan and Michigan State idle this weekend, there’s just one game for Mitten FBS teams this Saturday: Eastern Michigan hosting Bowling Green. 

Then Western Michigan and Central Michigan begin their #MACtion schedules on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. 

It’ll be a bit of a different look and feel to the Masterkey for the stretch run of November, but it’s still got all the info you need to carry you through the week. 

Let’s dig in!

Mitten Football will be at…

Saturday, it’s Eastern Michigan vs. Bowling Green, followed by a Tuesday-Wednesday back-to-back of Western Michigan vs. Ohio on Nov. 11 and Central Michigan vs. Buffalo on Nov. 12. 

Mitten Football will be at all three! 

The schedule and TV assignments

We have #MACtion, so games are not all Saturday. And, technically, the #MACtion games are part of the following week. I.e., the Tuesday and Wednesday games are technically Week 12, while this Saturday is Week 11. 

But they’ll be counted here, because it’s how the schedule shakes out.

  • Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. (Sat.) — Eastern Michigan vs. Bowling Green, ESPN+ streaming
  • Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. (Tues.) — Western Michigan vs. Ohio, ESPN2/ESPN streaming
  • Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. (Weds.) — Central Michigan vs. Buffalo, CBSSN/Paramount+ 

And for the uninitiated, this master schedule absolutely rocks (just be aware times are central).

Pregame, halftime reading from Mitten Football and others

Picks and preview

No picks column since it’s kind of a weird spot this weekend, but nonetheless, here we go:

Eastern Michigan over Bowling Green
Western Michigan over Ohio
Buffalo over Central Michigan

A freshman to watch: Harold Mack, Eastern Michigan WR

Mack burst on to the scene with his breakout performance against Miami (OH) and can be a real threat down the field catching the ball. He burst on to the scene with a monster performance in a loss against the Redhawks, but has been quiet, relatively, since.

The Eagles have a quarterback in Noah Kim who can get the ball to his playmakers outside, and Mack has 215 yards and two touchdowns on nine receptions, to date. The big play ability is there, and he’s shown he can soak up plenty of targets. As Terry Lockett keeps dealing with an injury, Mack adds some juice to the Eagles receiving corps. 

A unit to watch: Central Michigan’s quarterback room

It’s sounding like Angel Flores will be out against Buffalo on Wednesday, the second-straight game he’ll miss with an injury. And if Flores can’t play, the main quarterbacking duties fall to Joe Labas. Labas played well against Western Michigan and has been surgical as a passer this season. Spelling him and adding some running pop will be Marcus Beamon. 

And that duo looked OK against Western Michigan, and will probably be even better with another week-plus of prep and feel. Beamon also has some game reps under his belt now. But either way, the quarterback situation for the Chippewas looms large.

A fun prediction: Pudge makes an appearance

Not football related, no, but Bowling Green has an unofficial mascot this year, Pudge, a cat belonging to one of the players. Pudge has traveled with the Falcons some this season, but has also stayed in Ohio for a few road games, too. 

Here's hoping the feline friend makes it out to Ypsilanti, and perhaps runs into the Maccoon. 

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