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Mitten Masterkey

Mitten Masterkey: Week 12

The five Mitten teams are all in action this week, with three Saturday games and a pair of weeknight MACtion games to follow on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Andrew Graham

— 4 min read
Mitten Masterkey: Week 12
(Courtesy of Eastern Michigan Athletics)

It’s a full week of football in the Mitten, with three games on Saturday and a pair of MACtion games to follow on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. 

MAC title berths are in play for Central Michigan and Western Michigan, with the latter in control of its destiny to make it to Ford Field on Dec. 6. 

But plenty more needs to happen between now and then, starting with a Saturday slate featuring a pair of road games and Michigan State making a last standing against a rival. 

Let’s dig in!

Mitten Football will be at…

Spartan Stadium for the Land Grant rivalry, as MSU fights to keep bowl hopes alive. The two MACtion games to follow are away, so coverage will come from afar. 

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

Games are Saturday unless otherwise noted.

Noon — Michigan at Northwestern (Wrigley Field), FOX/FOX streaming
Noon — Eastern Michigan at Ball State, ESPN+ streaming
3:30 p.m. — Michigan State vs. Penn State, CBS/Paramount+ streaming
7:00 p.m. (11/18, Tues.) — Western Michigan at Northern Illinois, ESPNU/ESPN streaming
7:00 p.m. (11/19, Weds.) — Central Michigan at Kent State, ESPN2/ESPN streaming

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

Read the full picks and previews here, but an abridged version without scores:

Michigan over Northwestern
Eastern Michigan over Ball State
Penn State over Michigan State
Western Michigan over Northern Illinois (Tuesday MACtion, 11/18)
Central Michigan over Kent State (Wednesday MACtion, 11/19)

A freshman to watch: Jamar Browder, Michigan WR

The 6-foot-5 freshman wideout is expected to get some more run for the Wolverines out of the bye week. Having already played in six games this season, Browder has burned his redshirt opportunity and has been featuring more and more on offense, as well as fairly consistently on special teams. 

And with his massive, long frame, Browder has the cut of a receiver who can win outside the numbers and use a big catch radius to help out Bryce Underwood on some of the less-than-accurate throws that aren’t uncommon with big-armed quarterbacks. He’s raw and not likely to outpace the likes of Andrew Marsh among the freshman wideouts, but Browder has been coming along and seems poised to make a bigger contribution for a Michigan passing game that needs a spark. 

A unit to watch: Michigan State’s offensive line

If the Spartans can’t produce some clean pockets for the quarterback and lanes for the running backs, this game might not be close. Penn State’s offense isn’t fooling anyone into thinking it’s the 2001 Rams, especially with Ethan Grunkemeyer filling in for the injured Drew Allar. But the Penn State offense has a bunch of future NFL players on the line and in the backfield. It should be enough to manage a few scores against the Spartans defense, which has been playing better of late. 

Whether or not MSU has a chance on Saturday will ultimately fall to whichever quarterback Jonathan Smith and Co. choose to play on Saturday, Aidan Chiles or Alessio Milivojevic, and the line in front of them to give the offense a fighting chance. If the Penn State pass rushers can live in the backfield and set hard edges and clog up the run game, it could be a long day and a seventh-straight loss for the Spartans. 

A fun prediction: Central Michigan and Western Michigan get on a collision course for the MAC title

Right now, the Broncos are on track to win out and make it to Ford Field on Dec. 6. Central Michigan needs some more help, but it’s not inconceivable that by this time next week, both squads are close to being a win away from rematching at Ford Field after playing for the Victory Cannon Trophy on Nov. 1, a Western Michigan win. 

CMU needs help, but outside of a UMass upset over Ohio (which isn’t exactly necessary but clears up the path) the Chippewas aren’t banking on a series of unlikely outcomes. Buffalo just needs to go 2-0 and Ball State needs to lose one of its final two games, and the Chippewas make it to Ford Field with two more wins. 

It’s far from a lock, but the proposition of the bitter rivalry rematching in the conference title game — something that has never happened before — is not as far-flung as it might’ve been even a month ago. 

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