By Freddy Wills | January 6, 2009

Central Michigan vs. Troy (+3, 63)

The GMAC Bowl game has been that bad game right before the good game. Reminds me of going to a concert and you have some no name bands opening for the big guys. In the past it’s been Conference USA just dominating the MAC Conference. This year it will feature two Conference Champions. One team is from the Sun-Belt Conference in Troy. The other team is from the MAC Conference in Central Michigan.

Who are the Troy Trojans?

Troy dominated the top of the Sun Belt Conference and took home their 2nd consecutive outright championship. The Trojans actually began the season 0-2, but finished the season 9-1. The only loss came at the hands of high powered SEC Arkansas. Larry Blakeney the head coach is considerably under rated. He has been the coach at Troy since 1992.

The Trojans were all about offense in 2009 as they finished 16th in scoring and 3rd in total offense. It was the play of Levi Brown that really got this offense going. Brown racked up over 330 yards per game this year and threw for 3,868 yards while throwing just 9 interceptions. Look for Brown to have another big game against Central Michigan defense that looks good on paper but really has not been tested much this season facing an average 73rd total offensive opponent.

On the other side of the ball the defense is anything but good ranking 102 overall in total defense. It is worth mentioning that this is more of the secondary having the problems as the team has faced the 50th ranked total offensive opponent that is much stronger than what Central Michigan has faced. Up front Troy has some solid players including two solid defensive ends in Cameron Sheffield and Brandon Lang to go along with outstanding linebackers Bear Woods and Boris Lee. Lee, is considered to be the best linebacker in Sun Belt history, but will have his hands full with the best QB in MAC Conference history.

Who are the Central Michigan Chippewas?

Well if you have not heard the name Dan LeFevour what rock have you been living under? LeFevour is the greatest QB in MAC history and that is saying a lot since the conference produced Ben Roethlisberger, Chad Pennington, Bryan Leftwhich and more. However, the MAC has struggled in this bowl game and if they are ever going to change that this should be the year.

Central Michigan will be without their head coach Butch Davis who took the job at Cincinnati. Will it have the same impact that it had on a Cincinnati team? My guess is probably not as much. After all Cincinnati was undefeated and playing arguably the best team in the country in Florida. Make no mistake about it this team is extremely talented and have beaten Michigan State, and their lone losses game at the hands of Arizona and Boston College.

LeFevour threw for 3,000 yards and 27 touchdowns while throwing just 6 interceptions. He’s also the team’s leading rusher with 700 yards and 14 touchdowns. There is not a single man more important to his team in college football. It will be a stiff task for the Troy Trojans to shut this guy down. Can they do it? Sure anything is possible with lots of preparation time. Look out for WR Antonio Brown who has 97 catches and is LeFevour’s favorite target.

The defense that in years past has been the reason this team has not gone further has been the big surprise this year. They finished 14th in the country in points allowed with just 17.2, but also note they did not play many strong offenses this year. They were strong against the pass and the run finishing 29th and 48th. However, they do not manage much of a pass rush and they only managed 19 takeaways on the season.

The Outcome?

Freddy Wills has released his 4-Dime NCAAF POD already on this game and you can pick it up in our guaranteed picks section. Freddy wills is 21-9 this BOWL season and 27-12-2 ATS on NCAAF PLAY OF THE DAYS!