The set-up: Both teams comes off their respective bye weeks. Ball State is 4-4 and in dire need of a couple more victories. WMU is 5-4 and it definitely wants to punch its ticket to eligiblity here and now. Ball State most recently got killed by Ohio 34-21, while the Broncos smashed Bowling Green 49-10 in their most recent action. The Cardinals are led by QB Drew Pitt, who has 17 TD's and six INT's. Ball State though ranks tenth in the MAC with just 11 sacks all year.

The pick: The Broncos still have a shot at winning their division, but with their final two games of the season on the road, this has become a "must win" contest for Western Michigan. The Broncos have two experienced seniors on offense in QB Jon Wassink and RB leVante Bellamy (Wassink leads the conference with 2,273 passing yards.) Also note that WMU's defense is tied for first int he conference with 29 sacks so far. In this crucial game, I look for the home side to take advantage.

8* DESTRUCTION on Western Michigan.