Tuesday marks a bittersweet day for the college football world.
On one hand, we have another set of midweek MACtion with two games — Toledo vs. Akron and Kent State vs. Buffalo — on deck. On the other, this is the last day of midweek MACtion for the rest of the season.
But you know the saying: "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."
That's exactly what we'll aim to do on Tuesday. Our college football writers broke down both MACtion games this week and came through with a pick for each.
It's been another beautiful season here at the MACtion Network, so let's make one final trip to Green Dot City.
Continue reading for our Tuesday college football picks and NCAAF predictions for the MACtion games on Nov. 26.
Tuesday College Football Picks for Nov. 26
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college football betting staff is targeting from Tuesday's slate of MACtion games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 7 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAF Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Toledo vs. Akron Pick
By John Feltman
It would only be a complete Thanksgiving week with some midweek MACtion. On Tuesday night, the Toledo Rockets (7-4, 4-3 MAC) travel to Akron, Ohio, to take on the Akron Zips (3-8, 2-5).
The Rockets have secured a bid into bowl season, but the status of quarterback Tucker Gleason is unclear after departing last week's 24-7 loss to Ohio with an injury. Meanwhile, the Zips snapped their losing streak against Kent State, 38-17, and are looking to close the season on a solid note.
Oddsmakers have the Rockets as 8-point road favorites with the over/under set at 49.
Let's take a look at my Toledo vs. Akron predictions and college football picks for Tuesday night's MACtion.
Toledo Rockets
The Rockets are fully locked into bowl season, so this is essentially a meaningless game for them.
They don't have a chance at making the MAC Championship, so there's little to play for them — especially since they're the road team with no Senior Day motivation.
With Gleason's uncertain health status, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Rockets turn to backup signal-caller John Alan Richter. Richter has performed well in limited action, tossing 4 touchdowns and no interceptions with a 66% completion percentage.
Last week, the Rockets turned the ball over six times and lost four fumbles. The offense's performance was disastrous, and it was the type of sloppy performance that signaled a team has mailed it in until its bowl game.
There are many advantages for the Rockets on both sides of the ball, but it's hard to factor those in considering the circumstances.
The coaching staff likely couldn't care less about the matchup, as they'll use the next couple of weeks to get healthy and prepare for their bowl opponent.
Akron Zips
The Zips showed some life against a miserable Kent State team last week, as the offense put up its best performance of the season. It's a little less considering the opponent, but it's worth mentioning heading into Senior Night.
It should be a frigid 31 degrees on Tuesday night with winds of about 15 MPH, which many Midwesterners would consider a mild November evening. The weather will impact this offense given the fact that the Zips throw the ball 56% of the time.
Akron won't be playing in a bowl, game, but this team still hasn't quit. Despite the poor record, it's been clear that this team is putting in effort.
Does anybody want to guess how many games the Zips have lost by 13 points or less? Four. The Zips have played hard all season, and I wouldn't expect them to let up on Senior Night.
They have far more motivation in this spot than the Rockets.
Toledo vs. Akron Prediction
Although I lean toward the Zips with the points, attacking the total is the best approach here. There's really no other clear way to play this game except the under.
There are a few significant concerns for the Zips on offense, including that 44% rush rate on what's expected to be a cold, windy evening. They're also 119th in Passing Success Rate and 122nd in Finishing Drives.
Quarterback Ben Finley has been decent for Akron standards, but the offense stalls out when this team reaches the red zone. The Rockets are also 12th in PFF Coverage grade and 35th in Pass Success Rate Allowed, so the Zips won't get anything easy through the air.
Toledo also has nothing to play for, and I don't see why it would care about this game. Either way, it has significant advantages on the defensive side of the ball, including a rank of 28th in Havoc.
Plus, the Rockets struggle to run the ball consistently, which is less than ideal with quarterback uncertainty against an underrated unit.
Akron does a good job of creating Havoc and limiting explosives while also ranking in the 69th percentile in Stuff Rate. The Zips' secondary is an outright disaster, but it still does a decent job on the back end.
The Rockets rank 15th in tempo and rarely run the ball, but I could see them sitting on the ball in the second half if they build a decent lead.
I expect a far better effort from Akron here, which will cause the game to get off to a sluggish start. The Rockets' mental state is unknown, so their offensive woes could carry into Tuesday night.
I also don't expect the Zips to generate much offense despite having the motivation edge. The Rockets do a great job of limiting explosives on defense and come into thos game 66th in Pass/EPA Allowed.
There's no reason to think the Zips will figure out their red-zone offense and special teams issues, so I'll happily take the under at 48 or better.
Pick: Under 49 (Play to 48)
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Kent State vs. Buffalo Pick
This one’s for all the marbles — a chance at history.
Kent State hopes to avoid creating any, as the Golden Flashes (0-11, 0-7 MAC) seek their first win of the season. A loss would make Kent State the first winless team in a non-COVID season since Akron in 2019.
Looking to avoid gifting the Golden Flashes their first win is Buffalo.
While out of conference contention, the Bulls (7-4, 5-2) have more than doubled their win total from 2023 with new head coach Pete Lembo and have a chance at their first 8-win season since 2019.
Buffalo enters as a -21.5 favorite with an over/under of 49. An outright win may be out of the question for Kent State, but can it hang within 3 touchdowns?
Let's dive into my Kent State vs. Buffalo predictions and college football picks for Tuesday, Nov. 26.
Kent State Golden Flashes
Tonight’s game perfectly marks 14 calendar months since Kent State last recorded a win. And while a 20-game losing streak is bad enough, the fashion in which Kent State has arrived at that number makes it even worse.
Offensively, the Golden Flashes are just about the worst FBS team in every metric. Kent State ranks second-to-last nationally in both scoring and rushing offense, and the Golden Flashes also rank 133rd in Pass Success Rate.
Among qualified MAC passers, Tommy Ulatowski ranks last with 140.3 yards passing per game, and it’s not due to Ulatowski being a dual-threat. The quarterback has -29 rush yards on the season behind an offensive line that's bottom-10 nationally in both tackles for loss allowed (84) and sacks allowed (37).
Kent State has scored just three times on the ground this year — tied for the worst in the FBS — and has rushed for more than 100 yards in a game on just two occasions.
It’s been just as much of a nightmare on defense.
The Golden Flashes have allowed at least 34 points in nine of their 11 games, contributing to their FBS-worst 44.2 points allowed per game — more than a field goal worse than the next closest team.
Last week against Akron, Kent allowed 527 yards, the fifth time this season an opposing offense has gained that many yards.
Buffalo Bulls
Head across Pennsylvania and up New York state, and you’ll find life is much better for a recharged Buffalo program.
A year after a three-win season and a coach firing, the Bulls are back in the top half of the MAC and headed to their fifth bowl game in seven years.
They have reeled off three straight wins thanks to an offense that has really hit its stride as the season has worn on. Buffalo scored 37 points last week against Eastern Michigan, marking the fourth time in its last five outings that UB has scored at least that many points.
Buffalo operates a fairly balanced offense that slightly favors the run. But despite the recent scoring output, the Bulls have been far from efficient, ranking outside the top 100 in both Rush Success Rate and Pass Success Rate.
C.J. Ogbonna leads the way at quarterback with an impressive 16:4 touchdown-to-interception ratio, while Al-Jay Henderson paces the run game with seven rushing scores and an average north of 5.0 yards per carry.
Buffalo fares a little better on defense, particularly at the line of scrimmage where the Bulls rank 50th in Havoc and 78th in Line Yards Allowed. Buffalo’s 69 tackles for loss are the fourth-most in the conference.
Kent State vs. Buffalo Prediction
When you’ve lost 20 straight games and have just one game remaining on the calendar, how much fight can there possibly be left?
Kent State has lost its last five games by an average margin of 28.2 points, while Buffalo has had its four highest-scoring outputs in its last five games.
Couple the recent trends with this being the Bulls' final home game and Senior Night, and there's no way Buffalo even flirts with making this closer than it should be.
The Golden Flashes are ready to pack it up for the year. Get this number while you can, and have some extra spending money before you even think about putting the turkey in the oven.
Pick: Buffalo -21.5
