Host Western Michigan is coming off of a disappointing season opener at Indiana in which they were out of contention by halftime and lost 39-20. Adding injury to insult, starting quarterback Ryan Cubit suffered a laceration on his throwing hand that will sideline him Saturday.  In Cubit's place will be Thomas Peregrin, a junior JUCO transfer from Bakersfield College in California.

Peregrin saw limited action in place of Cubit last week but showed a strong arm, and Western Michigan will need his best effort if they have a shot at toppling perennial conference power Toledo.

  The Rockets will counter with Clint Cochran at the helm of an offense that put up 43 points in a three overtime loss to Iowa State last week.  Cochran faced the arduous task of replacing departing senior quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, but his 370 yard, three touchdown performance against the Cyclones proved that Toledo has found a leader who will keep the race for the MAC title close this season.
 
Cochran's main target against Iowa State was tight end Chris Hopkins who snagged 13 balls for 139 yards and three touchdowns.  All three numbers were career highs for Hopkins.  Worse yet, his previous bests were against none other than Western Michigan.
 
Fans of defensive football should turn their heads for this one as both defenses are vulnerable to the pass.  Expect a high scoring contest with plenty of deep balls from both teams.
 
If Peregrin can fill in for Cubit and find help from Jamarko Simmons (7 catches, 100 yards vs. Indiana), Western Michigan should keep this one close, but the questions at quarterback are substantial.
 
However, if the same Western Michigan team that gave up early interception and punt return touchdowns against Indiana shows up, Toledo will roll to victory.
 
We know Toledo will put up points, and the question is whether or not the Broncos can hang with them for four quarters.  Toledo has history on it's side as it has one the last 5 meetings between the two teams.  Western Michigan should keep this one close for a while, but Toledo's talented offense against a weak Western Michigan defense should pull away in the second half. 

Prediction: Toledo 41, Western Michigan 24

Running down the rest of the MAC...

Northern Illinois vs. Ohio
Garrett Wolfe racked up 171 yards on the ground and added another 114 receiving yards against the nation's number one team, Ohio State.  They play another state funded Ohio university on Saturday, but this one doesn't have Ted Ginn, Troy Smith and Antonio Pittman on the field. 
 
Prediction: Northern Illinois 31, Ohio U. 14.

Central Michigan @ Michigan
Central Michigan comes to Ann Arbor hoping the Wolverines are looking past them to Notre Dame.  Michigan would have to look way past them for the Chippewas to have any chance of an upset.
 
Prediction: Michigan 41, Central Michigan 10.

Bowling Green vs. Buffalo
New Buffalo head coach Turner Gill has his squad out to a 1-0 start to the 2006 campaign.  That would be impressive if their victory didn't come in the form of a 9-3 overtime victory over hapless Temple.  Bowling Green should recover nicely from their 31-14 loss to Wisconsin last weekend by moving the ball at will against Buffalo. 
 
Prediction: Bowling Green 34, Buffalo 6.

Eastern Michigan @ Michigan State
MAC powers Akron and Northern Illinois showed last week that the Big 10 has a distinct advantage over this mid-major conference.  While Michigan State lacks the talent of Penn State and Ohio State, Easter Michigan doesn't have anywhere near the talent of Akron and Northern Illinois.  Drew Stanton and the Spartans should cruise. 
 
Prediction: Michigan State 45, Eastern Michigan 10.

Ball State @ Indiana
Indiana is the favorite, and should be.  However, Ball State is coming off of a 38-20 victory against conference foe Eastern Michigan and Indiana's starting QB, Blake Powers left with an injury in their 39-20 win over Western Michigan.  If Powers doesn't go, this could be an upset. 
 
Prediction: Ball State 21, Indiana 20.

Miami @ Purdue
If Ryne Robinson can shine against Purdue in the same manner he did against Northwestern, and Purdue shows the same mental lapses it did against Indiana State, Miami has a real shot at the upset.  The stars won't align and Miami just won't have enough to hang with Purdue for 4 quarters. 
 
Prediction: Purdue 31, Miami 17.

Akron @ N.C. State
Akron QB Luke Getsy needs to prove he's the player he was at the end of the 2005 campaign and not the player he was to begin the 2006 season.  Getsy should settle in more against the Wolfpack and get help from Jabari Arthur and Kris Kasparek.  This game should be close and will most likely be won in the trenches.  Don't expect a barn burner, but expect a closer contest than the double-digit spread indicates. 
 
Prediction: N.C. State 27, Akron 20.

Kent State @ Army
Perhaps one of the least compelling matchups of the 2006 season.  Kent State was completely humiliated by Minnesota at home last week.  The only thing more humiliating than a 44-0 loss to an average Big Ten team may be a double-digit loss to Army. 
 
Prediction: Army 20, Kent State 7.