Previewing Tuesday night's college football games

Tuesday's TV games

Bowling Green (5-3) at Akron (4-4)

Time/TV: 8 p.m. ET/ESPN2. Surface: Artificial.

Line: Akron by 7. Sagarin difference: Akron by 1.42.

Synopsis: The season of midweek MACtion has arrived — which has to be more entertaining than watching election returns, right? This tilt in Akron figures to be the more competitive of the matchups. Both teams have wins against big-five conference members this season, BG at the expense of Indiana and Akron against Pittsburgh. But the Zips enter this contest trying to snap a two-game skid, most recently a 35-21 setback to Ball State in which they unraveled in the second half. But with a victory Akron will pull even with the Falcons, who hope to extend their lead in the MAC East to two games. But Bowling Green is also coming off a loss to West Division contender Western Michigan. The Falcons are at their best when their ground game is working. RBs Travis Greene and Fred Coppet have combined to rush for 1,002 yards and 13 TDs this season. QB James Knapke has lent aerial support with 10 scoring tosses but has also been picked nine times. The Falcons nevertheless like to keep the tempo fast. Their defense is on the field a lot — over 35 minutes a game on average —, but LB Gabe Martin has held up well this season. Akron will regain the services of QB Kyle Pohl, who has been sidelined for the Zips' two losses after taking a blow to the head. His backup, freshman Tommy Woodson, was intercepted six times in those setbacks. Akron would still prefer a lower-scoring affair. LB Jatavis Brown paces the Zips' defense.

Toledo (5-3) at Kent State (1-7)

Time/TV: 8 p.m. ET/ESPNU. Surface: Artificial.

Line: Toledo by 13½. Sagarin difference: Toledo by 20.30.

Synopsis: The Rockets, the last team in the MAC without a league loss, will try to make short work of the struggling Golden Flashes, who by contrast are the last team without a MAC win. Toledo lost QB Phillip Ely to a season-ending knee injury in a September loss to Missouri but has managed nicely with Logan Woodside at the controls. WRs Alonzo Russell and Corey Jones do most of the work downfield with RB Kareem Hunt leading the rushing attack. Despite its record, Kent State has been within a TD in three of its conference defeats. The Flashes' best bet to keep it close is QB Colin Reardon, whose primary targets are WR Chris Humphrey and TE Casey Pierce.

Lines furnished by Glantz-Culver.

Jeff Sagarin's power ratings show the relative strength of teams; 3 .17 points were added to the home team's rating to calculate the difference.