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Mitten Masterkey

Mitten Masterkey Week 7: Victory Cannon up for grabs, EMU hosts MAC ladder game, MSU hosts Fitzgerald's alma mater

It's an action-packed weekend that will feature one of the fiercest rivalries around taking place in Mt. Pleasant.

Andrew Graham

— 4 min read
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Mitten Masterkey Week 7: Victory Cannon up for grabs, EMU hosts MAC ladder game, MSU hosts Fitzgerald's alma mater
(Via Central Michigan Athletics/Josie Ransley)

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At last, it's here: The Battle for the Victory Cannon, 2026 edition. It's the 97th official meeting between the two programs.

And for the first time since 2018, it's on a Saturday in Mt. Pleasant, in front of what's expected to be a raucous crowd of around 25,000 — or, for Central Michigan, ideally more — people. And it's a big spot for Western Michigan to not only take a rivalry road win, but stay undefeated in MAC play so far.

Elsewhere, Eastern Michigan will host Toledo in another key MAC matchup, as Michigan State hosts Northwestern in the Pat Fitzgerald-Aidan Chiles bowl, while Michigan welcomes Penn State as those respective fan bases hope brighter days are ahead.

Dig in to your guide for Saturday below. 

Mitten Football will be at…

Nowhere else in the world to be Saturday but Kelly/Shorts Stadium. 

The schedule and TV assignments

Games are Saturday unless otherwise noted.

Noon — Michigan State vs. Northwestern, Peacock
1:30 p.m. — Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan, ESPN+
3:30 p.m. — Eastern Michigan vs. Toledo, ESPN+
3:30 p.m. — Michigan vs. Penn State, CBS

And for the uninitiated, this master schedule absolutely rocks (just be aware times are central).

Listen to “In The Pocket”

Mitten Football is doing a podcast, with Andrew Graham and the Detroit News’ Connor Earegood covering all the CFB news, notes, happenings and the like across the Mitten each week. 

Pregame, halftime reading from Mitten Football, others

Picks, preview

Read the full joint here with all the analysis and scores.

  • Northwestern over Michigan State
  • Western Michigan over Central Michigan
  • Toledo over Eastern Michigan
  • Michigan over Penn State

A unit to watch: Eastern Michigan’s secondary

This group has been among the best in the country at playing sticky, aggressive coverage and has the stats to back it up, tied for No. 2 nationally with 37 passes defended. EMU has also come up with four interceptions on the season. And it’s a mix of veterans — Bryce Llewellyn, Jason Marshall, Juan Salas, among others — and a handful of young, exciting players. It’s been one of the groups integral to EMU’s defense turning around the way it has. 

And they’re in for a big test on Saturday against a Toledo offense that will be keen on testing the Eagles down the field plenty. And on top of the sheer weight of the way Toledo wants to play with an aggressive passing attack, the talent at quarterback and receiver for the Rockets is legit. If EMU’s defensive backs can strap up the Toledo pass catchers, it’ll be a great sign that the Eagles can pull out a key win and get to 4-0 in the MAC. 

A fun prediction: MSU picks off Chiles

In six games, Chiles has 15 total touchdowns, nine through the air and another six rushing. He has yet to throw an interception. And while it may not end up being material to the result, this publication is predicting he’s due, and the bill comes sometime vs. the Spartans. Who will intercept it? Not sure. How? Could be a crazy tip, could be a good individual play. Doesn’t really matter. 

While one of the young defensive backs pressed into service would be a fairly evident answer, or Devin Vaught pulling down another, too, let’s double down on the fun: A defensive lineman or maybe edge rusher like Kenny Soares gets the pick. Who wouldn’t want to see Eli Coenen rumbling upfield with the ball in his hands? Or, even better, Ben Roberts. And it’d certainly go over with plenty of enthusiasm in Spartan Stadium if the MSU defense can get their hands on a pass from Chiles early on while the game is still in the balance.

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