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Mitten Masterkey

Mitten Masterkey Week 9: Early Saturday double feature, plus MACtion at Ford Field

Michigan and Western Michigan play on Saturday with an in-state MACtion showdown coming on Wednesday, as MSU is idle.

Andrew Graham

— 3 min read
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Mitten Masterkey Week 9: Early Saturday double feature, plus MACtion at Ford Field
(Via Eastern Michigan Athletics/Walt Middleton)

Week 9 has arrived, and it's a quiet one.

Just two teams are in action on Saturday from the Mitten, with Western Michigan hosting Bowling Green at noon on Saturday and Michigan traveling to face Rutgers at 12:30 p.m. And then there will be some MACtion on Wednesday, as Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan descend on Ford Field for what is being dubbed Motor City MACtion, with EMU playing as the home team this year (they'll reprise the gambit in 2027 with CMU as the home team.)

Dig in to a lighter Masterkey this week as a result.

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Mitten Football will be at…

Home, mostly. And also Michigan State's field hockey stadium — covering MHSAA field hockey state finals for The Detroit News and taking a much-needed Saturday off from traipsing the state.

Consider it a bye week for the publication, though there will be plenty of coverage on the two Saturday games.

The schedule and TV assignments

Games are Saturday unless otherwise noted.

Noon — Western Michigan vs. Bowling Green, CBSSN
12:30 p.m. — Michigan at Rutgers, BTN
7:30 p.m. (Weds., Nov. 4) — Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan (Ford Field), ESPN2

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.

  • Western Michigan over Bowling Green
  • Michigan over Rutgers
  • Eastern Michigan over Central Michigan

A unit to watch: Michigan's offense

Michigan has been disastrous on offense for much of 2026, and a 21-point second half vs. Penn State with Tommy Carr taking over at QB proved to be more noise than signal, as the freshman looked like that in his first-ever start vs. Indiana the following week. Carr is set to take the reins again as Michigan travels to Rutgers this Saturday in search of any sort of sustained success.

The obviously place to look in the running game, where Michigan has been particularly ineffective and disappointing. The offensive line hasn't been a pronounced strength and dealt with myriad injuries while none of the running backs are popping as the whole operation feels stuck. But Rutgers' defense is really, really bad, particularly against the rush. If Michigan can't just get some baseline, unremarkable success against this defense, things might just be cooked on that side of the ball for Michigan in 2026.

A fun prediction: Scoop Gardner Jr. multi-sack day

Gardner is tied for the lead on WMU's defense with four sacks so far this season, all coming since conference play began. The LIU transfer has been a disruptive force for much of the season — his 5.5 tackles for loss leads WMU — but is finally getting home to quarterbacks. He's already posted one multi-sack performance, with two against CMU on Oct. 17.

Now facing BGSU and an offense that may be needing to drop back and pass a fair bit to keep it a game, Gardner (and the rest of WMU's pass rush) should have chances to pin their ears back and meet at the quarterback. Gardner's also been a solid edge presence against the run for WMU, with a sturdy frame and some grown man strength, which also makes him a capable option to slid to the middle of the defensive front in certain pass rush situations. He's been a great addition to the WMU front and can shine Saturday vs. BGSU.  

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