Home field matters sometimes in these conference title games. After an overtime loss in Week Two against Group of Five powerhouse North Texas State, Western Michigan took down five straight visitors. Miami's season rescue by QB Thomas Gotskowski after Dequan Finn abruptly quit to prepare for the NFL draft is laudable. Still, this is just Gostkowski's third start -- in a league championship game, no less. He likes to tuck it and run, and the Broncos defense is geared to stop such tactics.
Give Miami HC Chuck Martin credit for making an emergency QB switch to frosh Thomas Gotkowski in the last two games, wins over Buffalo and Ball State, that got the RedHawks in position for a return to Ford Field after backup Henry Hesson proved inadequate as a replacement for original starter Dequann Finn, who left the team in early November. Gotkowski tossed 4 TD passes and 0 picks to reward Martin's faith and put Miami-O back into Detroit. Nothing bad to say about WMU, which overachieved for HC Lance Taylor, but note the one Broncos loss in MAC play came in midseason during a 26-17 loss at Oxford in what was Finn's last real hurrah at QB for the RedHawks. Play Miami-Ohio (MAC at Detroit)
I know it may be counterintuitive regarding rematch games, but the team with the better defensive unit tends to have an edge. In this game, that is the Redhawks of Miami (OH). I like how Chuck Martin's teams are both disciplined and assignment sound. Both of which will help them knock off the Broncos for the second time this season.
