Akron vs Ball State Pick & Prediction - 10/18/2025
Updated July 9, 2026
MAC rivals will face off on Saturday as the Akron Zips and Ball State Cardinals meet in Muncie. These teams both have two wins on the season and time is running out for them to grab enough wins to see bowl season. Here, I tell you which team I think will win this game as I make my Akron vs Ball State prediction for Saturday afternoon.
Betting Market | Odds |
|---|---|
Spread | Ball State -1.5 |
Moneyline | Akron +105 / Ball State -115 |
Total Points | 44.5 |
Akron quarterback Ben Finley has thrown for 1,157 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions. He doesn't have a lot of help around him but there are certainly worse quarterback options in the MAC than Finley. Ball State's Kiael Kelly has thrown for 725 yards and four touchdowns this season, though he has also thrown two interceptions. The performance of these quarterbacks will be critical in determining the outcome of this game.
Both of these teams are in desperate need of a win in conference play. Ball State is 1-1 in MAC play, while Akron is 1-2 in this year's MACtion. There are three teams with undefeated records in conference play going into this week and the loser of this game would be way behind those teams in the loss column. Expect both teams to come out with a sense of urgency as they look to avoid being the team that drops this game.
Score Projection: Ball State 28 – Akron 15
Win Probability: Ball State 63%, Akron 37%
Akron has yet to win a game on the road this season. I expect that trend to continue after this contest. The Ball State Cardinals aren't world beaters by any stretch of the imagination. But they should grab their third consecutive win at home in this game. I recommend laying the points with the Cardinals in a game where I expect Ball State to pull away late in the second half after a competitive first three quarters of play.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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