The Western Michigan Broncos (4-3) put their three-game win streak on the line as they travel to take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles (1-7). The MAC’s second-leading rusher, Darius Jackson (799 yards, 12 TDs), and the second-leading receiver, Daniel Braverman (849 yards, 11 TDs), will be featured in this game. In the midst of a successful stretch in which it has won four of its last five, Western Michigan enters this week’s game hoping to emerge victorious once again. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct 29 and will be available on CBSS.
In last week’s matchup, Eastern Michigan had an ugly loss against Northern Illinois 49-21. Darius Jackson had a great game running the ball in the loss, rushing 24 times for 101 yards and two TDs. Western Michigan is hoping for another victory like last week’s performance, when it won big over Miami (OH) 35-13. Daniel Braverman had a huge game for the Broncos, grabbing 13 receptions for 135 yards and two TDs. Zach Terrell also had a great game with 278 yards and three TDs through the air.
The Broncos are favored by 20 points against the Eagles this week and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable currently.
Sitting at 1-7 Straight Up (SU) and 3-4-1 Against The Spread (ATS), the Eagles will look to improve heading into Week 9. In their five most recent matchups, the Eagles went 0-5 SU and 1-3-1 ATS. Eastern Michigan hopes to take advantage of a Broncos defense that allows 5.2 yards per rush, 111th in the nation. During their last five games, the Eagles gave up 208.4 passing yards per game.
Over on the other sideline, the Broncos head into Week 9 with records of 4-3 for both ATS and SU. Over their last five games, the Broncos have a SU record of 4-1 and a 3-2 record ATS for those betting with them. Western Michigan has made opposing defenses pay lately, averaging 37 points per game over the last five games. This improved stretch brought its season average to 32.9 PPG. The defensive front seven better be ready for Western Michigan’s bruising rushing attack which has averaged 238.8 yards on the ground over its past five games. Over the last five games, the Broncos have turned it up on defense, allowing an average of 121.0 rushing yards per game. They are trending in the right direction from their 173.4 season average. The Broncos may be aware that the floodgates tend to open on the Eagles during the fourth quarter, when they allow 8.9 points per game. It’ll be hard to get the ball out of the hands of Western Michigan’s offense this week. The team’s average time of possession is 33:23, ranking them 18th in the country.
Predictions: SU Winner – Western Michigan, ATS Winner – Western Michigan
Notes
Eastern Michigan is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Eastern Michigan’s last 5 games.
Eastern Michigan is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games.
Eastern Michigan is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Eastern Michigan is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Eastern Michigan’s last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Eastern Michigan’s last 9 games when playing Western Michigan.
Eastern Michigan is 5-13 SU in its last 18 games when playing Western Michigan.
Eastern Michigan is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Western Michigan.
Western Michigan is 4-0 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. Eastern Michigan is 1-1 SU when leading at the end of the third quarter.
Eastern Michigan is winless (0-6 SU) in games where it wins the turnover battle, and an even 1-1 SU when losing the turnover battle.
