The Eastern Michigan Eagles soar into Kalamazoo to throw down with the Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday, October 22nd at 3:30 p.m. ET. The inter-state rivalry will been broadcast over the ESPN 3 Network. The Broncos are -23.5 point favorites ion their home turf and the over/under is now at 58.5.
In their match-up last year, Western Michigan scored early and often against the Eastern Michigan defense. They routed the Eagles 58-28 in Eastern Michigan. The home team did manage to score a touchdown in every quarter against the Broncos.
Eastern Michigan (5-2):
In last week’s contest the Eagles beat the Ohio bobcats 27-20 and moved to 5-2 for the first time in over twenty years. Back-up quarterback Brock Roback, threw for a career-high 347 yards and three scores.
In fact, that was the second consecutive game he has tossed for over 300 yards since taking the helm when starter Todd Porter went down with a shoulder injury. So far, Brock Roback has completed 61 passes for 740 yards and seven touchdowns and one pick.
Ian Erickson needs to get the Eastern Michigan rushing attack back in order if they hope to keep the underrated Broncos defense honest. Eastern Michigan has totaled 150 yards on the ground the last two games and have finished with fewer than 100 three times. The tail back has rumbled for 428 yards on 110 carries and five scores.
Sergio Bailey and Antoine Porter have benefitted from the Eagles new-found passing attack. Together, they have reeled in over 60 catches for almost 800 yards and six touchdowns. Two other Eastern Michigan wide outs have three touchdown grabs also.
The Eagles defense isn’t anything special, ranking 69th in total defense (406 ypg). This is largely in part to their 97th ranked secondary play. Eastern Michigan’s 266 yards against will likely get worse after they face the potent passing attack of Western Michigan.
#20 Western Michigan (7-0):
Western Michigan has flexed it’s MAC muscles after it’s opening victory on the road over the BIG-10’s Northwestern Wildcats. Altogether, the Broncos have won their last six football games by an average of four touchdowns.
Signal-caller Zack Terrell is the best quarterback in the MAC and his numbers prove it. After last week’s affair, the senior has just under 1,600 yards passing with 17 scores and zero interceptions. In fact, Western Michigan has only turned the ball over one time all year.
The Broncos are as balanced as it gets for a team that wants to keep opposing defenses guessing whether to defend the pass first or the run. Jarvion Franklin and Jamauri Bogan are proving to be quite productive out of their run sets. Combined, the two tail backs have over 1,300 yards rushing and 11 trips to pay-dirt. Zack Terrell also has five rushing trips to the back of the end zone.
When Western Michigan needs to score through the air, there is little doubt as to they will throw the ball up to. Wide receiver Corey Davis has 10 of the Broncos 17 touchdown grabs. He also has 652 yards receiving on 44 catches.
Western Michigan’s defense is pretty darn good, ranking second in the MAC in fewest yards allowed per game. To top that off, they haven’t allowed over 300 the last three times they have fielded the grid-iron. Oh by the way, the Broncos are 17th in the country giving up only 17 points a game.
A big reason for the solid numbers is the play of stand-out Keion Adams. The Broncos defensive end has been quite the disrupter this season, racking up 11 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks.
Trends and Notes:
The Eagles are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
The Broncos are 14-6 ATS in their last 20 conference games.
The Under is 5-0 in the Eagles last 5 games overall.
The Over is 4-0 in the Broncos last 4 home games.
The Eagles are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 meetings in Western Michigan.
Game Prediction:
Eastern Michigan has surprised a lot of folks in the MAC this season. Especially when their starting quarterback went down and they only improved afterwards. The Eagles will once again look to play the roll of underdog when they play the Broncos on Saturday.
Western Michigan has lived-up to all their pre-season hype and then some. Their 7-0 record and they way they have went about it is proof enough. Now, they are home against a team they laid 58 on last year.
There’s quite a lot of confidence flowing out of Las Vegas right now, as the Broncos are -23.5 point favorites at home. After following them for the last several weeks, I see why. The combination of their running game and their passing attack has been deadly. Throw in the fact that they have only one turnover and Eastern Michigan has their work cut-out for them.
For most of the season, the Eagles have been an underdog against their opponents. That’s suited this squad just fine, covering their last five ballgames and winning a few outright. A win is highly unlikely, but they have proven they can score enough to cover their spreads.
If Western Michigan puts another beat-down on them, the chances of hitting the over is good. Besides that, this new quarterback over in Eastern Michigan seems to have something going. So for that reason alone, the Get More Sport’s posse says take the over 58.5.
Swing into getmoresports.com and look around for some other games that might be on the menu for your college football betting tastes.
