The Massachusetts Minutemen (1-8, 0-5) will travel to meet the Eastern Michigan Eagles (1-9, 0-6) this week in a contest between two struggling MAC teams. The MAC’s second-leading rusher, Darius Jackson (941 yards, 13 TDs), and the third-leading receiver, Tajae Sharpe (1,033 yards, 4 TDs), will be key to the outcome of this matchup. It starts at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov 14 and will be available on ESP3.
In last week’s matchup, Eastern Michigan fell to Miami (OH) 28-13. Shaq Vann had a solid performance running the ball in the loss, carrying six times for 62 yards. Massachusetts also fell short, losing to Akron 17-13. Rodney Mills had a good performance for the Minutemen, totaling six receptions for 62 yards.
Massachusetts is a seven-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 67 points.
Sitting at 1-9 Straight Up (SU) and 3-6-1 Against The Spread (ATS), the Eagles will look to improve heading into Week 11. In the past five games, Eastern Michigan is 0-5 SU and 0-4-1 ATS. Teams complete passes at a high percentage against the Minutemen. They allow a completion rate of 64.6% to their opponents, 110th in the nation. Massachusetts’s defense could make it easy on the Eagles coming out from halftime. The Minutemen allow an average of 12.4 points in the third quarter, making them one of the worst in the country.
Over on the other sideline, the Minutemen have a record of 2-7 ATS and 1-8 SU. Massachusetts has hit a wall in its five most recent games, putting up 0-5 SU and ATS records. Massachusetts’s game plan centers around passing the football. The Minutemen pass 46.6 times per game. Shifting to the other side of the ball, it might be tough for the Eagles to keep up with Massachusetts’s defense in a few areas. The Eagles need to make smart throws against the opportunistic Minutemen. The defense ranks 25th in the country in interceptions with 1.2 per game. The Eagles defense usually doesn’t head in the right direction in the second quarter. They allow 14.3 points heading into the break this year, one of the worst in the nation.
Predictions: SU Winner – Massachusetts, ATS Winner – Massachusetts, O/U – Over
Notes
Eastern Michigan is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Eastern Michigan’s last 7 games.
Eastern Michigan is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games.
Eastern Michigan is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Eastern Michigan’s last 6 games at home.
Eastern Michigan is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Massachusetts is 1-0 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. Eastern Michigan is 1-1 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Eastern Michigan is winless (0-7 SU) in games where it comes out ahead in the turnover battle, and an even 1-1 SU when losing the turnover battle.
The Eastern Michigan rushing attack is ranked 57th nationally, compared to the 113th-ranked run defense of Massachusetts.
