Subscribe
Follow Us
It is a Michigan MAC battle as Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan square off. It is time to continue our College Football odds series with an Eastern Michigan-Central Michigan prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
Eastern Michigan enters the game sitting at 2-2 on the season. They opened the season with a win over Howard. After taking a 30-6 lead, Howard made a small comeback. They made it a seven-point game before Eastern Michigan kicked a field goal in the fourth to win by ten. Minnesota was next on the schedule, and it was a 25-6 loss as the offense struggled. The Eagles rebounded with a win the next week. It was a tight game against UMASS. With 2:42 left in the game, UMASS took the lead, but Eastern Michigan would score in just 1:22 to take the lead again and the win. The next week the offense would struggle once again, this time to Jacksonville State. Eastern Michigan failed to score and lost 21-0.
Meanwhile, Central Michigan is also 2-2 on the season, but with a slightly tougher schedule. They fell in week one to Michigan State, losing 31-7. The next week Central Michigan would be taken to the wire with New Hampshire. With no time remaining, they hit a field goal to take a 45-42 victory over the FCS school. The enjoyment of the win would be short-lived though, as the next week they faced Notre Dame, and would fall 41-17. They would rebound though and take their second close victory of the year. After leading in the fourth quarter with South Alabama, the Jaguars scored twice, and Central Michigan was down three with just 2:42 left in the game. They would drive the field for the win though, and move to 2-2 on the year.
Here are the college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Eastern Michigan-Central Michigan Odds
Eastern Michigan: +8.5 (-108)
Central Michigan: -8.5 (-112)
Over: 47.5 (-108)
Under: 47.5 (-112)
How to Watch Eastern Michigan vs. Central Michigan
TV: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 1:30 PM ET/10:30 AM PT
*Watch college football LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Eastern Michigan Will Cover The Spread
Article Continues Below
Eastern Michigan is based in the running game this year. That starts with Samson Evans. This year he has run for 216 yards on 38 attempts this year. He has just one rushing touchdown, but he is getting solid blocking. He is averaging over three yards per carry before first contact this year. Meanwhile, Jaylon Jackson completed the duo out of the backfield. He has 38 rushes as well this year but for just 194 yards. He is more of a straight-ahead runner, and is getting first contact earlier, but still, has over three yards per carry after contact. Jackson has also scored one this year.
Meanwhile, the third leading rusher on the team is Austin Smith. This is not from designed runs though, the quarterback has scrambled for 104 yards this year while being under pressure. Austin Smith has struggled at quarterback this year. He is just 46-86 passing for 454 yards. Smith has two touchdowns but has three interceptions this year. He also has seven more turnover-worthy passes on the season. Smith has been pressured 46 times on 107 dropbacks this year, and that has led to 11 sacks and 11 scrambles for positive yardage.
While the offense has struggled, the defense has tried to pick up the slack. On the pass rush, they have 57 quarterback pressures this year with eight sacks. That is led by Mikah Coleman who has 12 of those pressures and three sacks. Still, they have struggled with the run. They barely have over a 50 percent success rate against the run, and the leading tackle in the run game, Joe Sparacio is averaging making his tackles 4.7 yards downfield. Eastern Michigan has also missed 25 tackles this year in the run game.
Why Central Michigan Will Cover The Spread
For Central Michigan, it will most likely be Jase Bauer once again at quarterback. With starting quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr. still reeling from an injury, Bauer is expected to start once again. He has been solid this year, completing 31-59 passes for 381 yards and a touchdown. He does have four turnover-worthy passes but has not thrown an interception. Bauer has also been sacked just twice this year, although he has been under pressure in half of his dropbacks this season.
Bauer has also run well this year. He has 126 yards rushing on the season on 23 designed runs. That has led to him scoring five times this year on the ground, but he does have four fumbles, although not all of them were lost. The primary running back for Central Michigan has been Myles Bailey. He has 213 yards running this year with two touches. He is not getting the best blocking though. While he is averaging 4.3 yards per carry, 3.66 of those yards are coming after first contact this year.
Still, Jase Bauer has a clear top target to throw to. That is Jesse Prewitt III. Prewitt has brought in 13 of 14 targets thrown his way for 233 yards and two scores. He does great after the catch as well, racking up 103 yards after the catch this year. The only missed target this year was in a contested ball situation, but he has brought down the two other contested balls this year.
On defense, Central Michigan has struggled in the pass rush this year. While they do have 55 quarterback pressures, they have come away with just four sacks on the season. Two of those come from Jacques Bristol. He has 12 pressures as well this year and two quarterback pressures, plus a batted pass. Meanwhile, Central Michigan has been fair against the run. They have 51 stops for offensive failures on 95 rushing attempts. They have multiple guys with their average point of tackle behind the line of scrimmage and have just missed 19 tackles in the run game.
Final Eastern Michigan-Central Michigan Prediction & Pick
Central Michigan has not been great on defense this year, but they are facing an Eastern Michigan offense that has struggled all year. The offense for Central Michigan can more than hold the game though. Jase Bauer has been solid at quarterback this year for Central Michigan. He will be able to move the ball in this game. Eastern Michigan is very one-dimensional on offense and has not shown they can move the ball. Take Central Michigan in this battle.
Final Eastern Michigan-Central Michigan Prediction & Pick: Central Michigan -8.5 (-112)
