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South Alabama gets a home game for their bowl as they face Eastern Michigan. It is time to continue our College Football odds series with a 68 Venture Bowl South Alabama-Eastern Michigan prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
This bowl in Mobile Alabama began in 1999 under the name the Mobile Alabama Bowl. It has been rebranded multiple times, first as the GMAC Bowl from 2001 through 2010. Then it became the GoDaddy Bowl before moving to Dollar General and Lending Tree. This year, 68 Ventures takes the name. It has been hosted at Ladd-Peebles Stadiums the entire time, the home of South Alabama. Further, it has seen some amazing players come through. Former game MVPs include LaDanian Tomlinson, Byron Leftwich, Ben Roethlisberger, Kareem Hunt, Malik Willis, and Frank Gore Jr.
South Alabama will be the technical away team in this one and has never played in this bowl game. They enter the game sitting at 6-6 on the year, coming in third in the Sun Belt West. They were one of 12 teams from the conference to be eligible for a bowl game. After starting with a loss to Tulane, they beat Oklahoma State just two weeks later. Since then, they have been a middle-of-the-pack Sun Belt team, finishing 4-4 in conference play.
Meanwhile, Eastern Michigan also comes in at 6-6 on the year. In the non-conference schedule, they went 2-2, beating Howard and UMASS. but falling to Minnesota and Jacksonville State. after falling to 2-4 in conference play, they beat Akron and Buffalo in the last two weeks of the season to jump to 6-6 overall.
Here are the college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
America's Game Odds: South Alabama-Eastern Michigan Odds
South Alabama: -16.5 (-105)
Eastern Michigan: +16.5 (-115)
Over: 45.5 (-108)
Under: 45.5 (-105)
How to Watch South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan
Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT
TV: ESPN
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why South Alabama Will Cover The Spread
The South Alamaba offense ranked 37th in the nation in points per game this year, while sitting 35th in yards per game. They were 68th in the run while sitting 35th in the pass this year. There is an issue at quarterback for South Alabama. Carter Bradley leads the team but has been dealing with a knee injury. Bradley enters the game with 2,650 yards on the year with 67.45 percent passing and 19 touchdowns.
He has thrown two touchdown passes in each of his last four games and eight of his last nine. Further, he protects the ball well, with just seven interceptions this year,r and only 12 turnover-worth passes on the season. If he cannot go, Desmond Trotter or Gio Lopez will start. Trotter has played in two games, completing 20 of 24 passes for 246 yards and four scores. Meanwhile, Lopez has played in four games, with 27 completions and 282 yards with a score.
The biggest issue for South Alabama comes in the running game. La'Damian Webb has 1,007 yards on the year and 16 scores. Still, he is not expected to play due to a toe injury. This will lead Kentrel Bullock as the main back. He has been solid this year, with 380 yards and three scores. Bullock has also been solid after contact, averaging 3.03 yards per play after contact this year. Behind him will be Marco Lee, who has 220 yards and two scores this year.
In the receiving game, it is all about Caullin Lacy. He has 91 receptions this year for 1,305 yards and seven touchdowns. Lacy averages just over nine years per reception after the catch and has been solid with his hands. He has just five drips this year while bringing in five of 12 contested catches. This year, Lacy has brought in 53 receptions for first downs. Still, he could be out for this game due to his entering the transfer portal. If he is out, Jamaal Pirtchett will need to step up. He had 755 yards this year and six scores.
On defense, South Alabama sits 19th in points allowed, while also sitting 16th in yards allowed per game this year. They are 28th against the rush while sitting 27th against the pass. Jaden Vosin, the first team All-Sun Belt Player leads the way. He comes into the game with six quarterback pressures, and considering he is a safety that is not bad. Still, he is solid in the running game with 20 stops for offensive failures. He is also solid in the passing game. He has allowed under 50 percent of passes his way to be completed while picking off four balls and having another six pass breakups.
Why Eastern Michigan Will Cover The Spread
Eastern Michigan is not the highest-scoring offense,se sitting 115th in FBS in scoring this year. Further, they are 129th in yards per game, while sitting 105th in the rush and 123rd in the past. Austin Smith has been the leader of the offense, with a 56 percent completion percentage and 1,773 yards. He also has nine touchdowns and seven interceptions. Further, he has 330 yards on the ground and two scores. He is in the transfer portal though, and may not play in this game. That would most likely put Ike Udengwu III in at quarterback. He has passed for just 99 yards this year with two interceptions.
Still, the running game is strong for Eastern Michigan. It is led by Samson Evans. He comes into the game with 631 yards and 12 touchdowns. Further, he has been solid after contact with 2.64 yards per carry after the first contact this year. Still, this is a far cry from his production last year, where he had over 1,1000 yards and scored 16 times. He has been spelled by Jaylon Jackson, who has 572 yards on the year, and two scores.
Tanner Knue leads the way in the receiving game this year. He has 476 yards on the year with three scores in the receiving game. Meanwhile, Hamze El-Zayat comes in with 374 yards and two scores this year.
On defense, Eastern Michigan sits 49th in point scored against this year, while sitting 60th in yards against this year. They are 99th against the rush, but sitting 33rd against the pass. Still, the biggest help on defense is field position. Eastern Michigan comes in with the best punter in the conference. Mitchell Tomasek earned first-team All-MASC honors this year. He has 26 punts inside the 20-yard line, while 25 of his 72 punts this year were downed or went out of bounds, unable to be returned.
Final South Alabama-Eastern Michigan Prediction & Pick
This is a field position game overall. The best chance Eastern Michigan has is to play the field position game and break a few big plays. They have the players to do just that. While they will not win this game, they should keep it close. Betting the +16.5 should be easy, but this is a home game for South Alabama. If this jumps to 17.5, it is a much better number. Still, Eastern Michigan should be able to slow the clock enough and make enough stops to keep this under 17.
Final South Alabama-Eastern Michigan Prediction & Pick: Eastern Michigan +16.5 (-115)
