Game time: 8 p.m. ET
Venue: Rynearson Stadium, Ypsilanti, MI
Where to watch: ESPN2
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Eastern Michigan -7
BetMGM: Eastern Michigan -6.5
Caesars: Eastern Michigan -6.5
Season record
Ohio: 2-7 (2-3 MAC)
Eastern Michigan: 6-3 (3-2 MAC)
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Ohio - Eastern Michigan preview and analysis
Last week
Ohio: won 35-33 vs.Miami-Ohio
Eastern Michigan: won 52-49 at Toledo
The Eastern Michigan Eagles will try to keep pace in the MAC West division and look for their third consecutive win when they host the Ohio Bobcats on Tuesday night.
Eastern Michigan’s offense has been rolling the last two weeks, two wins that have put the Eagles into likely bowl contention for the fourth time under head coach Chris Creighton.
The Eagles are coming off a blistering 52-49 shootout victory against the Toledo Rockets last week. Quarterback Ben Bryant threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns and withstood a rally from redshirt freshman quarterback Dequan Finn (461 yards, three touchdowns).
Eastern Michigan led 52-36 in the fourth quarter before the Rockets rallied with two late touchdowns, but failed to cover at -9.5. Good on you with EMU with the points if you had a wonderful teaser.
But we can’t bury the lede here: Toledo outgained Eastern Michigan by a whopping count of 672-490. Toledo had nearly 700 total yards of offense and lost. College football remains a weird sport.
And yet that might not have been the most shocking thing to come out of the MAC last week. Ohio, now at two wins this season, decided to play spoiler and upset the Miami-Ohio RedHawks by two points at home.
Miami, who entered as seven-point favorites, had to rally from 15 down for a chance to tie, but failed on the two-point conversion. Kurtis Rourke had an incredible game of 23 of 32 for 288 yards and three touchdowns; not quite to the absurdity of Brett Gabbert’s 492 yards and five touchdown passes, but that’s what happens when you trail 28-0 with 10:30 left in the third quarter.
Ohio’s win in the Battle of the Bricks flipped the entire state of the MAC on its axis. Miami-Ohio now is a game back of the Kent State Golden Flashes and the world appears on a collision course with the Northern Illinois Huskies in a potential conference championship showdown.
Eastern Michigan is two games back of Northern Illinois by way of tiebreaker (NIU won 27-20 on Oct. 2) but can find its way back in the race with some help along the way. That loss to the Ball State Cardinals three weeks ago did not help matters for their cause, either.
Prediction
Despite the 2-7 record, Ohio has been a tough out, especially over the last five weeks. In those losses to Kent State, Buffalo and Central Michigan, they all came within one possession. The Bobcats’ record would be much better had they cleaned up shop.
But I like Eastern Michigan just based on the battle on offense. The Eagles need a better effort on defense and Ohio seems like the perfect opponent to force some turnovers against. EMU has gone over 50 points the last two weeks, and you should expect a third. Eastern Michigan by 17
Betting trends
Ohio is 4-5 ATS this season.
Ohio is 4-1 ATS against conference opponents this season.
Eastern Michigan is 4-13 ATS in its last 17 following three straight overs.
The over is 10-2 in Eastern Michigan’s last 12 following a road game.
Statistical leaders
Ohio:
Passing: Kurtis Rourke -- 1,250 yards, 7 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: De’Montre Tuggle -- 622 yards, 7 TD
Receiving: Ty Walton -- 322 yards, 2 TD
Defense: Bryce Houston -- 70 tackles
Eastern Michigan:
Passing: Ben Bryant -- 2,190 yards, 13 TD, 5 INT
Rushing: Jawon Hamilton -- 411 yards, 4 TD
Receiving: Hassan Beydoun -- 730 yards, 3 TD
Defense: Turan Rush -- 3.5 sacks
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