Eastern Michigan Eagles vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/09/2023

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Saturday, September 9, 2023

Venue:  Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN

Where to Watch:  Big Ten Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  EMU +20.5, Minnesota -20.5; Over/Under:  48.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  EMU +20.5, Minnesota -20.5; Over/Under:  48 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  EMU +20.5, Minnesota -20.5; Over/Under:  48 points

Eastern Michigan Eagles:  1-0 (0-0) (2nd place, MAC West)

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  1-0 (1-0) (1st place, Big Ten West)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Amedeus Mastrangelo is on a HOT STREAK in CFB coming off a MASSIVE 9-2 CFB WEEKEND! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Eastern Michigan Eagles:  won their last game at home against the Howard Bison 33-23.

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  won their last game at home against the Nebraska Cornhuskers 13-10.

Eastern Michigan is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Howard 33-23. Austin Smith was the starting QB and he completed 19/28 passes for 175 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Samson Evans led the team in rushing yards with 52 and had 1 TD. Tanner Knue led the receivers with 73 receiving yards on 8 receptions and also had 1 TD. Joseph Sparacio led the defense in that game with 4 solo tackles and 6 assisted tackles while Tim Grant-Randall led the defense in sacks with 1.5. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that game.

 

 

 

Minnesota is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall and they have a 1-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against Nebraska 13-10. Athan Kaliakmanis was the starting QB and he completed 24/44 passes for 196 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Sean Tyler led the team in rushing yards with 41. Daniel Jackson led the receivers with 68 receiving yards on 9 receptions and also had 1 TD. Tre'Von Jones led the defense in that game with 8 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Danny Striggow led the defense in sacks with 1.5. Tyler Nubin led the defense in interceptions with 2 while Tre'Von Jones also had 1 in that game.

The current betting odds have Eastern Michigan listed as a 20.5 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Minnesota won their 1st game of the season and they were a really good team last season but it has been their defense that is keeping them in games since their offense hasn't been putting up a ton of points. They only beat Nebraska 13-10 in their 1st game at home and now they are at home again but MAC schools always come to play power 5 schools hard so EMU will be looking to keep this a close game. The Minnesota defense is going to be key in this game as they will carry the team here. Eastern Michigan won't score a lot of points on that defense, but they are still going to put some points up and the Minnesota offense is also going to struggle to put points up after their performance at home in week 1. This is too many points for Minnesota to cover against EMU who will keep themselves in this game. The best way to place a bet here is on Eastern Michigan to cover the spread in this game.

Eastern Michigan Minnesota Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 9, 2023 (7:30 pm ET start time) is Minnesota 21 EMU 10.

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Eastern Michigan Eagles: 16-34 ATS off a home win. 14-22 ATS when the total is between 42.5 and 49. 14-7 UNDER as a road underdog of 14.5 to 21 points. 

Minnesota Golden Gophers: 7-2 ATS off a home win. 11-6 ATS after a game where they committed 1 or less turnovers. 12-6 UNDER as a favorite. 10-5 UNDER in home games. 

Eastern Michigan Eagles:  J. Gomez (K) Ques Sat - Undisclosed.

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  L. Finnessy (DL) Ques Sat - Undisclosed. D. Jefferies (DL) Ques Sat - Undisclosed. D. LeCaptain (LB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed. C. Lindenberg (LB) Ques Sat - Leg. C. McDonald (DB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed. C. Autman-Bell (WR) Ques Sat - Undisclosed. J. Geers (TE) Out indefinitely - Leg.

"When former teammates and Demarius' father both thought that this new tradition was a great way to honor his memory, we knew we got it right. I truly believe that wearing 'The Deuce' will forever be a special honor in this program." - Chris Creighton on Tanner Knue wearing number 2 this season.

"Excited to be 1-0 in the Nebraska season. We got to get a lot better, and there's a difference between saying we want to be better and then getting better and being better and that's what this whole week is gonna be about. 0-0. That's kind of restarted all season, just like we talked about. It's like we've always done.” - P.J. Fleck after his team’s win against Nebraska in their last game.

WR Mitchell III, JB 

WR Knue, Tanner 

WR El-Zayat, Hamze 

TE Paaske, Andreas 

QB Smith, Austin 

RB Evans, Samson 

WR Jackson, Daniel 

WR Autman-Bell, Chris 

WR Crooms Jr., Corey 

TE Spann-Ford, Brevyn 

QB Kaliakmanis, Athan 

RB Tyler, Sean 

Passing: A. Smith (175)

Rushing: S. Evans (52)

Receiving: T. Knue (73)

Touchdowns: T. Knue (1)

Passing: A. Kaliakmanis (196)

Rushing: S. Tyler (41)

Receiving: D. Jackson (68)

Touchdowns: D. Jackson (1)

Coaches:

Eastern Michigan Eagles: Chris Creighton (10th season)

Minnesota Golden Gophers: P.J. Fleck (7th season)