by Chuck Sommers
Monday, Nov 15, 2021
Game time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Rynearson Stadium, Ypsilanti, MI
Where to watch: ESPN2
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Western Michigan -5
BetMGM: Western Michigan -5.5
Caesars: Western Michigan -5
Season record
Western Michigan: 6-4 (3-3 MAC)
Eastern Michigan: 6-4 (3-3 MAC)
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Western Michigan - Eastern Michigan preview and analysis
Last week
Western Michigan: won 45-40 vs. Akron
Eastern Michigan: lost 34-26 vs. Ohio
Well, MACtion did not disappoint last week.
It would appear that the conference championship game is all but a lock and things are trending in the favor of the Northern Illinois Huskies facing (maybe) the Miami-Ohio Redhawks.
But the battle for MAC Michigan supremacy still has some postseason implications when the Eastern Michigan Eagles host the Western Michigan Broncos on Tuesday with the winner essentially cementing its bowl status for the season.
Tuesday night’s matchup is more imperative for Western Michigan if it wants to get to the conference title game. They’ll need to win out and get one more loss from the Central Michigan Chippewas, Ball State Cardinals and Toledo Rockets in order to get in the title game. Seems simple, right?
In all seriousness, these are two solid teams that should be playing come bowl season.
The Broncos are coming off a 5-point win over the Akron Zips a week ago that saw WMU rally with a game-winning touchdown pass from Kaleb Eleby to Corey Crooms to avoid the upset. Western Michigan had 533 total yards and even had the ball for less than four minutes less than the Zips but still made enough big-time plays to win the game.
Eleby threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns, and Sean Tyler ran for 147 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown to pace the WMU offense. It took a lot to hold off Akron quarterback Zach Gibson, who threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns.
It was a must-win for Western Michigan after dropping the previous two to Central Michigan and Toledo. Eastern Michigan had a two-game winning streak end with an 8-point loss to the Ohio Bobcats a week ago. EMU tied it 20-20 early in the third quarter thanks to a Dylan Drummond 5-yard score from Ben Bryant, but gave up two unanswered touchdowns in the second half and ran out of time for the comeback.
Bryant threw the ball an astounding 57 times to get 354 yards and only one touchdown to one interception. Bryant has seen his workload come up the last few weeks and he’s delivered, but he needed to get more scoring chances. That didn’t happen.
Things won’t get any easier against a Western Michigan pass defense that’s allowed only 210 yards through the air per game and a defense that’s given up under 350 yards per game. To face an Eastern Michigan defense that is leaky against the run.
Prediction
The road team here is a good play with running back Sean Tyler driving the offense very well on the ground. Western Michigan has the better all-around team and will be able to win on the heels of its secondary. Western Michigan by 13
Betting trends
Western Michigan is 2-9 in its last 11 ATS following a string of three straight conference games.
Western Michigan is 3-12 in its last 15 ATS as a road favorite between 3.5 and 7.
Eastern Michigan is 2-4 ATS in its last six as a home dog.
Statistical leaders
Western Michigan:
Passing: Kaleb Eleby -- 2,470 yards, 15 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Sean Tyler -- 837 yards, 7 TD
Receiving: Skyy Moore -- 869 yards, 5 TD
Defense: Ali Fayad -- 8 sacks
Eastern Michigan:
Passing: Ben Bryant -- 2,544 yards, 14 TD, 6 INT
Rushing: Jawon Hamilton -- 435 yards, 4 TD
Receiving: Hassan Beydoun -- 815 yards, 3 TD
Defense: Jose Ramirez -- 5 sacks
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
