The Wednesday slate of midweek MACtion kicks off with our Eastern Michigan vs. Kent State college football betting prediction. Each team is battling for something different in this Wednesday night matchup, and the Golden Flashes sit as pretty heavy favorites.
Eastern Michigan vs. Kent State Betting Preview
- Spread
Kent State (-7.5) - Moneyline
Kent State (-285); Eastern Michigan (+240) - Over/Under
60 points - Game time
6 p.m. ET - Location
Dix Stadium, Kent, OH - Predicted weather at kickoff
35 degrees, cloudy, 9-10 mph winds - How to watch
fuboTV, ESPN 2
Top DFS Picks and Fantasy Plays
- QB Collin Schlee, Kent State ($11,000)
- QB Austin Smith, Eastern Michigan ($8,300)
- QB Taylor Powell, Eastern Michigan ($8,300)
- RB Samson Evans, Eastern Michigan ($10,200)
- RB Marquez Cooper, Kent State ($9,800)
- RB Bryan Bradford, Kent State ($5,700)
- RB Jaylon Jackson, Eastern Michigan ($5,000)
- RB Darius Boone Jr., Eastern Michigan ($5,000)
- WR Devontez Walker, Kent State ($9,600)
- WR Dante Cephas, Kent State ($8,500)
- WR Tanner Knue, Eastern Michigan ($8,000)
- WR Ja’Shaun Poke, Kent State ($7,700)
- WR Hassan Beydoun, Eastern Michigan ($6,200)
- WR Dylan Drummond, Eastern Michigan ($6,000)
- WR Darius Lassiter, Eastern Michigan ($5,800)
- WR Trell Harris, Kent State ($5,500)
- WR Raymond James, Kent State ($5,300)
- WR Marcus Harris, Kent State ($4,800)
Last week, Collin Schlee looked like the midseason version of himself in his second game back following a short absence. Schlee threw for three touchdowns and hit multiple big shots downfield to his talented receivers in a blowout victory against Bowling Green.
Schlee is in line for a favorable matchup here. Eastern Michigan has allowed 19 touchdowns this year, a bottom-half figure in the MAC. There is plenty of talent in the EMU secondary, but Schlee has the chops to distribute the ball and go through his reads, finding the Golden Flash receivers in space.
With that in mind, Devontez Walker takes top billing, as he’s hauled in 10 touchdowns this year, the fifth most in the country. Walker leads the country’s top receivers in terms of touchdowns per reception, hauling in a scoring catch once every 4.7 catches. You can bet he’s in line to score here.
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Samson Evans draws the top billing from Eastern Michigan, deservedly so. Evans has scored 12 touchdowns on the ground and is on pace to break the 1,000-yard mark this season. He averages over five yards per carry and goes against a Kent State defense that allows 159.6 yards per game, 84th in the country.
It’s hard to get too excited around the EMU passing attack, given the fact that either Taylor Powell or Austin Smith could go at a moment’s notice. Together, they’ve thrown just 14 touchdown passes and average fewer than seven yards per attempt.
Tanner Knue is the only play from the EMU receiving corps, as he’s the go-to in the red zone and in short-area situations.
Prediction for Eastern Michigan vs. Kent State
Kent State got off the proverbial schneid in Schlee’s second game back, scoring 40 points in what felt like a blink of an eye. Schlee can score and has the arm talent to be one of the better MAC quarterbacks next fall. Getting to a bowl game will go a long way toward establishing himself as just that, and they need victories in both of their final two games to do so.
The Eastern Michigan defense will be the ultimate deciding factor in this game. Kempton Shine, Joshua Scott, and Mark Lee Jr. will certainly be tested at cornerback. Their rotation at safety has not been the same since veteran Blake Bogan was lost to injury.
Given the fact that Schlee sees the most success when he’s kept clean, EMU’s pass rushing will also go a long way at keeping Kent State off the scoreboard. However, the Eagles’ pass-rushing unit is led by one man — Jose Ramirez.
Keying on Ramirez has kept the EMU pass rush off most quarterbacks this year, if you can key on Ramirez, that is. Bookend tackles Marcellus Marshall (6’5″, 331) and Savion Washington (6’8″, 342) have the strength to do so, while their interior linemen can pick up stunts to keep Schlee clean.
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For EMU to have a chance in this game, they’ll have to produce more on offense than their averages. They’ve lacked consistency this season, looking like a well-rounded team at times while completely faltering in the next outing.
Avoiding that slip-up game and utilizing their rushing attack is the recipe for success here. Riding Samson Evans to victory seems key, but can he and the offensive line get after enough to just simply outscore Kent State? That’s the doubtful aspect.
Schlee outlasts the Eagles, dropping a few downfield dimes along the way to reach one game away from bowl eligibility.
Prediction: Kent State 38, Eastern Michigan 23
