The Eastern Michigan Eagles and the Liberty Flames will square off on Saturday evening at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.
The Eagles are 7-5 this season and are coming off a 31-10 road loss against the Central Michigan Chippewas. Senior quarterback Ben Bryant finished 24-of-35 for 221 yards.
The Flames are also 7-5 but are riding a three-game losing streak after losing 31-16 at home to the Army Black Knights. Junior quarterback Malik Willis went 24-of-46 for 305 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Eastern Michigan at Liberty Betting Preview
Playing Well Out Wide
The Eastern Michigan Eagles have been throwing the ball effectively to junior wide receiver Hassan Beydoun this season.
So far this season, he has 86 receptions for 932 yards (10.8 yards per catch) with four receiving touchdowns as well as two rushing attempts for two yards (one yard per carry). In his last game against Central Michigan, Beydoun finished with eight catches for 69 yards (8.6 yards per reception).
The defense of the Eastern Michigan Eagles has been struggling thus far as they are giving up 27.8 points per game. In their previous game against the Central Michigan Chippewas. Eastern Michigan allowed 31 points on 366 total yards of offense (130 passing, 236 rushing).
The Chippewas had no trouble moving the ball as they were 6-of-15 on third down tries and 2-of-4 on fourth down attempts. The Eagles need to get stops against the opposing running attack as they allowed 4.5 yards per carry.
Young Blood Stepping Up
Freshman wide receiver Demario Douglas has been playing relatively well this season for the Liberty Flames as he has 49 catches for 679 yards (13.9 yards per reception) with five receiving touchdowns as well as a two-yard rushing attempt.
In his last game against Army, Douglas had four receptions for 27 yards (6.8 yards per catch).
The Liberty Flames have been doing pretty well on the defensive side of the field this season as they are allowing 21.7 points per game. In their previous game against the Army Black Knights, Liberty gave up 31 points on 322 total yards of offense (102 passing, 220 rushing).
The Black Knights went 7-of-14 on third-down attempts and converted both of their fourth-down opportunities. Army passed for 25.5 passing yards per pass attempt in just four passing attempts.
Who to Bet: Eastern Michigan or Liberty?
The Liberty Flames are currently favored by 9.5 points in this game, according to some of the top sportsbooks in the entire United States as of this writing.
The Eagles only have tight end Bryson Cannon (undisclosed) ruled out while the Flames have defensive tackle Micaiah Overton, safety Quinton Reese, defensive tackle Henry Chibueze, and safety Javon Scruggs (all undisclosed) are listed as questionable, while wide receiver Ahmad Jackson (undisclosed) is out for this game.
The defenses are the biggest difference in the previous three games as the Eagles are giving up 28.7 points while the Flames are allowing 33.3 points in that span. Eastern Michigan is 28-13 against the spread in their previous 41 games as an underdog, while Liberty has failed to cover in each of their last four non-conference games.
All in all, go with the Eastern Michigan Eagles to cover the spread getting almost double-digit points.
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