Eastern Michigan Eagles 2022 College Football Preview
June 29, 2022
2021 Recap
Record – 7-6
ATS – 5-8
It was a pretty decent season for the FIGHTING CHRIS CREIGHTONS as they cobbled together seven regular season wins and pulled a couple of upsets along the way (Toledo, Western Michigan). It was MEN vs BOYS in the Lending Tree Bowl as Liberty ripped the Eagles to shreds (L 56-20) and that meant a final mark of 7-6.
Eastern Michigan Eagles 2022 Outlook
OFFENSE
Eastern Michigan had a tough time getting things going on the ground once again LY (119 YPG, #11 MAC) but QB Ben Bryant was able to move the chains pretty well with the THROW GAME (263 YPG, #2 MAC). The Eagles like to do their damage thru the air and they hope that new starting QB Taylor Powell (Troy) will be able to do the job. He’s got a mediocre 8-8 career TD to INT mark but should appreciate the drop in class to MACtion. The WR group is the deepest and most talented in the MAC and Hassan Beydoun comes in off an great 2021 performance (97, 1,015, 4 TD). Two of their top-three RBs are back in the mix but they’ll miss Juwon Hamilton who was the most explosive option (6.2). Four starters are back up front but they’ve gotta clean up the pass protection (42 sacks, #123 FBS). They should be at least as productive as LY (30.2 PPG) given the weapons available.
DEFENSE
The Eagles yielded 30+ PG for the 3rd consecutive season (30.0, #94 FBS) and were particularly horrible defending the run (198 YPG, #113). Six starters are back on this side of the football including their excellent DE Jose Ramirez who’s one of the best at his position in the MAC (6.5 sacks, 12 TFL, 10 QBH LY). The LB group is in good shape with the return of #1 tackler Tariq Speights and the addition of Michigan St (!) transfer Chase Kline. The back end features three returning starters and recall that Eastern Michigan allowed a respectable 58.5% completions LY. The Eagles might be a bit better on defense in 2022 but will need to find a way to top LY’s mediocre sack total (24, #7 MAC) if they wanna GIT ER DONE.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Crap. Eastern Michigan had a phenomenal kicking game in 2021 but must replace their excellent PK Chad Ryland (19-22 FG, 47-47 XP LY) and star punter Jake Julien (42.6 net). They need to find SPICIER options at KR and PR.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – The Eagles have a pair of nasty road games (Cajuns, Arizona St) after opening with FCS foe Eastern Kentucky but get three of the four MAC West BIG ‘UNS at home. They miss Miami Ohio in crossover play.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – October 1st – Massachusetts
This is a SANDWICH spot between a pair of MACtion affairs (Buffalo, at Western Michigan) and Eastern Michigan is on a 7-14 ATS run as home chalk.
Season Win Total
per BetOnline June 29
Over 6 +110
Under 6 -140
MEGALOCKS says:
No leanage.
That’s a sharp number. We’d nibble on an ‘over 5.5’ if it pops up. <grabs popcorn>
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Eastern Michigan is the only team in the MAC West that hasn’t won the division in the last 6Y.
HC Chris Creighton is a SPUNKY 25-12-1 ATS in the role of road underdog.
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
Chris Creighton has done a great job with a program that was PURE FILTH before he arrived. They haven’t been able to take that next step but they’ve been a very competitive MAC team in recent seasons and we don’t expect this year to be any different. We’ll call for another bowl appearance but hope they can stay in the MAC West race at least until November rolls around. Go Eagles!
Want more Eastern Michigan football ?
WEBSITE
https://emueagles.com/sports/football
FORUM
http://csnbbs.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=478
NEWS
http://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/2199/eastern-michigan-eagles