College Football Sportsbook – Eastern Michigan vs. Northwestern
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BetUS NCAA College Football Sportsbook Odds: NORTHWESTERN -20, Total 52
Eastern Michigan brought back some of the old and brought in some of the new this season. Ron English, who has been a top level assistant at places like Michigan and Louisville, took over has head coach after the Eagles put forth a disappointing 3-9 season that featured a 2-6 mark in one of the weakest conferences in the country (the Mid-American Conference).
They have also been a lousy 4-7 ATS two years running in the college football sportsbook. English has high hopes for the program, and EMU had 16 starters coming back from last season’s club, so they have more experience. However, that has to manifest itself on the field, and in the opener, there were no signs of that. EMU went to West Point and took on an Army team that did not commit itself to passing the ball, putting it in the air only five times. Still, the Eagles could not stop the Cadets on the ground, allowing over six yards a carry, in a 27-14 loss in which they were held scoreless until the final quarter and were slaughtered in the college football sportsbook.
Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
EMU has covered four of its last 12 games
EMU has lost six of its last seven games SU
EMU has played six of its last nine games UNDER the total
EMU has lost six of its last seven road games SU
EMU has played four of its last five road games UNDER the total
NW has won 10 of its last 14 games SU
NW has won seven of its last nine home games SU 
The Eagles had three starters back on the offensive line, but that did not help as they were held to 1.4 yards per rush, and they could not protect QB Andy Schmitt either, as the senior quarterback sustained six sacks and was intercepted twice. This team really needs to get it together soon, and now they embark on the first of two straight games against Big Ten teams. It may sound a bit odd, but they might be in a look-ahead situation here, as Michigan, which is literally a neighbor (Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor are very close) is next up, and that was English’s most memorable coaching stop, having spent five years there as a defensive coordinator under Lloyd Carr.
Northwestern is not coming off a down season at all; they won nine games last year, including seven out of 12 against the number in the college football sportsbook, and gave Missouri quite the scare in the Alamo Bowl. The secondary is packed with four starters from last year, and this team should be able to get after Schmitt with linebacker Quentin Davis and defensive end Corey Wootton (ten sacks last year). What EMU has to worry about as well is the mobility of quarterback Mike Kafka, who ran for over 200 yards in one game last year. Replacing Tyrone Sutton, who had a great pre-season in the NFL, is not the easiest thing in the world, though.
We are also rather wary about laying this many points with a team that is not that explosive on the offensive end (24 ppg in ’08). EMU may have the QB edge, at least insofar as the air is concerned, and we’re not altogether certain Northwestern can carry this kind of number, as the Wildcats have covered just four of their last 19 in the home favorite’s role. Expect that English, a task master, will crack the whip on this offensive line, and if that component can provide even passable protection, EMU could hang around for a while, thus staying within range of the college football sportsbook line. You may want to keep an eye on Wootton, who will not be at full strength as he is recovering from an ACL that took him out of that Alamo Bowl game last year.
In a small recommendation, we’ll grab the points with Eastern Michigan, the 20-point underdog in the BetUS NCAA football odds.
OUR PLAY: EASTERN MICHIGAN +20 *
