2017 Week 12 Preview: Eastern Michigan at Miami

After their disappointing loss in Mt. Pleasant, the Eastern Michigan Eagles knocked themselves out of contention to go to a bowl game. The 3-7 Eagles continue their travels on the road and head down to Oxford, Ohio to face the 4-6 Miami-Ohio Redhawks.

When Miami has the ball:

The Miami RedHawk offense is led by Gus Ragland who averages 233 yards per game with a 53.8% completion rate and has been picked 6 times. Time on the running game is split between Kenny Young who averages 69.6 yards per game and Alonzo Smith who averages 59.5 yards per game. The leading receiver is James Gardner.

They are facing a pretty stingy defense that is led by Maxx Crosby and Jeremiah Harris. The Eagles defense has only allowed 22.5 points per game this year. This total is probably worse if you eliminate the times the offense has put the defense behind the 8 ball.

When Eastern Michigan has the ball:

The Eastern Michigan offense is led by Brogan Roback. Last week, he managed to throw 5 picks against Central Michigan. Despite that, Eastern Michigan kept the game within striking distance. The running attack is still being led by Ian Eriksen but hopefully Shaq Vann will make an appearance. The Eastern Michigan receiving leader is still Sergio Bailey.

The Eagles are facing a defense that is led by Brad Koenig. The Redhawks defense has given up 25.5 points per game. They are kind of stingy in the air by giving up only 204.3 yards per game. But Brogan Roback is an experienced quarterback and I hope that he bounces back form last week.

What to expect:

The Miami RedHawks still have an outside shot of getting into a bowl game. The Eagles are playing for pride. If they can pick up the last two wins, maybe there is some salvaging of the season. I expect a close game but I think the RedHawks are going to pull it out.

Kenneth Bailey