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Western Michigan takes their 4-3 (2-1 MAC) record and makes the short trek to Ypsilanti to face the 3-3 (0-2 MAC) Eagles. Western Michigan is coming off a win against the Miami RedHakws. Eastern Michigan hopes to erase their disappointing loss against the Ball State Cardinals.
What do 103, 49, 164, 94, 63 and 89 have in common? These are the rushing yards in each of Eastern Michigan’s games. That averages out to a paltry 94 yards per game. I suspect if Eastern Michigan is going to have a chance in this game, they are going to have to get their running game in gear. Their current leading rusher is Willie Parker as Shaq Vann has been absent from the past couple of games.
Quarterback Mike Glass III has been decent with 65.6% completion rate and 268 yards per game but he’s thrown 8 picks, four of those in the last two games. He also has been able to get the ball around with Arthur Jackson, Dylan Drummond and Mathew Sexton all averaging around 45 yards per game. Eastern Michigan has given up 13 sacks and given that Western Michigan has 23 sacks, I think they get to Glass a few times this game.
Looking at the numbers, Eastern Michigan hasn’t been great on defense giving up over 400 total yards per game. However a bright spot has been Turan Rush with 5 sacks and 5 tackles for loss.
To say the Broncos have been an offensive juggernaut would be almost an understatement. In addition to their 183 yards on the ground, they have gained 276 yards in the air per game. They are led by quarterback Jon Wassink who has similar numbers to Mike Glass III. They also have three receivers who have over 45 yards per game in Skyy Moore, Keith Mixon Jr. and Giovanni Ricci. Their rushing attack is lead by LeVante Bellamy who averages 109 yards per game. They average 35 points per game.
The Western Michigan defense has 9 interceptions, 6 fumble recoveries and 23 sacks. I expect they will put enough pressure on Mike Glass and I don’t have confidence when he is pressured.
For some reason, I don’t expect Eastern Michigan to pull this one off but sometimes they surprise me.