Eastern Michigan Football 2024 Prediction and Preview with Betting Odds, Schedule, Key Returnees and Outlook

When Chris Creighton took over at Eastern Michigan in 2014, the Eagles hadn’t had a winning season since 1995 and had only one .500 season during that time. In his first 10 years, Eastern Michigan had four winning seasons and made six bowl appearances. While Creighton didn’t completely turn the program around, the Eagles have been much more competitive since his arrival.

Last season, the Eagles went 6-7 overall and 4-4 in the Mid-American Conference, earning their third consecutive bowl appearance. Two of their four MAC losses were by a touchdown or less. This year, Eastern Michigan should be competitive in at least six of its eight league games.

The Eagles will sign several new players, including one for the most important position: quarterback.

Eastern Michigan’s odds to win the MAC are +3500 according to BetMGM.

Eastern Michigan’s overall win odds are 4.5 (over/under), with Over 4.5 being -140 and Under 4.5 being +115.

31.08. at UMass

9/7 in Washington

14.9. against Jacksonville State

21.9. against Saint Francis

28.9. at Kent State

10/12 against Miami (Ohio)

19.10. against Central Michigan

26.10. in Akron

11/2 against Toledo

13.11. in Ohio

20.11. against Buffalo

30.11. in Western Michigan

MAC competitions in bold

2023 All-MAC First Team

P Mitchell Tomasek

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Eastern Michigan’s new quarterback is very familiar with the MAC.

Sixth-year senior Cole Snyder began his career at Rutgers before transferring to Buffalo. He started every game for the Bulls over the last two seasons, completing 57% of his passes for 5,139 yards, 31 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Ironically, his last game for Buffalo was a 24-11 loss at home to Eastern Michigan.

The running game will be a work in progress. EMU’s best returning ball carrier is Dontae McMillan, who rushed for 32 yards. One player to keep an eye on is sophomore Deion Brown, who scored a 64-yard touchdown in the spring game.

JB Mitchell III is the top returning receiver after catching 35 passes for 398 yards and a touchdown. Jere Getzinger, who started 10 of 13 games, is back at tight end.

The defense allowed 26.7 points per game, which ranked 67th nationally and was near the middle of the pack. Eastern Michigan’s best returning tackler is free safety Quentavius ​​Scandrett, who was third on the team with 59 tackles and also recorded two interceptions, the most on the team.

Leading the defensive line is Peyton Prince, who recorded 47 tackles, a solid number for a nose tackle. Price was also second on the team with four sacks. Fellow defensive end Justin Jefferson had the most tackles for loss on his team with 7.5.

Key to the defense will be replacing linebackers Chase Kline and Joe Sparacio, who combined for an incredible 279 tackles last year. One new addition to keep an eye on at linebacker is JT Killen, who transferred from Coastal Carolina and appeared in 55 games for the Chanticleers, recording 198 tackles.

The Eagles feature a dynamic kicking combination with first-team All-MAC punter Mitchell Tomasek, who averaged 45.7 yards per punt last year, and place kicker Jesus Gomez, who converted 12 of 16 field goal attempts, including two over 50 yards.

I predict Eastern Michigan will not win the MAC East and will win five games.

The Eagles should be competitive in most of their games, but turning them into wins will be a challenge. A lot will depend on Snyder’s play at quarterback. He was successful in the MAC during his time at Buffalo, but needs to reduce his interceptions. He threw nine last season.

The Eagles also need to establish a running game and the overall offense needs to improve after averaging just 19.5 points per game last year, which ranked 117th in the FBS.

Last season, the Eagles went 2-2 in non-league games, and to get to five wins, they would likely have to do so again against UMass, Washington, Jacksonville State and FCS Saint Francis. Eastern Michigan is likely a big underdog against teams like Toledo and Miami (Ohio), but the other six MAC games could go either way. If Eastern Michigan wins half of those games, the Eagles would win five games in that scenario.