After finishing the regular season 6-6, the South Alabama Jaguars take on the 6-6 Eastern Michigan Eagles as 17.0-point favorites in a game with a 46.5-point total. Let’s dive into our South Alabama-Eastern Michigan odds, pick and prediction for this year’s 68 Ventures Bowl. If you’re looking for more college football bets, check out our college football betting tools and our guide to betting on football.
68 Ventures Bowl Pick: South Alabama-Eastern Michigan Bet
68 Ventures Bowl Odds
Odds via bet365
South Alabama: -850 | Eastern Michigan: +575
South Alabama -17.0: -110 | Eastern Michigan +17.0: -110
Over 46.5: -110 | Under 46.5: -110
Expert: Matt Gajewski
Time: Saturday, Dec. 23 at 9:00 p.m. ET
South Alabama-Eastern Michigan News & Notes
South Alabama Absence: WR Caullin Lacy, WR Devin Voisin, OL Josh McCulloch, OL Jordan Davis, RB La’Damian Webb
South Alabama Coaching Changes:
Eastern Michigan Absences: QB Austin Smith, TE Andreas Paaske, LB Mikah Coleman, S TJ Peavy, C Broderic Jordan, WR Von Swinton
Eastern Michigan Coaching Changes: N/A
South Alabama-Eastern Michigan Comparison
| Metric | South Alabama | Eastern Michigan |
|---|---|---|
| Pace | 55th | 91st |
| Overall Offense | 51st | 114th |
| Run Blocking | 52nd | 38th |
| Pass Blocking | 113th | 97th |
| Pass Rate | 51st | 70th |
| Overall Defense | 35th | 34th |
| Run Defense | 27th | 21st |
| Pass Rush | 36th | 54th |
| Coverage | 89th | 79th |
68 Ventures Bowl Pick & Prediction
The worst team to reach bowl eligibility by a wide margin, the 6-6 Eastern Michigan Eagles had their issues exacerbated by transfer portal departures. While South Alabama will deal with a few departures themselves, they at least will trot out a division one roster. Eastern Michigan reached bowl eligibility with the six weakest victories of any team in the post-season.
Already unable to score, Eastern Michigan’s starting quarterback Austin Smith entered the transfer portal. This leaves Ike Udengwu to take over behind an offensive line allowing a 29.1% pressure rate. Udengwu can’t run and only completes 46.4% of his passes for 3.5 yards per attempt.
Unfortunately for Udengwu, South Alabama plays solid defense, including the 27th ranked run defense and 36th ranked pass rush. This fully healthy unit should wreck an Eastern Michigan offensive line ranked 97th in pass blocking. South Alabama’s only weakness on defense comes from their 89th ranked secondary. Fortunately for them, Eastern Michigan couldn’t even throw on the worst teams in the MAC.
As for the South Alabama offense, Carter Bradley should start at quarterback after battling injury to close the year. Bradley has a solid 67.4% completion percentage for 8.1 yards per attempt, 19 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. South Alabama did lose their top two skill position players in RB La’Damian Webb and WR Caullin Lacy. However, both positions remain deep for the Jaguars, which should have no problem exploiting Eastern Michigan.
Eastern Michigan’s defense ranked 34th on paper. However, they lost LB Mikah Coleman and safety TJ Peavy. This unit also played one of the weakest strength of schedules in the entire country. They allowed 27 points to Akron, 45 to Western Michigan, 26 to Central Michigan, and even 23 to Howard. South Alabama should be able to move the ball with ease against this paper tiger.
While South Alabama should have no problem scoring, 17 points remains a lofty number for what projects to be a slow game. The top bet here will be an Eastern Michigan team total under, once available. For those making bowl selections, it is hard to fade South Alabama
68 Ventures Bowl Pick & Prediction and our South Alabama-Eastern Michigan Bet: South Alabama -17 -110 at bet365
