Eastern Michigan vs. Ohio Prediction: Week 12 College Football Picks

On the first night of MACtion in Week 12, half the conference took the field. On the second night of MACtion, the other half will battle between the lines. Six teams are on the program for Wednesday, and we have three big home favourites. An underdog, Akron, has taken money against Northern Illinois, while Kent State is headed for a bigger underdog against Miami of Ohio, and Eastern Michigan is seemingly unmoved by the way that line is moving against Ohio.

Four of the six teams in action are from the Buckeye State, and rain appears to be a possibility in two of the three games, so keep that in mind when handicapping the board.

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We start with Eastern Michigan vs. Ohio and goes from there.

For all of this week’s college football insight, check out our College Football Week 12 Hub.

19:00 ET

The most competitive game on Wednesday, at least according to the odds, should be this one between Eastern Michigan and Ohio. Ohio was an 8-point favorite at the open at Circa, but we’ve seen some Bobcat support here to bump that number up a few points. Eastern Michigan gave up 22 points to Toledo last time out and then went for the win after scoring a touchdown on a last-second heave and lost 29-28.

The Eagles have lost three of their last four, but control their own destiny for bowl eligibility and the Michigan MAC Trophy at the end of the season, as the only win was over rival Central Michigan. They have lost by 24 to Miami, 4 to Akron and then the heartbreaker 10 days ago.

Ohio has won four of five, but was beaten pretty soundly by Miami in that stretch. The RedHawks were up 30-6 entering the fourth quarter before the Bobcats put some cosmetic touches on the board.

This should be a good matchup for the Ohio offense. EMU has only allowed seven yards per carry. games in conference play. Ohio, meanwhile, is a top-35 defense by YPP, and they’ve allowed just 4.4 YPP in MAC play. The Bobcats are a top-25 offense in yards per game. carry, and this is where they should find success against EMU.

The Eagles also rank in the bottom 20 in yards per carry. game on offense and had fewer than five yards per game against Toledo in the last second defeat. We usually see line movement in games with big yards per game. game deviations and that’s exactly what we have here.

Pick: Ohio -10

Other Wednesday games

Kent State Golden Flashes at Miami (OH) RedHawks (-30.5, 46): This is the type of spread/total combination you would normally see early in the season in a non-conference game. If we combine spread and total, you’re basically looking at Miami to win this game 38-8, so the Golden Flashes aren’t expected to reach double digits.

They didn’t get any numbers against Ohio last week when Tommy Ulatowski and Devin Kargman weren’t used, giving third-stringer Ruel Tomlinson his first start. He was 8-of-18 for 62 yards and threw a pick along with five sacks. The freshman from the legendary Ginn Academy (Ted Ginn Sr.) in Cleveland had it rough, to say the least, in his first start.

Controversy surrounded Tomlinson’s first start as Ulatowski was said to be “knocked up” but did not appear on the injury report. No game at all here, of course, but the line implies that Tomlinson is starting again based on what my effect is.

Akron Zips at Northern Illinois Huskies (-15, 45): Weather may be a factor in DeKalb as rain and wind are in the forecast. That would hurt Akron, which has no running game to speak of and has relied heavily on Ben Finley’s arm. All things considered, he’s had a decent season with a 12/9 TD/INT ratio and 1,955 yards to this point.

NIU ripped off 5.9 yards per carry. carry last week against Western Michigan and had a punt return TD right after WMU scored a TD to tie the game at 21. I’m leaning Akron here, but will have to see what the weather looks like as kickoff approaches. Wind and rain certainly affect them much more at 3.2 yards per carry. carry as a team.