College Football Previews - NCAA Football Betting Odds - Preview 2006 Wagering

Eastern Michigan Eagles 2006 Preview

Eastern Michigan Football Preview By: Matt Fargo
Matt Fargo remains the NUMBER ONE handicapper in 2005 at the Professional Handicappers League --- get his premium plays here.

college football previews : #110 – Eastern Michigan Eagles Preview

by: Matt Fargo

Spring practices are in the books and fall camps will be here before you know it so that means getting an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season. Knowing the teams now will save you time in August and Matt Fargo is here to help you get a grasp of what to expect this upcoming year. We go from worst to first in this 2006 College Football Preview.

#110 – Eastern Michigan Eagles 4-7 SU; 7-4 ATS

Fargo’s Take - It was an up and down season for the Eagles last year as they started the season at 3-2 only to lose five straight games before closing the season with a win at Buffalo. The final three losses were by a combined 10 points and all three could have gone Eastern Michigan’s way but it simply could not close the deal. Things should not get much worse if the offense comes together but it doesn’t look like things will get much better either. The lack of a quarterback and a running game are the biggest issues heading into the fall and those two areas need to be corrected in a hurry for the Eagles to have any chance of improving on their four wins. The defense was not great last season but it was decent enough to hold six teams to 24 or fewer points. The secondary is the biggest concern on that side of the ball as the rest of the unit should once again be effective. Eastern Michigan has one of the best place kickers in the country in Andrew Wellock but he had some struggles last season after being a 2004 Lou Groza finalist. He could very be an X-factor this year.

Returning Starters on Offense – 6 The loss of quarterback Matt Bohnet hurts the offense right out of the gate and Eastern Michigan is likely going to struggle early on in the season to find its rhythm. A running game can make up for breaking in a new quarterback but unfortunately for the Eagles, they have no running game to speak of. Their leading returning rusher is Tyler Jones who gained just 267 yards last season. The return of Pierre Walker, who missed last season with an injury, could help matters if he is back to full strength. The biggest weapon is receiver Eric Deslauriers who finished with 874 receiving yards last year but matching that total could be difficult if a formidable quarterback cannot be found.

Returning Starters on Defense – 7 Eastern Michigan finished 67th in the country in scoring defense last season which is pretty respectable coming out of the MAC. The strength was its passing defense which was 46th in the nation but unfortunately, that will be the weakness this season as three sophomores and three freshmen are part of the eight-player two-deep chart. A strong defensive line and deep linebackers will help make up for some of the backfield deficiencies but not all. It is up to the defense to keep the Eagles in games early in the season so the offense can find its identity but that will be a tough task to take on. Many other MAC teams will be breaking in new offenses so that will definitely be of assistance.

Schedule - The three top teams in the Sun Belt from last season all host North Texas and that is discouraging news for the Mean Green. They do however get Middle Tennessee, Florida International and Florida Atlantic at home to make up for it. This team never shies away from a tough non-conference slate and that is the case again this season with games at Texas, Tulsa and Akron. The last two might not look intimidating but both should win their respective divisions within their conferences. Home games against SMU and Louisiana Tech round out the non-conference schedule.

You can bet on… North Texas will try and re-establish itself as one of the best running teams in the country simply because it has no other choice. Run and you win, if you don’t you lose plain and simple. If the young quarterback(s) can take a big step this year, North Texas can win the SBC but that is a big if and that is why this is still a middle of the conference team. Fouts Field used to be an intimidating place but a 0-5 SU record and 1-4 ATS mark last year took away a lot of luster. Thus, we could see some small numbers in home games once again but possibly see the results reversed this season if they can rediscover the formula for winning.