68 Ventures Bowl point spread: Picking Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. South Alabama Jaguars
The first bowl games of the season are underway and there are some more good ones coming this weekend. One of them is the 68 Ventures Bowl between Eastern Michigan vs. South Alabama, a game that will pit two 6-6 teams against each other with a winning or losing season on the line.
South Alabama enters as the favorite, and On3’s Andy Staples dives into the matchup to determine a winner. We’ll get his thoughts below.
How to watch Eastern Michigan vs. South Alabama
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN or ESPN+,FuboTV (streaming)
Location: Mobile, Ala.
To start things off, Staples laid out the point spread that the game will be picked on.
“South Alabama is a 16.5-point favorite in this game,” he said. “They’re also playing a home game. Also they’re pretty darned good.”
Indeed South Alabama has the luxury of playing right at home, with the 68 Ventures Bowl taking place in Mobile, Ala. Eastern Michigan will have to travel a good ways, while South Alabama can simply step outside in its backyard.
But there are some interesting wrinkles in the contest. Like many bowl games, the 68 Ventures Bowl will be impacted by player availability and bowl opt-outs.
“Caullin Lacy is gone, though, he’s headed off to Louisville. Their best receiver,” Staples said. “La’Damian Webb is out. Their best running back. Kentrel Bullock and Braylon McReynolds will carry the load.”
That is a huge amount of production gone for South Alabama. Webb had run for 1,007 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Lacy had accounted for 1,316 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
So the offense might take a little bit to get in sync when the 68 Ventures Bowl begins.
It’s one reason Staples considered taking Eastern Michigan and the points.
“Eastern Michigan, if you didn’t have to go into the Jaguars’ den I might like that big number,” Staples said. “But you know what, I think I’m going to go with South Alabama and Kane Wommack, who was a hot coaching name during this carousel, but still in Mobile, so I think they’re pretty happy about that there.”
Staples later changed his mind and decided to flip a coin for his pick in the 68 Ventures Bowl.
“The coin says Eastern Michigan,” he said with a laugh. “Coin’s getting a lot of points in that game.”