Eastern Michigan is best road underdog in college football

Those who read Luckett’s Locks weekly best column at KSR+ are very familiar with Eastern Michigan football. This program has appeared more than a time or two in our search for winners. Why is that the case? Head coach Chris Creighton has consistently been the best road underdog in college football.

Since 2015, EMU is 30-12 against the spread (ATS) as a road underdog. That includes outright wins over Arizona State as a 20-point dog in 2022, Illinois as a nine-point dog in 2019, Purdue as a 16-point dog in 2018, and Rutgers as a five-point dog in 2017. The Eagles are 3-1 ATS since the pandemic against power conference competition. EMU is currently a 23.5-point underdog in Week 3 against Kentucky. This is typically where the Eagles play their best.

Saturday night will be the third time these two programs have faced off during this impressive cover run by Eastern Michigan. The Cats are 2-0 outright and 1-1 ATS against the Eagles. The Cats failed to cover in a 24-20 win as a 14-point favorite in 2017 in a game where EMU held Benny Snell Jr. to 75 yards on 21 carries. Two years later, Kentucky covered as a 15-point home favorite with a 38-17 win in a game where UK rolled up over 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards on 6.1 yards per play. The rubber match has arrived.

Eastern Michigan is not the only team in this matchup with a good trend in this spot. Kentucky is 17-6-2 ATS in its last 25 non-conference games. The Cats have won 11 consecutive games against Group of Six competition with a 9-2 ATS mark sine 2019. However, UK failed to cover as a 9.5-point favorite in Week 1 against Toledo but EMU failed to cover as a 13.5-point road underdog in Week 1 vs. Texas State.

One these trends will continue its strong cover percentage on Saturday night at Kroger Field.