The Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-0) have opened up as a 19.5-point favorite over the Eastern Michigan Eagles (1-0). The over/under for the contest is set at 47.
The Golden Gophers are coming off a 13-10 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers last Thursday night, scoring 10 points in the game's final minutes to erase a 10-3 Nebraska lead. Athan Kaliakmanis was 24-for-44 for 196 yards and one touchdown, and Daniel Jackson recorded nine receptions for 68 yards and a score in the win.
Defensively, Minnesota allowed just 295 total yards in the win. Jeff Sims for Nebraska was unable to throw the bell particularly well against the Golden Gophers, completing just 11-of-19 passing attempts for 114 yards while throwing three interceptions. Their rush defense, however, did struggle against the Cornhuskers, allowing 181 yards over 37 attempts, an average of 4.9 yards per carry.
Eastern Michigan is coming off a 33-23 win over the Howard Bison; the Eagles took a 30-9 lead into halftime but allowed 14 points in the third quarter, allowing the Bison to tighten the game up, but the result was never in doubt.
Eastern Michigan totaled just 285 total yards of offense in the game despite the victory while allowing 398 yards to Buffalo, including 204 rushing yards. Quarterback Austin Smith completed 19 of 28 passing attempts in the game for 175 yards and a touchdown while throwing one interception. He also had 27 rushing yards on the day as well.
Saturday evening's matchup is set for a 6:30 p.m. local time kickoff. It will be the first-ever meeting between the Golden Gophers and Eagles.
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