Eastern Michigan vs San Jose State Prediction, Odds and College Football Betting Picks for Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

The 2022 College Football Bowl Season continues on Tuesday afternoon on the blue turf in Boise, Idaho. The Eastern Michigan Eagles out of the MAC are set to clash with the San Jose State Spartans of the Mountain West in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Both teams have been involved in their fair share of close games this season. The Eastern Michigan vs San Jose State odds and college football betting picks are projecting another one in this matchup.

The following game preview provides the college football betting odds, trends and FEI Index ratings before sharing our official Eastern Michigan vs San Jose State prediction for the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl matchup.

Eastern Michigan vs San Jose State Prediction | College Football Betting Picks

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Eastern Michigan Eagles (8-4, 5-3 MAC) vs. San Jose State Spartans (7-4, 5-3 MWC)
Date: Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Time: 3:30 p.m. EST
Venue: Albertsons Stadium — Boise, ID
Coverage: ESPN

By all accounts, Eastern Michigan largely exceeded expectations this season. The Eagles upset a Power 5 opponent in Arizona State early on and only lost four games all year. Unfortunately, three of those defeats came in conference play and thus prevented EMU from reaching the MAC Championship Game. Despite not having a ton of pure talent, the Eagles have plenty of experience. Quarterback Taylor Powell and running back Samson Evans served as the two statistical leaders for a potent offense.

Following a 6-2 start to the year, San Jose State was in a great position to qualify for the Mountain West Championship Game. However, consecutive losses on the road to San Diego State and Utah State derailed those aspirations. The Spartans still boast one of the better passing offenses in all of college football. QB Chevan Cordeiro finished second in the MWC in passing yardage in his first season with the program. Wideout Elijah Cooks was his primary target and finished third in receiving yards.

Eastern Michigan vs San Jose State College Football Betting Picks and Odds

All college football betting odds for Eastern Michigan vs San Jose State can be found at BetOnline Sportsbook.

Moneyline: EMU: (+152) | SJSU: (-172)
Point Spread: EMU: +3.5 (-115) | SJSU: -3.5 (-105)
Total: 52.5 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

College Football FEI Ratings

The following table shares the Fremeau Efficiency Index rankings for both teams involved in this Famous Idaho Potato Bowl matchup. The purpose of the FEI ratings is to represent the per-possession scoring advantage that a team would be expected to have on a neutral field against an average opponent. The rankings for offense and defense are out of 131 total FBS-level teams.

Fremeau Efficiency Index (FEI) ratings are from Football Outsiders

Eastern Michigan vs San Jose State College Football Betting Trends

• Eagles are 4-0-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
• Spanning the last two years, Eagles are 5-1 ATS as a betting underdog of seven points or less.
• Each of the Eagles’ last four games played in the month of December has gone OVER the total.
• Spartans are 0-6 ATS in their last six games overall.
• The UNDER is 8-2 in the Spartans’ last ten games played in the month of December.
• Spartans are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games played in the month of December.
• Since 2015, Eagles are 3-0 ATS in three matchups against Mountain West Conference opponents.

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Eastern Michigan vs San Jose State Prediction | College Football Betting Picks

Unlike many other bowl games, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl doesn’t figure to be impacted by players opting out and/or entering the transfer portal. Both teams are expected to have their rosters largely intact on Tuesday. This certainly makes life easier for those making college football betting picks on the game as well.

One of the big issues for San Jose State in the latter part of the season was poor defense. After holding five of their first six opponents to 17 points or less, the Spartans gave up 28+ in three of their final five games. With extra time for nagging injuries to heal, one has to believe that SJSU will be more buttoned up defensively. Taylor Powell and the Eastern Michigan offense could be hard-pressed to replicate their offensive success from matchups against lesser defensive opponents.

On the other side of the ball, EMU ranked 120th out of 131 FBS teams in adjusted defensive efficiency. Although the Eagles did rank 22nd in passing yards allowed (195.9) defensively, some of that was undoubtedly a byproduct of playing in the run-heavy Mid-American Conference. Shutting down Chevan Cordeiro and a game-changing receiver like Elijah Cooks will be a much tougher task.

Even if the Eagles are somehow able to shut down Cordeiro and the San Jose State passing attack, they won’t be out of the woods just yet. Senior running back Kairee Robinson is more than capable of doing damage for the Spartans on the ground. He comes into the bowl game red-hot after piling up a season-high 148 yards rushing in the regular-season finale.

It should also be noted that San Jose State routed its only previous MAC opponent this season. The Spartans built a 17-0 halftime lead on their way to a 34-6 drubbing of Western Michigan back in September. Meanwhile, Eastern Michigan has not won a bowl game since 1987.

SAN JOSE STATE COVERS will be our official college football betting Eastern Michigan vs San Jose State prediction for the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

For what it’s worth, the ESPN Matchup Predictor gives San Jose State a 66.8% chance to win this game outright.

Bet: San Jose State -3.5 (-105 at BetOnline Sportsbook)