Mizzou football vs. Eastern Michigan: Three-minute preview

When/where: 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Columbia

TV/radio: SEC Network alternate; KMBZ (98.1 FM)

The series: Missouri leads 1-0

The line: Missouri by 24  1/2

What’s at stake

During the last five seasons since Missouri joined the Southeastern Conference, Eastern Michigan is 8-41 with no more than two wins in any season. Third-year coach Chris Creighton is 4-21 at the Eagles’ helm, so it’s a downtrodden program that the Tigers should dispatch with relative ease. This is a chance to build some confidence before the conference opener next Saturday versus Georgia.

Cheers if ...

Missouri sustains drives and puts up points. The final numbers for the Tigers’ offense at West Virginia, including 282 yards passing and 180 yards rushing, were fine, but Drew Lock and company must find a way to turn that production into more than 11 points. None of MU’s first 12 drives lasted longer than 2 minutes, 42 seconds, including 10 drives of six plays or fewer.

Jeers if ...

Missouri’s defense struggles again. Eastern Michigan plays a similar style to West Virginia, but isn’t likely to have nearly the same caliber of athletes. The familiarity should help the Tigers’ D shore up its week-one mistakes. Certainly, the talent is there for a Mizzou bounceback, but defensive coordinator DeMontie Cross’ unit can’t afford another week without a sack or giving up 400-plus yards.

Tod Palmer’s pick: Missouri, 37-12

First-year coach Barry Odom’s inaugural game at Memorial Stadium should be a cakewalk. Having said that, Eastern Michigan did put up 61 points, albeit against Mississippi Valley State, in a season-opening win last week. Still, the Eagles are 0-8 all-time against Southeastern Conference teams and Missouri has never lost to a Mid-American Athletic Conference team other than Bowling Gree (three times).

Three things about Eastern Michigan

1 The Eagles haven’t haven’t had a winning season since 1995 and only went .500 one in that span (6-6 in 2011). Eastern Michigan has averaged 2.8 wins during the last 20 seasons. That includes a 44-24 loss at Mizzou in 1997, the schools’ only previous meeting. Quarterback Charlie Batch had the Eagles within three at halftime, but Larry Smith’s Tigers pulled away in the second half.

2 Eastern Michigan’s 61 points last week tied for the fifth-most in program and are the most in a non-overtime game since 1956. The Eagles scored eight touchdowns, including five rushing scores, as sophomore running backs Shaq Vann, who had 20 carries for 156 yards, and Ian Eriksen, who had 12 carries for 97 yards, each found the end zone twice.

3 Utilizing new defensive coordinator Neal Neathery’s 4-2-5 scheme, the Eagles only allowed 201 yards, including 23 yards rushing, against Mississippi Valley State, a struggling Football Championship Subdivision program. Senior defensive Pat O’Connor, who is four sacks from Eastern Michigan’s career record, led the way with two sacks and 2  1/2 tackles for a loss.

Key matchup

Missouri’s defensive line vs. Eastern Michigan’s offensive line: Unusual as it’s been, the Tigers’ performance up front at West Virginia raised red flags, especially for an interior of the line that got gashed in the run game. The Eagles churned out 281 yards on 44 carries, a healthy 6.4-yard average, on the ground last week and will arrive in Columbia brimming with confidence.

This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Mizzou football vs. Eastern Michigan: Three-minute preview."