Liberty vs. Eastern Michigan Odds, Date: Opening Spread, Total for 2021 LendingTree Bowl

Liberty vs. Eastern Michigan Odds

Liberty is set to take on Eastern Michigan in the LendingTree Bowl on Dec. 18 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. Find our expert's projected odds, a recap of each team's seasons, plus more information on the LendingTree Bowl below.

Liberty vs. Eastern Michigan Projected Odds

These Liberty vs. Eastern Michigan projections are based on Collin Wilson's college football power ratings, which help power our PRO Projections — they compare all of his projections to real-time college football odds in order to easily identify betting edges.

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How Liberty Reached the LendingTree Bowl

It was a tale of two seasons for Liberty, which looked remarkably better in the first half than it did in the second.

The Flames raced out to a 5-1 start straight up and against the spread, pulling off an upset win over UAB and losing to Syracuse by just three. However, Liberty dropped four of its final six games, including three by double digits. The program has covered only once since Oct. 10.

Quarterback Malik Willis also experienced peaks and valleys, recording a whopping 12 interceptions across his final seven games after recording zero over the first five.

After cashing nine of their 11 spreads a year ago, the Flames settled for a 6-6 clip in 2021.

Still, it’s the third straight bowl bid at the post for head coach Hugh Freeze. He’s 4-1 in bowls dating back to his previous stint at Ole Miss.

How Eastern Michigan Reached the LendingTree Bowl

Eastern Michigan earned it in 2021, with three of their final four games coming via upset.

Head coach Chris Creighton remains one of the most underappreciated in the country. Following a 3-21 clip across his first two seasons in Ypsilanti, he’s taken the program to a bowl game in four of the last five, full seasons.

However, he’s still without a postseason victory over his eight-year tenure.

The Eagles do the bulk of their damage through the air. They’re just outside the top-20 nationally in pass rate (54.2%), with north of 260 yards collected per game.

The offense shelled up a bit down the stretch, averaging a meager 19 points per contest the final three.

Liberty vs. Eastern Michigan Matchup Analysis

Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Liberty and Eastern Michigan match up statistically:

Liberty Offense vs. Eastern Michigan Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	18	127
Line Yards	5	125
Pass Success	58	114
Pass Blocking**	54	19
Big Play	58	107
Havoc	103	119
Finishing Drives	22	81
** Pass Blocking (Off.) vs. Pass Rush (Def.)

Eastern Michigan Offense vs. Liberty Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	94	65
Line Yards	92	80
Pass Success	38	16
Pass Blocking**	51	14
Big Play	29	57
Havoc	80	21
Finishing Drives	23	62
** Pass Blocking (Off.) vs. Pass Rush (Def.)

Pace of Play / Other

PFF Tackling	25	76
Coverage	73	115
Middle 8	11	31
SP+ Special Teams	92	10
Plays per Minute	79	100
Rush Rate	57.1% (48)	50.3% (94)

LendingTree Bowl Date, Time, TV, More Info

• Date: Dec. 18
• Time: 5:45 p.m. ET
• Location: Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama
• TV Info: ESPN

The LendingTree Bowl is making its debut at Hancock Whitney Stadium in 2021, home of the South Alabama Jaguars, after being played at Ladd-Peebles.

The ACC, C-USA and WAC all had previous conference tie-ins to the LendingTree Bowl, which has also been dubbed the Mobile Alabama Bowl, the GMAC Bowl, the GoDaddy.com Bowl, the GoDaddy Bowl (literally, just minus the dot com), and most recently, the Dollar General Bowl.

The last four contests have featured double-digit scoring margins, while each of the last three MVPs were quarterbacks.

The LendingTree Bowl’s been volatile on the schedule, with a nearly-even split between pre- and post-Christmas Day matchups.