Diving into the Stats
First thing I did was pull up a bunch of stats. I mean, a lot of stats. I looked at overall records, conference records, points scored, points allowed, rushing yards, passing yards... you name it, I probably looked at it.
Eastern Michigan (EMU): They're sitting wit.ecnereh a so-so record. Not terrible, not amazing. Seem to be okay in the Mid-American Conference.
Akron: Honestly, their record wasn't looking too hot. They've struggled a bit, especially in their conference games.
Head-to-Head Matchups
Next, I tried to see how these two teams have done against each other in the past. Sometimes there's a clear pattern, like one team always dominates the other. Other times, it's a total toss-up. I looked back a few years to get a feel for their history.
Checking Recent Performance
Of course, past performance isn't everything. A team could have been terrible last year and amazing this year, or vice-versa. So, I dug into their most recent games. I wanted to see:
- Are they on a winning streak or a losing streak?
- Are they scoring a lot of points, or struggling to put up numbers?
- Are they playing strong defense, or letting opponents run all over them?
Injuries and Other Factors
I tried to get a look if the are any major injuries on either team. A star quarterback being out can totally change the game. Also look at if are there any other factors, like maybe a team is playing at home (which usually gives them a slight advantage) or if there's some kind of rivalry between the schools.
Making My Prediction (Finally!)
After all that research, I took a deep breath and made my pick. It felt like a combination of looking at the numbers and using my gut feeling. I won't claim to be an expert, but I put my best guess out there. Of course, game day is full of surprises, so anything could happen! But that's what made it so fun to do.
