Getty Head coach Chris Creighton of the Eastern Michigan Eagles.
MACtion is back on Wednesday night as Eastern Michigan and Kent State kick off their condensed seasons.
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The game (6 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on regular TV anywhere, but anyone in the US can watch Eastern Michigan vs Kent State live on ESPN+ right here:
ESPN+ is the digital streaming service from ESPN that has live college football (select MAC, AAC, Big 12, Conference USA and Sun Belt games) and dozens of other sports, every 30-for-30 documentary, and additional original content (both video and written) all for $5.99 per month.
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Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch Eastern Michigan vs Kent State live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
Eastern Michigan vs Kent State Preview
Kent State surprised everyone last year, rebounding from a two-win season to finish 7-6, making the Frisco Bowl and winning against Utah State 51-41. The victory capped a streak of four consecutive wins to close out the year for the Golden Flashes.
Golden Flashes coach Sean Lewis is optimistic his team can continue on that track of success after having preseason camp, albeit it was much long than expected due to COVID-19.
“We kind of got into a rhythm with our preseason camp. We took the approach of going three good work days and taking a day off, the philosophy behind it being let’s not get too far down the road or map anything too far out,” said Lewis. “We planned out three days, then assessed where we were at and what variables had changed as we headed into the next three days. That worked out very well for us. We were able to get in the same amount of practices as we would in a normal preseason camp.”
Kent State will face a familiar foe in Eastern Michigan. The Golden Flashes got the best of them in the MAC finale last season, 34-26.
“I feel like I’ve been studying their tape for years,” Lewis said. “We ended the [2019] regular season with them, and the amount of time we invested in them with what was at stake in that game was huge. Then you turn around this year and you’re watching the same clips, and you throw in the bowl game clips with their contest against Pitt, who they took to the very edge … they’re a very disciplined football team.”
Eastern Michigan is coming off a 6-7 season which ended with them losing to Pitt in the Quick Lane Bowl. Junior Preston Hutchinson takes over at QB for EMU.
“We’ve lost a lot of offensive skill, a lot of production,” EMU head coach Chris Creighton said. “And so that always starts at the quarterback position, and so we’re going to have to make sure that we’re playing great at that position. And then there’ll be some new faces at receiver and running back, and I feel pretty good about our offensive line and our tight ends.”
Kent State is a 4.5-point favorite for the matchup. The total is set at 65.5. The Golden Flashes are 5-0 against the spread in their last five games.