Date: Friday, December 23, 2016
Time: 1 pm (EST)
Venue: Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium (15,000); Nassau, Bahamas
TV: ESPN
Betting line: ODU (-6)
Series Record: ODU leads the series 2-0 with wins in each of the last two seasons. The Monarchs won 38-34 over the Eagles in 2015.
This year’s Popeye’s Bahamas Bowl match-up features programs that are not accustomed to going bowling, but for much different reasons.
Eastern Michigan (7-5 overall, 4-4 MAC) has been a perennial doormat in the MAC, but the Eagles’ program—which is going bowling for the first time since 1987 and mustered its first winning season in more than two decades (6-5 in 1995)—has found rare success under third-year coach Chris Creighton.