College Football 27 Predicts Michigan State Football vs. Eastern Michigan

On Saturday, Michigan State football takes on Eastern Michigan. The Spartans kick off at 3:38 p.m. EST as 17.5-point favorites.

As I did before the matchup against Toledo, I turned to EA Sports’s College Football 27 to offer their own insights into the game. Last week, the sim predicted a heavy diet of Alessio Milivojevic (correct), only Cam Edwards carrying the ball (incorrect), and Michigan State football scoring 30 points (correct).

This week, it is time to see how CFB27 goes on predictions.

(Note: This was done with me as a bystander, neither side was selected nor was a snap played at any point.)

Mandatory Reminder: This is a COMPUTER SIMULATION.

First Quarter

The simulation Spartans got the football first, and Alessio Milivojevic had a connection with Chrishon McCray going strong early. Milivojevic found McCray for three first downs, and also found Carson Gulker for a first down in the redzone.

However, Eastern Michigan EDGE Jefferson Adam sacked the quarterback on third down to force a 39-yard attempt by Liam Boyd which was good.

The Eagles and Noah Kim got the ball, and Michael Richard set the tone, batting the ball away on first down. An Isaac Smith pressure on third down forced a throw away and punt.

The Spartans were forced into a punt after four plays on their drive.

Noah Kim led the Eagles to the Michigan State football nine-yard line, ending the first quarter.

Second Quarter

Isaac Smith got a third-down sack, but was offsides. On the second chance, Braydon Bennett punched the ball in from one yard out to give the Eagles a 6-3 lead, boosted to 7-3 after the extra point.

The Spartans were forced into another punt after a Jefferson Adam sack, again. The Eagles returned it to their own 45, as well. Eli Coenen forced a fourth down with a third-and-2 run stuff. Eastern punted to the Spartan 5.

The Spartans had their own drive to midfield, but they also got forced into a punt to the Eagle 9.

That set the Spartans up for their two-minute drill, with Alessio Milivojevic finding Chrishon McCray for 30 yards to put MSU on the Eagle 22. Following another sack, Milivojevic found Fredrick Moore for a 30-yard touchdown.

Noah Kim and Eastern responded, driving the ball to the MSU10 with 30 seconds left in the half. Kim finished the drive himself, running it in from 12 yards out with 4 seconds on the clock.

Third Quarter

Eastern Michigan got the ball, and drove down the field, capped by an option pitch to Bennett to put the Eagles up by 11 with 10:48 left in the third quarter.

Milivojevic responded with a deep shot to the stand-in for Rod Bullard (no roster update since he was ruled eligible) to place MSU at the Eagle 30. The drive would stall there, and Boyd missed a field goal from 48 yards.

The Eagles methodically responded with a drive, finished with a 25-yard touchdown strike to go up by 18 with 4:31 left in the third.

The Spartans drove to the Eastern Michigan 37, but inexplicably chose to punt on fourth and short.

The Eagles drove to their 44 to run the time out on the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Spartans got gashed apart, with Noah Kim running the ball in from 20 yards out for the dagger. The Eagles led by 25 with 12 minutes left in the final stanza.

An OPI forced an MSU deep shot, where Milivojevic found the Bullard replacement to put MSU at the EMU35. The Spartans drove down to the Eagle 6, but a fourth down turnover ended any chances of a comeback.

The Spartans forced a punt, and then drove to the Eagles 30 with a Milivojevic shot to Moore on fourth down. One play later, Milivojevic found McCray for a touchdown to cut the lead to 18.

The onside kick was recovered by Eastern with 2:16 left. The Eagles drove to a first down with 1:12 left, and the Spartans were helpless to stop the clock. Eastern upset the Spartans, 35-17.

Ironically, this is right around the area where most outlets project a Michigan State victory.

The Spartans struggled with two yards per carry, and Alessio Milivojevic was sacked six times in the loss. He had 42 dropbacks, with Cam Edwards only getting 18 carries.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to remind myself (and you) that this is a computer simulation.

Final

Eastern Michigan 35

Michigan State 17