Football Set to Meet Nationally Ranked LSU on ESPNU

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team wraps up non-conference play in 2015 when it travels to Baton Rouge, La. to square off with the Tigers of Louisiana State University, Oct. 3. This marks the first ever matchup between the two schools. The Eagles (1-3, 0-1 MAC) are coming off of a 58-36 loss at the hands of Army West Point, while the nationally-ranked Tigers (3-0, 2-0 SEC) enter the week with a 34-24 road win against Syracuse University.
   The contest will be shown on ESPNU with Allen Bestwick providing play-by-play and Dan Hawkins serving as the analyst. WEMU (89.1 FM) will provide audio coverage of the game with Matt Shepard and Rob Rubick calling the action on the field.

DOWN ON THE BAYOU: The trip to Baton Rouge will be the 10th venture into the state of Louisiana for the Eastern Michigan football team. EMU made its first trip to the Pelican State, Nov. 4, 1967, which resulted in a 12-10 loss to Northeast Louisiana (now known as Louisiana Monroe). The last time the Eagles flew to bayou was during the 2006 season when the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette spoiled the day with a 33-14 win over EMU, Sept. 30.

ALL-TIME VS THE SEC: Eastern Michigan has never defeated an SEC opponent in seven tries. The last time EMU played an SEC team was last season in a 65-0 defeat at the hands of Florida, Sept. 6, 2014.

VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS: This will be the 11th time EMU has played an opponent ranked in the Associated Press/Amway Coaches poll. LSU comes into the contest ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll and No. 8 in the coaches' poll. Eastern is winless in the last 10 tries against ranked teams. The Eagles last played a ranked team in 2014 when they lost 73-14 to No. 11 Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., Sept 20. This will only be the second time EMU has faced an opponent in the top 10, the last time was when it played No. 2 Ohio State, Sept. 25, 2010, in Columbus, Ohio.

FINDING PAY DIRT: Darius Jackson notched some EMU history against Army West Point, rushing for two more touchdowns. Since 1972, he is the only EMU non-quarterback to account for at least two touchdowns in four consecutive games.
   The Sparta, Ill. native is also in some more select company as one of just eight student-athletes since 1972 to have scored a rushing touchdown in four-or-more contests. Anthony Sherrell holds the program standard of six consecutive games with a score on the ground during the 2003 campaign.

TOUCHDOWN JACKSON: Senior running back Darius Jackson scored two more touchdowns against Army West Point, Sept. 26. He has now scored two touchdowns in each of the first four games, and has totaled 48 points on the season. That is tops in the MAC and ninth in the nation. Jackson also recorded his second career 100-yard rushing performance against Army, finishing with a career-high 142 yards on 16 carries.

JACKSON CLOSE TO A MILESTONE: With 418 rushing yards on the season, Darius Jackson has now racked up 915 yards in his career, leaving him 85 yards short of becoming one of at least 24 players to join the exclusive 1,000 yard rushing club. Jackson only had 295 yards in all of 2014.

BOMBS AWAY: Despite having one of the more efficient offenses in the FBS, Eastern Michigan still has occasionally punted the ball away. Luckily they have been one of the best in the country at that as well. EMU currently ranks 13th in the country (first in the MAC) in net punting at 42.14 yards per punt.
   Furthermore, redshirt sophomore punter Austin Barnes is second in the MAC in punting, averaging a booming 47.00 yards per punt. He has five punts of over 50 yards including a long of 55 yards, and has also landed seven of his 14 punts inside the 20 yard line.

STEADY EDDIE: Freshman wide receiver Eddie Daugherty had another big performance against Army West Point. He finished with five catches for a career-high 109 yards and a touchdown. It was the second 100-yard receiving game of his young career. He is currently the leading receiver for the Eagles with 255 yards on 13 receptions.

ATTACKING ARMY THROUGH THE AIR: Prior to its matchup with EMU, Army had not allowed a passing touchdown during the 2015 campaign. Eastern Michigan scored two such touchdowns in the contest, Sept. 26. One came on a 23-yard strike to Kris Strange, while the other came on a 45-yard pass to Eddie Daugherty.

CLUB BROWN: Junior linebacker Anthony Brown performed admirably against Army West Point, Sept. 26, despite having a clubbed cast around his injured hand. He finished the game tying a career-high of nine tackles including one for loss. He also had the play of the game, forcing a fumble on a pitch where he clubbed the ball away with his taped hand. The ball was recovered by the Eagles and eventually led to a field goal.

PICK BECK: Sophomore defensive back Jason Beck recorded the first Eagle interception of the season against Army West Point when he halted a potential scoring opportunity with a pick in the end zone. It was the second interception of his career, the first coming against Buffalo, Oct. 11, 2014.

FINDING SOME OFFENSE: For someone to say the Eagles' offense has improved would be a major understatement. Eastern Michigan has piled up 135 points and 1,742 total yards in the team's first four contests in 2015. In the first year under offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer's system the offense surpassed the 1,700-yard plateau in the seventh game of the year while collecting its 130th point in game number 10.

EMU AGAINST A HEISMAN HOPEFUL: LSU sophomore running back Leonard Fournette is considered by many to be a contender for this season's Heisman Trophy award. Eastern Michigan has faced a player who finished in the top-10 of Heisman voting in that same year just five times. Only once has that player been invited to the ceremony in New York City as a finalist, that being in 2013 when former Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch finished in third place.

RED HOT IN THE RED ZONE: Eastern Michigan has been one of the most efficient teams in the red-zone through four games this season, scoring on 12 of 14 (86%) attempts, which is good for fifth in the MAC and 56th in the country. Ten of those scores have been touchdowns for the Green and White.

TIME OF POSSESSION BATTLE: Through four games this season, the time of possession battle has been on a decline for the Eagles. After winning the T.O.P in the first game, EMU has lost the battle in the next three game in increasing increments, culminating in an 18:42 to 41:18 loss to Army West Point.

BIGGEST PLAYERS: In a list comprised by all FBS level SID's, it was determined that freshman offensive lineman Pete Bergman is the eighth largest football player in the FBS based off height and weight measures. The 6-9, 295 pound Wyoming native is tied for the third tallest player in the country.

NATIONAL TV AUDIENCE: The game against LSU will be broadcast to a national television audience when it appears on ESPNU. It will be the first time since the Eagles' contest at Army West Point, Oct. 12, 2013, that the Green and White have appeared on national television.

AKRON UP NEXT: Following the final non-conference game of the season for Eastern, the Eagles continue MAC play at home inside Rynearson Stadium against Akron Saturday, Oct. 10. The Zips hold an 18-12 all-time advantage over EMU. The game marks the 95th homecoming for the Green and White. Eastern is 44-41-2 in homecoming games, including winning last year's game 37-27 over Buffalo, Oct. 11.

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Players Mentioned

Austin Barnes

Jason Beck

Pete Bergman

Anthony Brown

Eddie Daugherty IV

Darius Jackson

Kris Strange

Eastern Michigan Athletics