Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Western Michigan
Flashback Homecoming Set for Saturday
10/22/2007 5:53:00 PM | Football
EMU to tangle with Western Michigan at 3:30 p.m.
Click Here for the Complete Game Notes (PDF).
Click Here to Listen to the Game via WEMU.
Click Here for Live Stats.
43rd MEETING: Western Michigan leads the series, 26-14-2. WMU won last year's matchup, 18-15, Oct. 28. The last time the two teams met in Rynearson Stadium was Oct. 4, 2003 and the Broncos spoiled EMU's Homecoming, 31-3. EMU hosted Western at Ford Field in Detroit, Nov. 5, 2005, and the Broncos captured a 44-36 shootout.
FLASHBACK HOMECOMING: Saturday's (Oct. 27) EMU-WMU game in Rynearson Stadium will be the 80th Homecoming game in Eastern Michigan history. This year's theme is "Flashback Homecoming" with a tribute to the 1970s and 1980s. The Homecoming tradition started in 1926 when then Michigan Normal College defeated Kalamazoo College, 19-0, Nov. 29, 1926. The Green and White are 42-35-2 in Homecoming games in Ypsilanti. The Eagles have won the last two Homecoming contests, beating Toledo, 17-13, last season (Oct. 21) and handing Kent State a 27-20 setback in 2005 (Oct. 1).
JASON JONES FOURTH IN THE NATION: Senior defensive tackle Jason Jones (Southfield, Mich.-Lathrup) is currently ranked fourth in the nation in tackles-for-loss with a 2.0 per-game average.
SATURDAY PREVIEW: Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan will be meeting for the 43rd time when the two Mid-American Conference West Division rivals square off Saturday (Oct. 27) in a 3:30 p.m. game in EMU's Rynearson Stadium. The game will be the 75th Homecoming game in Eastern Michigan history. This year's theme is "Flashback Homecoming" with a tribute to the 1970s and 1980s. The Homecoming tradition started in 1926 when then-Michigan Normal College defeated Kalamazoo College, 19-0, Nov. 29, 1926. The Green and White are 42-35-2 in Homecoming games in Ypsilanti. The Eagles have won the last two Homecoming contests, beating Toledo, 17-13, last season (Oct. 21) and handing Kent State a 27-20 setback in 2005 (Oct. 1). The matchup will be a key one in the West Division with Western Michigan third with a 2-1 record while EMU is fourth at 1-2. The Broncos are 3-5 overall and the Eagles are 2-6 overall.
STATELY BREAKDOWN: The EMU football roster has 60 players from the state of Michigan, 15 from Ohio, eight from Florida, two each from Indiana and Virginia, and one each from Washington D.C., Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Illinois, New York and Georgia.
GAGE SETS MARK: Redshirt sophomore wide receiver-kick return specialist Dontayo Gage (Pontiac, Mich.-Northern) broke the EMU single-season kickoff return yardage record when he had three returns for 105 yards in last weekend's (Oct. 19) game against Northwestern University. The 105 yards against the Wildcats give Gage 784 yards on 30 returns this season. Gage breaks the mark of 725 yards in returns by Trumaine Riley in 2003.
STRONG IN RELIEF: With starting quarterback Andy Schmitt (St. Johns, Mich.-St. Johns) out of action last weekend (Oct. 19) against Northwestern with a shoulder sprain, true freshman Kyle McMahon (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Pontiac Notre Dame Prep) was called on for his first collegiate start. The 6-foot-3, 206-pound freshman came up with a strong effort, completing 28-of-48 passes for 282 yards and adding 44 yards on 13 carries on the ground. In addition, McMahon ran for touchdowns of five and 19 yards. He had three interceptions in the game.
MID-SEASON ACCOLADES: Five EMU players have earned mention on Phil Steele's College Football Preview magazine mid-season All-American and All-Mid-American Conference rankings. Senior defensive tackle Jason Jones (Southfield, Mich.-Lathrup) was chosen fourth-team All-American on the mid-season list. In addition, Jones, Khalid Walton (Southfield, Mich.-Southfield) and Daniel Holtzclaw (Enid, Okla.-Enid) were all named mid-season first-team All-MAC while Andy Fretz (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Central) and Darran Matthews (Redford, Mich.-Thurston) were selected to the All-MAC second team.
TWO FOR FOUR: EMU redshirt sophomore quarterback Andy Schmitt (St. John's, Mich.-St. John's) recorded the second four-passing touchdown game in his short career when he had four against Ohio (Oct. 13). Schmitt had his first four-touchdown day versus Howard (Sept. 22) Those four-touchdown pass performances tied for second-best in school history, a feat that has been accomplished 13 times. Kainoa Akina holds the EMU single-game record with six touchdown tosses, Nov. 24, 2001, at Akron.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
