Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Ball State
Football to Tangle With Ball State
9/4/2007 5:37:00 PM | Football
Game time set for Noon at Rynearson Stadium
Click Here for Complete Game Notes (PDF).
Click Here to Listen to the Game via WEMU.
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MAC AND HOME OPENER: The Eastern Michigan University football team opens its 2007 Mid-American Conference and Rynearson Stadium season Saturday, Sept. 8, when the Eagles host Ball State University in a Mid-American Conference West Division game. Kickoff is set for noon and will be telecast live on Comcast Local TV with Ben Holden as the play-by-play announcer and Rob Otto as the color analyst.
32nd MAC SEASON: The 2007 season is the 32nd year of Mid-American Conference action for the Eastern Michigan University football team. Eastern was admitted into the MAC in 1971, but a complete MAC football schedule could not be cleared until 1976.
WELCOME BACK CAL BOWLERS: One of the most successful teams in Eastern Michigan University football history will be honored this weekend for Saturday's home opener against Ball State. The 1987 Mid-American Conference and California Bowl Champion EMU team will be honored in special events planned for Friday and Saturday, Sept. 7-8, as part of the festivities for the EMU-Ball State game Saturday at noon.
EMU HISTORICALLY IN THE HOME OPENER: EMU has historically fared exceptionally well in home-opening contests. The Eagles are 70-40-4 (.632) all-time in openers. The Green and White are 5-2 in home openers this decade, including a 2-1 mark under Jeff Genyk.
EMU VS. BSU: Ball State and Eastern Michigan are meeting for the 49th time in the series which started in 1936. Ball State holds a 26-20-2 lead in the match up, including a 38-20 win, Aug. 31, 2006, at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Ind. The Cardinals hold a slim 13-11 advantage in games played in Rynearson Stadium. The last time the two teams met in Ypsilanti, BSU captured a thrilling 26-25 win, Nov. 11, 2005.
THE HEAD COACHES: EMU head coach Jeff Genyk (Bowling Green, '82) is in his fourth year as head coach after serving the previous 12 years working for Northwestern University. Ball State head coach Brady Hoke (Ball State, '82) is in his fifth season.
116th SEASON:The 2007 season marks the 116th year of football at Eastern Michigan University. The first year of intercollegiate football in Ypsilanti was 1891 when the team posted an 0-2 record. EMU has fielded a team every year since 1891 with one exception, when the 1944 season was cancelled because of World War II.
GREEN EGGS AND COFFEE: EMU head football coach Jeff Genyk will be the featured guest on the Monday evening radio show, "Green Eggs and Coffee", from 6 p.m.-7 a.m. each Monday of the football season. The shows, with WTKA radio's Jeff Radford and WEMU radio reporter Brian Nemerovski serving as co-hosts, will be broadcast live from WTKA's studio in Ann Arbor.
COLLEGIATE CLASH SET FOR OCT. 19: For the fourth year in a row the EMU football team will be taking one of its home games on the road, hosting a Big Ten team for the first time ever in the fourth annual Collegiate Clash at Ford Field in Detroit. EMU will be the host team for the non-conference battle against Northwestern University with game time set for 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19. The Eagles hosted Central Michigan in the inaugural Collegiate Clash, Nov. 6, 2004, and Eastern won a thriller, 61-58, in four overtimes. In 2005 EMU hosted Western Michigan, Nov. 5, 2005, and lost a 44-36 shoot-out. Last year Navy recorded a 49-21 win, Nov. 5, 2006, in the game at Ford Field.
CAPTAINS NAMED: EMU will have five captains for the 2007 season. The captains, as voted by the players, are: Ken Bohnet, Jason Jones, Darran Matthews, Andy Schmitt and Pierre Walker.
STATELY BREAKDOWN: The 2007 EMU football roster has 60 players from the state of Michigan, 16 from Ohio, eight from Florida, two each from Indiana and Virginia, and one apiece from Washington D.C., Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Illinois, New York and Georgia.
CALIFORNIA BOWL CHAMPIONS RETURN: There were few observers that gave the Eastern Michigan University football team any chance of winning a battle with San José State University at the 1987 California Bowl. In fact, the oddsmakers made the Big West Champion Spartans of San José State a 17-point favorite in the match up with Mid-American Conference champion Eastern Michigan.But Head Coach Jim Harkema's "Road Warriors" proved that desire and determination could overcome those odds as Eastern recorded a thrilling 30-27 victory.The EMU offense ground out 212 yards rushing, including 130 yards from MVP Gary Patton in the win. The EMU defense also rose to the occasion, holding San José State to 81 yards rushing. Many of the players and coaching staff from that memorable 1987 season, that also saw the then-Hurons win the Mid-American Conference championship, are returning for this weekend's festivities on the 20th anniversary of that season.
TELEVISION TIME: The 2007 EMU football team will make eight live television appearances, four on Comcast Local, two on ESPN Regional, and two on ESPNU.
