Eastern Michigan Athletics

Saturday, October 1
Rynearson Stadium
1 p.m.

Eastern Michigan University

vs

Akron

EMU Football
Photo by: Scott Olmstead

Akron Comes to Town for Band Day Saturday, Oct. 1

9/26/2011 1:25:00 PM | Football, E-Gridiron Group

Game time is scheduled for 1:06 p.m. at Rynearson Stadium.

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) ­­–– After two consecutive weeks on the road, the Eastern Michigan University football team returns home Saturday, Oct. 1, to open the Mid-American Conference portion of the 2011schedule against the University of Akron. Game time is scheduled for 1:06 p.m. at  Rynearson Stadium. The contest will not be televised, but WEMU (89.1 FM) will provide audio coverage of the game with Matt Shepard and Ed Mizinski calling the action on the field.

BAND DAY ONCE AGAIN: The last time EMU and Akron played in Ypsilanti was Oct. 18, 2008, and Akron recorded a 42-35 win on Band Day. The two teams are scheduled to play Saturday, Oct. 1, in Rynearson and, you guessed right, it is once again Band Day with 11 high school bands scheduled to be in attendance for a halftime performance.

GLAD TO BE MAC: Saturday's contest kicks off the 36th year that the Eagles have been a part of the Mid-American Conference football championship race. EMU was admitted into the league in 1971, but a complete league schedule was not available until the 1976 season. During that span, the Green and White are 12-23 all-time in MAC lidlifters.

NEXT EIGHT CONTESTS TO DECIDE A CHAMPION: For the first time since the 2005 campaign, Eastern Michigan will play eight straight Mid-American Conference games to close out the regular season. Kent State, Northern Illinois, Ohio and Toledo are the only other league institutions that can boast that feat about its 2011 schedules.

BEST FOUR GAME DEFENSIVE EFFORT SINCE 1989: Through the first four games this season, the Eagles' defense has allowed just 81 points for a total of 20.2 points per game. The last EMU squad to accomplish the feat was the 1989 team, which allowed just 70 points in through its first four contests en route to a 3-0-1 start.
EMU currently ranks 37th nationally in scoring defense and fifth in the MAC.

REAGAN CENTENNIAL COIN TOSS: In cooperation with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration, EMU and Akron will participate in the Reagan Centennial Coin Toss prior to kickoff. This event is a national undertaking and will be occurring at high school, college and NFL stadiums during fall of 2011.  To date, more than 65 NCAA teams committed to the program, including Texas, USC and Notre Dame, among others. 

EMU VS. AKRON: Eastern Michigan and Akron will be meeting for the 29th time with Akron holding a 17-11 advantage.  The Zips squeaked out a 28-21 win, Nov. 27, 2009, in the season finale at InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field in Akron, Ohio.  EMU holds an 8-6 edge in the series at home.
Akron was the opponent in the first game ever played in EMU's Rynearson Stadium, Oct. 27, 1969, with EMU recording a 10-3 win.

PASSING GAME COMES ALIVE: Junior Alex Gillett threw for a season-high 202 yards on 18-of-31 passing against Penn State, Sept. 24. The 31 attempts were a career-high for the Green Springs, Ohio naive, while the 18 completions equalled his career-best set last season at Miami, Sept. 11, 2010.
In his career, Gillett has thrown for more than 200 yards on five occasions.

FIRST CAREER PICK FOR OHRMAN: Senior Brad Ohrman picked off PSU's quarterback Rob Bolden pass on the opening play of the fourth quarter and returned it 14 yards to the Nittany Lion's 21-yard line, it was his first career interception. The play would later setup a 21-yard field goal by Kody Fulkerson to get EMU on the scoreboard with 11:50 remaining in the contest.
Ohrman also added a fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter, the second of his career.

CUDWORTH SAVES A TOUCHDOWN: With Penn State driving towards the end zone and looking to make it 17-0, junior Justin Cudworth was able to rip the ball out of the hands of Michael Zordich at the one-yard line for his second forced fumble of the season. The ball rolled out of bounds for a touchback, giving EMU possession at its own 20-yard line.

OLDS BECOMING THE “GO TO” TARGET: After missing the 2010 campaign with an injury, redshirt sophomore Nick Olds has emerged this season as quarterback Alex Gillett's favorite target. The Columbus, Ind. native leads the team with nine catches for 118 yards and a score. Versus Penn State, Sept. 24, Olds established single-game career highs in receptions (4) and yardage (49). 

QUICK START: For the second consecutive weekend, Eastern Michigan out-gained a Big Ten Conference team in the first quarter. The Green and White tallied 75 yards (54 pass; 21 rush) and 9:03 in time-of-possession to just 63 yards for Penn State. However, it was the Nittany Lions cracking the scoreboard first with a 29-yard field goal with 4:18 to play in the period to take the 3-0 lead.

BRUMFIELD RETURNS HOME: Freshman Ryan Brumfield made a return to his home state of Pennsylvania, Sept. 24, for the contest against Penn State. The Chester Springs, Pa. native rushed  five times for nine yards to go along with a catch for 22 yards.

FULKERSON SPLITS THE UPRIGHTS: Sophomore Kody Fulkerson tacked on two more field goals at Penn State, Sept. 24, booting kicks of 21 and 22 yards. On the season, Fulkerson is 5-for-7 on field-goal attempts.
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