Football Squares Off with Western Michigan

Weekly Conference Call Audio.

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University football team hits the road for the final time during the 2012 campaign Saturday, Nov. 17, with a trek to Kalamazoo, Mich. for a rivalry contest against Western Michigan University. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Waldo Stadium.
The Eagles enter the Mid-American Conference West Division contest with a 1-9 (0-6 MAC) record following a 34-31 home setback to Central Michigan University, Nov. 10. Meanwhile, the Broncos are 4-7 (3-5 MAC) after falling on the road to the University at Buffalo, 29-24, at UB Stadium, Nov. 10.
The contest will not be televised but it will be video streamed on WMUBroncos.com. WEMU (89.1 FM) will provide audio coverage of the game with Matt Shepard and Herman Moore calling the action on the field.

BATTLE FOR THE MICHIGAN MAC TROPHY: Saturday, Nov. 17, concludes the Eagles' chase for the Michigan MAC Trophy, which is given to the Michigan MAC university that defeats the other two schools in the same sport in the same regular season. This season in the rivalry games, WMU is 1-0, CMU is 1-1 and EMU is 0-1.
Created in 2005 by the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, EMU currently holds the football trophy. In the event that no school defeats its other two rivals during the regular season, the Michigan MAC Trophy will remain with the winning school until one of the other rivals claims the title.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE BRONCOS: Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan will be meeting for the 48th time in school history. The Broncos hold a 29-16-2 edge in the series which began in 1906 when EMU recorded a 14-5 victory in Kalamazoo, Nov. 17.
The Green and White's last victory over the Brown and Gold came just last season, Oct. 22, 2011 when EMU combined a tenacious defense with some timely offense to record a 14-10 win over WMU at Rynearson Stadium.
Eastern, trailing by a 10-7 count with under 11 minutes left, grabbed the lead on a 50-yard dash to paydirt by Javonti Greene. Kody Fulkerson added the PAT for a 14-10 EMU lead with just 7:46 left. The Eagles defense then came up with some magic of its own, stuffing a fourth-and-goal WMU attempt on the EMU one-yard line to regain possession of the ball with just 4:56 left in the fourth quarter. The offense would keep the ball the rest of the way to preserve the victory.

TRIPLE THREAT: Senior Alex Gillett rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns, threw for 77 yards (7-of-17) and one touchdown, while also catching two passes for 11 yards for against Central Michigan, Nov. 10.
Gillett became the first EMU player to have a rush, a pass reception, and a pass attempt in the same game since Tyler Jones accomplished the feat Oct. 28, 2008, against Ball State. In that contest, Jones attempted one pass, had five rushes for 19 yards, and had 11 catches for 120 yards.

GILLETT EXCELS VERSUS CENTRAL MICHIGAN: The past three seasons senior Alex Gillett has saved some of his best performances for the Chippewas of Central Michigan. In three games, he has racked up 586 total yards and five touchdowns. In 2010, Gillett passed for 148 yards and a score while rushing for 19 yards. Last year the Clyde, Ohio native rushed for 93 yards and the game-winning touchdown against CMU, to go along with 76 yards via the air, Oct. 15, 2011. He followed it up with 240 total yards (162 rushing, 77 passing, 11 receiving) and three scores in 2012, Nov. 10.

HITTING THE 30s: A total of 17 current EMU players have participated in 30 or more games during their careers. The players, with total games in parenthesis, are: Andy Mulumba (46), Mike Zupancic (45), Andrew Sorgatz (45), Marcell Rose (44), Alex Gillett (43), Matt Boyd (43), Garrett Hoskins (39), Korey Neal (37), Alex Bellfy (36), Jay Karutz (34), Kody Fulkerson (34), Corey Manns (33), Kalanji Kashama (32), Donald Scott (32), Corey Watman (32), Dominique Sherrer (31), Javonti Greene (30)

SOPHOMORE SUCCESS: Eastern Michigan's 2011 recruiting class has paid major dividends in 2012, as the Eagles' sophomore class has accounted for 41 percent of the team's points this season. Bronson Hill leads the way for EMU with seven touchdowns for a total of 42 points. Meanwhile Ryan Brumfield has 18 points, Tyreese Russell has 18 and Demarius Reed has six. Defensively, Pudge Cotton also has an interception return for a touchdown.

GILLETT CONTINUES TO MAKE A MOVE UPWARDS: Senior quarterback Alex Gillett has played in 43 games for the Eagles, earning 31 starts, and has made significant advancement in several EMU career categories. Gillett has rushed 495 times for 2,326 yards and 14 touchdowns and has completed 346-of-657 passes for 4,374 yards and 35 touchdowns in those 43 games. He has recorded 1,152 total offensive plays (rush and pass) for 6,700 total offensive yards.
He is currently ranked fourth all-time in total offensive yards and is just the sixth player in school history to reach 4,000 total offensive yards. His 346 career completions are good for the seventh spot while his 4,374 career passing yards is eighth in EMU history. Additionally, his 35 career touchdown passes is tied with Matt Bohnet for third in EMU history.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Eagles rank 12th in the nation in net punting at 39.7 yards per play and 31st in pass defense at 204.7 yards per game ... EMU has been strong inside the redzone, scoring on 86 percent of trips inside the 20 ... Eastern has scored touchdowns 64 percent of the time when inside their opponents' 20.

POWER OF SEVEN: A total of 15 of EMU's 46 games under Head Coach Ron English have been decided by seven points-or-less. The Eagles are 5-10 in those contests.

LAST TIME WE MET: EMU combined a tenacious defense with some timely offense to record a 14-10 win over a Western Michigan in the annual Homecoming Game inside Rynearson Stadium, Oct. 22, 2011.
The win gave EMU possession of the Michigan MAC Trophy, which is given to the Michigan MAC university that defeats the other two schools in the same sport in the same regular season.
Eastern, trailing by a 10-7 count with under 11 minutes left, grabbed the lead on a 50-yard dash to paydirt by Javonti Greene. Kody Fulkerson added the PAT for a 14-10 EMU lead with just 7:46 left.
The Eagles defense then came up with some magic of its own, stuffing a fourth-and-goal WMU attempt on the EMU one-yard line to regain possession of the ball with just 4:56 left in the fourth quarter. The offense would keep the ball the rest of the way to preserve the victory.
The Eagles kept their ground offense rolling again, with 205 yards gained on 50 rushes. The defense held WMU to just 131 yards rushing on 30 carries, including two great goal-line stops late in the game .
Dominique Sherrer led the EMU rushing attack with 86 yards on 11 carries. Greene gained 61 yards on 13 carries, including what would prove to be the game-winning score on that 50-yard run. Greene also had a 50-yard touchdown reception in the game.

NO CUPCAKES: Playing football in the Mid-American Conference leaves little room for error. Just ask EMU Head Coach Ron English. EMU's strength of schedule is second-hardest in the Mid-American Conference and 36th nationally according to the NCAA's latest statistical release. EMU's 2012 opponents have a combined record of 51-42.

KARUTZ CONTINUES TO BOOT: Senior punter Jay Karutz currently boasts a per punt average of 43.6 yards, an average that, if the season ended today, would be the best in EMU history for a season. The North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia, native is tops amongst all Mid-American Conference punters and currently has 22 punts that have landed inside the 20-yard line and has 12 punts of 50 yards-or-better including a career long 64-yard punt against Ball State University, Aug. 30.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Eastern Michigan has played 11 “true” freshmen during the 2012 campaign. That amount is tied for 18th most nationally and third most in the Mid-American Conference. Texas and TCU lead the way with 16 first-year players having seen game action. Meanwhile, Akron is tops in the MAC with 13 freshmen and Miami is next with 12.

REACHING THE CENTURY MARK: When sophomore Bronson Hill rushed for 111 yards in the Eagles' loss at Ohio, Nov. 1; it marked his third 100-plus rushing game this season.
Date Opponent Rushes Net Yards TDs
Oct. 13, 2012 vs. Toledo 28 283 4
Oct. 20, 2012 vs. Army 26 189 1
Nov. 1, 2012 at Ohio 25 111 0

ON THE HORIZON: Following the WMU game, Eastern Michigan closes out the 2012 campaign Friday, Nov. 23, against Northern Illinois University. Game time is still TBA.
Eastern Michigan University and Northern Illinois University will be meeting for the 43rd time in history when the two teams square off Friday, Nov. 23, in a Mid-American Conference West Division game. NIU holds a 26-14-2 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1927. NIU recorded a 18-12 victory last year, Nov. 25 2011, in Huskies Stadium. Eastern's last win in the series came Sept. 15, 2007, in DeKalb, Ill. by a 21-19 margin.

BRUMFIELD SCORES A PAIR AT OHIO: Sophomore Ryan Brumfield recorded his first career two-touchdown performance at Ohio, Nov. 1. The Chester Springs, Pa. native caught a 17-yard TD pass from quarterback Tyler Benz in the first quarter and followed it up with a three-yard rush for the score in the second stanza.

GILLETT ON THE GRAB: Senior Alex Gillett continues to find different ways to contribute for EMU. After seeing his first action as a wide receiver against Bowling Green, Oct. 27, the co-captain recorded the first catches of his career at Ohio, Nov. 1. The Green Springs, Ohio product finished with a team-high three catches for 42 yards against the Bobcats.

NEAL AND HENDERSON RETURN: Seniors Korey Neal and Devin Henderson both returned to the EMU lineup at Ohio, Nov. 1. Neal had missed the previous five contests with an injury, while Henderson had missed the last four games.

EMU DEFENSE TIGHTENS IN RED ZONE: The Eagle defense is holding its opponents to just 82 percent on their trips to the red zone. EMU's defense has allowed its opponents to enter the red zone on 38 drives, but has given up just 21 touchdowns and 10 field goals. EMU ranks 65th nationally in red zone defense.

SLOW STARTS: Through its first 10 games this season, EMU has been out-scored, 74-48, in the first quarter and has trailed after the opening quarter in six games. The Eagles have been shut-out in the first quarter in five contests, but have turned the tables in the second stanza to score a total of 71 points.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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