Football Back On The Road Against Rutgers Saturday at 1 p.m.

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PISCATAWAY, N.J. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University football team will head east for the second consecutive week, traveling to Piscataway, N.J. to battle the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights Saturday afternoon, Sept. 14, at 1 p.m. The Eagles and Scarlet Knights will meet on the gridiron for the first time in 122 seasons of EMU football.
ESPN3 will broadcast the game with Trey Bender giving the play-by-play, John Gregory serving as the analyst and Angela Mallen on the sidelines. The contest will once again hit the airwaves of WEMU (89.1 FM) with Matt Shepard and Rob Rubick calling the action on the field.

FEMALES LEADING THE WAY: A unique milestone on the landscape of diversity and opportunities for administrators will take place when EMU squares off against Rutgers, Sept. 14. For the first time in EMU history, the Eagles will compete against a team with a female athletic director while having a female athletic director of their own. EMU Vice President/Director of Athletics Heather Lyke and Rutgers Athletic Director Julie Hermann are each currently in their first year serving as the face of their respective athletic departments.
There are seven current Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) female athletic directors and 128 FBS programs in the country. The last time two female ADs went head-to-head in a football game was on Sept. 1, 2012, when Cary Groth's University of Nevada Wolfpack faced Sandy Barbour's University of California Golden Bears in Berkeley, Calif.

EMU AGAINST THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE: Rutgers will only be in the newly-formed American Athletic Conference for this season before moving to the Big Ten Conference in 2014. EMU is 2-11 all-time against teams currently in the American Athletic Conference, notching victories versus the University of Connecticut as well as the University of Central Florida.

NEW STATE FOR THE EAGLES: When the Eagles and Scarlet Knights take the field Saturday, it will be the first time that EMU has faced a team from New Jersey. In fact, it may be the first trip to New Jersey for any member of the EMU football team because not a single student-athlete on the roster hails from the Garden State.

HOMECOMING ON THE HORIZON: Following back-back weeks on the road, the Eagles return to Rynearson Stadium for the annual homecoming contest, Sept. 21. Eastern hosts Mid-American Conference foe Ball State University in the first conference game for both teams. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. inside Rynearson Stadium. The Green and White will look to avenge its 2012 season-opening loss to the Cardinals, Aug. 30, 2012, when Ball State walked away with a 37-26 victory in Muncie, Ind.

BARNES PUNTS HIS WAY INTO EMU HISTORY: In just the second game of his collegiate career, freshman Austin Barnes etched his name in EMU laurels. In the Sept. 7 contest at Penn State, Barnes punted 11 times throughout the afternoon for a total of 461 yards. The mark tied George Guzman for the fifth-most yards in one game as Guzman reached the same mark at Michigan State, Sept. 28, 1996. The EMU single-game record is held by Nick Avondet with 642 yards, also at Michigan State, Sept. 11, 1999.

RUSSELL FILLING THE SHOES: With Tyler Benz losing his favorite target from a year ago in All-MAC Second Team tight end Garrett Hoskins, the Eagles were left wondering who will fill the void. Through two games this season, EMU may have found its guy at the same position. Junior tight end Tyreese Russell is currently leading EMU in catches (10) and yards (101) through two games in 2013. The Chicago, Ill. native recorded career highs against Penn State, Sept. 7, hauling in eight catches for 73 yards.

HOLDING ON TO THE FOOTBALL: Ball security is a vital part of college football, and the Eagles have done a good job of this aspect of the game throughout its past four games. The Green and White have only turned the ball over twice in its past four contests dating back to last season. EMU did not turn the ball over in a 29-23 win at Western Michigan, Nov. 23, 2012, as well as in the 45-7 setback at Penn State, Sept. 7.

MATT SCOOPS AND SCORES: While the outcome was not what he and his teammates wanted, EMU sophomore linebacker Hunter Matt had a career day at 'Happy Valley' against Penn State, Sept. 7. Not only did Matt record the first two sacks of his career, but he also forced a fumble, picked up the ball, and took it 11 yards to the house to give EMU an early 7-0 lead on the Nittany Lions. The forced fumble, fumble recovery and touchdown were all firsts in the young career of Matt.

SWAIM RECORDS FIRST INT: Senior Mycal Swaim used his leadership ability on the field as well as his hand-eye coordination to come up with a key interception for the Eagles versus Penn State, Sept. 7. With the Nittany Lions driving in EMU territory and inching towards the red zone, Swaim picked off a deflected pass to get the ball back for the EMU offense. For Swaim, a junior college transfer, it was the first interception of his EMU career.

DEFENSE SCORES SIX: It was the EMU defense that provided the offense in the Eagles' 45-7 setback to Penn State, Sept. 7. Late in the first quarter, linebacker Hunter Matt picked up a fumble by Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg. The EMU sophomore proceeded to scamper 11 yards for the score.
Matt's fumble return was the first touchdown recorded by the EMU defense since Pudge Cotton's pick-six last year at Purdue, Sept. 15, 2012. It was the Eagles first fumble return for a touchdown since Derrick Hunter took the ball 80 yards the other way against Ohio, Oct. 13, 2007, in a 48-43 loss to the Bobcats.

ROBACK TAKES THE FIELD: The highest rated recruit in EMU history made his collegiate debut Sept. 7 in Beaver Stadium against Penn State University. Four-star recruit Brogan Roback entered the game late in the fourth quarter, completing his first collegiate pass to Donald Scott for a seven-yard gain.

FRESHMEN FIND THE FIELD: Nine "true" freshmen and eight redshirt freshmen have found the field during the 2013 campaign for the Eagles. The freshmen that have seen time are: Nathan Adams, Duwhan Alford, Austin Barnes, Jaleel Canty, Chris O'Risky, Quan Pace, David Pulliam, Brogan Roback and Mario Swann. Redshirt freshmen making their collegiate debuts included: Amos Houston, Jake Hurcombe, Alex Jones, Juwan Lewis, Mike Steals, Darien Terrell, Matt Thornton and Anthony Zappone.

FORMER EAGLE NOW AT RUTGERS: Rutger University Vice President for Enrollment Management Courtney O. McAnuff spent 26 years at Eastern Michigan University before heading east in 2006. At EMU, McAnuff rose from director of financial aid to vice president for enrollment services. At RU, his area of scope and function covers Undergraduate Admissions, Student Financial Aid, Academic Records, Registration, Retention Programs, and Early Awareness Outreach.

PARRISH RETURNS TO RUTGERS: EMU offensive coordinator Stan Parrish returns to the Rutgers campus where he worked with the Scarlet Knights' football team for five seasons. After leaving Kansas State, Parrish served as the assistant head coach from 1990-95 under then-Head Coach Doug Graber.

EAGLES IN THE PROS: With the NFL regular season underway, four former Eagles find themselves on active rosters in 2013. Jason Jones is a defensive end with the Detroit Lions, T.J. Lang is a guard on the offensive line of the Green Bay Packers, Andy Mulumba is a linebacker with the Packers and Kevin Walter is a wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans.

ESPN3 TO AIR THE BALL STATE GAME: The Eastern Michigan-Ball State football game, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21, will kick off at 1 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN3, the Mid-American Conference office announced Sept. 9.
The game will also be Homecoming 2013 for the Eagles. The game will be the 86th Homecoming Game in school history. The tradition started in 1926 when then-Michigan Normal College downed Kalamazoo College, 19-0, on Nov. 29. The Green and White are 44-39-2 in homecoming games, including winning four of the last eight contests.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Football Back On The Road Against Rutgers Saturday at 1 p.m.

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