CMU Comes to Town for Band Day Saturday, Nov. 1

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUGameDay.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University football team returns to "The Factory" turf for its second consecutive home contest, hosting in-state rival Central Michigan University, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m. The contest against the Chippewas is also Band Day at Rynearson Stadium, with numerous high school bands in attendance, performing as one during a special halftime concert. The Eagles are 2-6 (1-3 MAC) on the 2014 campaign following a 28-17 setback to Northern Illinois, Oct. 25. Meanwhile, the Chippewas improved to 5-4 (3-2 MAC) with a 20-14 road victory over the University at Buffalo, Oct. 25.
   The contest will be televised by ESPN3 with Michael Reghi providing the play-by-play and Dustin Fox serving as the analyst. WEMU (89.1 FM) will provide audio coverage of the game with Matt Shepard and Rob Rubick calling the action on the field.

QUEST FOR THE MICHIGAN MAC TROPHY: Saturday begins 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. 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. Created in 2005 by the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, Central Michigan currently holds the football trophy and Western Michigan has the basketball version.

CHIP DIP: EMU and CMU will meet on the gridiron for the 92nd time in history between the two programs with the Chippewas holding the series lead, 57-28-6. The road team has won three of the previous four meetings between the two in-state rivals, and the Eagles will look to end that trend. Central won the last two contests in Ypsilanti, including the 2012 matchup where it slipped away with a 34-31 decision. The last time the Green and White were victorious over its rivals from the north was Oct. 15, 2011. EMU invaded Mount Pleasant, Mich. and left with a 35-28 victory in the first leg of claiming the Michigan MAC Trophy.

BLOCK PARTY: Eastern Michigan's special teams have been putting up big numbers when it comes to blocking kicks. During the 2014 campaign, the Eagles have blocked five kicks in eight contests, which are the most since the 2009 season when the Green and White rejected six kicks. Mike Steals leads the way with two blocked field goals, while Gary White Jr. and Willie Creear each rejected one field goal attempt apiece. The fifth blocked kick goes to Nathan Adams, who blocked a punt in the season opener victory against Morgan State, Aug. 30.
   Nationally, EMU is tied with Rutgers for the most kicks blocked this season.

NO FIELD GOALS FOR NIU: In the 28-17 setback to Northern Illinois, Oct. 25, two Eagles combined for a statistic to go down in history. With the Huskies in field goal range, Mike Steals and Willie Creear rejected both three-point attempts. Steals got a piece of the first attempt in the second quarter with 7:51 to go, keeping the Huskies from extending their lead beyond a touchdown. Creear blocked the second attempt with 5:34 remaining in the third quarter before the Eagles went on a touchdown drive to flip the score to a 17-14 lead. The two team blocks mark the first time since at least 1998 that the Eagles have blocked two field goals in a single game.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Eastern Michigan's 28-17 loss to Northern Illinois, Oct. 25, did have a bright spot in terms of the EMU offense. Reginald Bell Jr. and Ryan Brumfield both surpassed the century mark in rushing, with Bell going 133 yards for one touchdown on 25 carries and Brumfield running 112 yards on 18 carries while picking up a touchdown of his own. The pair of 100-plus-yard rushers marks the 12th time in EMU history that two Eagles have accomplished the feat in the same game, the last time being Nov. 9, 2013 in the victory over Western Michigan University. Brumfield was a part of that accomplishment as well, carrying the ball 148 yards while Bronson Hill rushed for 111 yards in the home win.

LAST TIME WE MET: Eastern dropped a 42-10 decision to Central Michigan on a chilly Friday afternoon at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, Nov. 29, to close out the 2013 season. Bronson Hill led the EMU offense with 167 yards on 25 carries. He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in a season for the first time in his career, becoming the first EMU running back to accomplish the feat since Anthony Sherrell accomplished the feat during the 2003 season. Hill also passed the 2,000-yard plateau in his EMU career with an eight-yard run in the fourth quarter, the 11th running back in program history to reach that mark. Then-freshman Brogan Roback completed 14-of-27 passes for 139 yards. Roback's primary target all afternoon was Dustin Creel, who made a career-high 10 catches for 109 yards.The Chippewas were led by running back Zurlon Tipton who rushed 20 times for 216 yards, including four touchdowns. Cooper Rush threw for 92 yards on 9-of-14 passing. Wideout Mike Kinville led the CMU receiving corps with 32 yards on a pair of receptions.

FINDING THE RIGHT MIX: Head Coach Chris Creighton has been finding a combination of players that meshes well on the field, and the group has been growing stronger with their increased experience together on the field. Creighton has put the same offensive line in for the past four games, dating back to the Mid-American Conference opener at the University of Akron, Oct. 4. Meanwhile, he has started the same entire offense in back-to-back contests, as it appeared in both games against the University of Massachusetts, Oct. 18, and Northern Illinois, Oct. 25.

DEFENSE MAKING PROGRESS: The statistics might not fully show the Eagles' defensive improvements from last season, but a closer look proves the Green and White has made strides. Already in just eight games, the defense has recorded more pass breakups (24), fumbles forced (7), fumbles recovered (5) and kicks blocked (5) than they did in all of 2013. EMU is also nearing last year's total in tackles-for-loss (46) as well as quarterback hurries (33).

POC-MAN: Much like Pac-Man in the 1980s arcade game that became a pop culture phenomenon, Pat O'Connor has been gobbling up the opposition behind the line of scrimmage this season. The team co-captain currently leads the Mid-American Conference in both sacks as well as tackles-for-loss. Pushing opponents back a combined 60 yards on 10.0 tackles-for-loss, O'Connor's total ranks 37th nationally. The Windy City native is among the top-25 sack leaders throughout the country, as well as sitting at 20th with 6.5 sacks.

BAND DAY: The contest against the Chippewas is also Band Day at Rynearson Stadium, with 18 high school bands in attendance, performing as one during a special halftime concert. The schools scheduled to participate include: Bedford High School, Blissfield High School, Crestwood High School, Powers Catholic High School, Garden City High School, Hartland High School, Litchfield High School, Monroe High School, Monroe Jefferson High School, Morenci High School, Ovid-Elsie High School, Riverview Community High School, Trenton High School, Vassar High School, Whiteford High School, Whitmore Lake High School, Woodhaven High School and Ypsilanti Community High School.
   In total, more than 1,200 high school student musicians will be in attendance and join the EMU Marching Band for a special mass band halftime performance of karaoke classics "Sweet Caroline" and "Don't Stop Believin'" It's going to be one big Band Day Karaoke Machine!
   Prior to the game the participating bands will compete in a color guard competition in EMU's Indoor Practice Facility as well as complete a parade around the track one hour prior to kickoff.

GREAT TACKLING GREAT IBE: Right in the middle of the Eastern defense, redshirt-junior Great Ibe has shown his versatility between rushing the quarterback and dropping back into coverage. Finding the ball carrier from all over the field, Ibe's 95 tackles lead EMU by a substantial margin as the next closest Eagle has recorded 72 tackles this season. The 95 tackles by the Eastern linebacker is the second-most by an individual MAC defender as well as fifth in the nation.

A GREAT TACKLING MACHINE: Redshirt-junior Great Ibe continues to be a major force for EMU defensive coordinator Brad McCaslin's linebacking corps. The Hanover, Md. product posted a career-best 21 tackles in the Oct. 18 contest at Gillette Stadium versus Massachusetts. The 21 stops are the most by an Eagle in recent memory and the second-best tally of any student-athlete in the nation this season.
   Ibe's total is the most by an Eagle since 2001 when Kenny Philpot hauled down 21 Cardinals in a contest against Ball State, Oct. 13. Eastern Michigan began tracking tackles in a game during the 1999 campaign, with Blake McCall holding the gold-standard with 29 against Ohio, Oct. 16, 1999.
   His 21 stops are also the most by a Mid-American Conference player in more than three seasons with Akron's Brian Wagner last topping the 20-tackle plateau with 22 takedowns against Florida International, Oct. 8, 2011.

ALLEN'S COUNTDOWN NEARLY COMPLETE: Senior Tyler Allen's journey to the top of the EMU record book in nearly complete, as the kickoff specialist is just 31 yards and nine returns away from Trumaine Riley's all-time mark. In his career, Allen has run back 121 kickoffs for a total of 2,510 yards (20.7 avg/r.) while Riley brought back a Mid-American Conference record 130 kicks for a total of 2,541 yards (19.5 avg/r.) while playing for EMU from 2003-06.
   Earlier this season, the Lansing Mich. native passed current Pittsburgh Steeler and former Central Michigan receiver Antonio Brown for third place on the MAC's all-time return list.

MR. COFFIN CORNER: Senior Owen Dubiel has done a fantastic job when it comes to punting the football in 2014. Out of 30 Dubiel punts, 13 have been downed inside the 20-yard line, and only four have gone into the end zone for a touchback. Moreover, 11 punts inside the 20 have actually been placed inside the 12, including four inside the five-yard line.

ANOTHER BYE WEEK: Following back-to-back games at The Factory, the Eagles will have next Saturday off, their second bye week of the 2014 campaign. Eastern returns to the gridiron on Nov. 15, against rival Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich., a game that could have Michigan MAC Trophy implications. Kickoff time for the clash between the Eagles and Broncos has not been set, but the game will appear on ESPN3.

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Players Mentioned

Nathan Adams

Tyler Allen

Reginald Bell

Ryan Brumfield

Willie Creear

Dustin Creel

Owen Dubiel

Bronson Hill

Great Ibe

Pat O'Connor

Brogan Roback

Mike Steals

Gary White Jr.

Eastern Michigan Athletics