Eagles Head to Florida To Face the Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (EMUEagles.com) -- After opening up "The Factory" and beginning the 2014 season with a 31-28 victory over Morgan State University, the Eastern Michigan University football team hits the road for the first time, facing the University of Florida Gators at "The Swamp," Saturday, Sept. 6, at 4 p.m.
   The contest will be shown on SEC Network with Tom Hart providing play-by-play and Matt Stinchcomb serving as the analyst. Also, Heather Mitts will be the game's sideline reporter. Once again, WEMU (89.1 FM) will provide audio coverage of the game with Matt Shepard and Rob Rubick calling action on the field.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE GATORS: The Eagles have only faced the Gators once in the history of both programs, nearly a decade ago. Making its first appearance in "The Swamp," Sept. 11, 2004, EMU fell by a 49-10 decision to No. 11 Florida. In that contest, Matt Bohnet threw for 201 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown pass to Eric Deslauriers, who finished the game with a team-best six receptions for 90 yards. The Eagles had some success moving the ball against the Florida defense, marching 91 yards after the opening kickoff to take a 3-0 lead on Andrew Wellock's 23-yard field goal and putting together the 13-play drive that ended with Deslauriers taking a sideline pass from Bohnet and breaking a tackle before scoring. The contest also featured a 64-minute lightning delay midway through the second quarter with Florida leading 14-3.

PACK YOUR BAGS: EMU begins a four-game road swing that will cover 2,006 miles over a 42 day span.

FLASHBACKS TO 2004: Plenty has changed at both Florida and Eastern Michigan over the past decade, but Saturday's meeting will feature a few storylines that are very similar to that 2004 matchup in Gainesville. EMU enters the contest having notched a 31-28 victory over Morgan State, Aug. 30, in Head Coach Chris Creighton's first game. Meanwhile, the Gators' season opener against Idaho was "suspended" after one play following multiple delays due to thunderstorms in the area. In 2004, Eastern Michigan beat Mid-American Conference rival Buffalo, 37-34, in its opener under first-year coach Jeff Genyk by running for 248 yards on the ground. Ironically, Florida was forced to take the weekend off after Hurricane Frances forced postponement of the team's scheduled season opener against Middle Tennessee State. Additionally, the EMU-UF starting time had to be moved up five hours because of threat posed by approaching Hurricane Ivan. Thankfully, this time around the tropics are relatively calm according to the National Hurricane Center.

EMU VERSUS THE SEC: Eastern Michigan has yet to record a win against the powerful Southeastern Conference, dropping all six games against opponents from the strong conference. The Green and White has faced SEC member Vanderbilt twice, while hitting the gridiron against Arkansas, Florida, Missouri and South Carolina one time each.

ADAMS SELECT MAC WEST SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore Nathan Adams was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Special Teams Player of the Week for the period ending Aug. 30. The honor is the first weekly conference honor of Adams's career.
   In the first quarter of EMU's season opener versus Morgan State, Adams found a crease in the Bears' special teams blocking scheme, getting his hands on the MSU punt. Not only did Adams block the punt, he also picked up the ball and rumbled into the endzone for a special teams touchdown and the first of his career.
   The blocked punt was the first by an Eagle since 2011 when the Green and White were at Kent State. Moreover, the "scoop and score" was the first of its kind for EMU since Travis Lewis returned a blocked punt on Nov. 13, 2004, also against the Golden Flashes. The blocked punt return touchdown marked the third in team history dating back to the 1967 season.

SPECIAL PLAY ON SPECIAL TEAMS: The EMU special teams unit put together a phenomenal performance in the season-opening victory over Morgan State, Aug. 30. In the first quarter, Nathan Adams blocked a punt deep in MSU territory and scooped up the ball for his first career touchdown. Later in the opening half, Gary White, Jr. blocked a 41-yard field goal that ended up being the point differential in the Eagles' 31-28 win. The last time Eastern Michigan blocked both a punt and a field goal in the same game was Nov. 19, 2011 at Kent State. Not to be forgotten in the game against the Bears, Dylan Mulder broke a 28-28 tie early in the fourth quarter as his 42-yard field goal proved to be the game-winner.

THREE-HEADED BACKFIELD: To kick off the season, the Eagles proved that they have depth at running back. In the win over Morgan State, Aug. 30, EMU rumbled for 292 yards on the ground that included 243 from the backfield. Senior Bronson Hill surpassed the century mark for the 10th time in his career, rushing for 114 yards on 19 carries to lead the Eastern rushing attack. Junior Darius Jackson followed by racking up a career-high 73 rushing yards on 17 carries. Finally, averaging seven yards per carry, Ryan Brumfield rushed eight times for 57 yards and found the end zone twice.

O'CONNOR LOOMS LARGE AGAINST MORGAN STATE: EMU nose tackle and team co-captain Pat O'Connor showed his leadership ability in the Eagles' 31-28 win over Morgan State, Aug. 30. O'Connor totaled a career-high 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss that resulted in a remarkable 20 yards in total loss. He wasn't finished there; with the Bears driving in the fourth quarter, O'Connor stripped the ball from the MSU running back to come up with a big stop and get his team the ball back as the Eagles held on to a three-point lead. The forced fumble and fumble recovery were firsts in the career of the Windy City native.

COMEBACK ROBACK: After EMU starting quarterback Reginald Bell Jr. came up limping in the third quarter of the season opener, sophomore Brogan Roback grabbed his helmet to lead the Eagles' offense out onto the field. The situation was not a new one for Roback, who appeared in nine games as a "true" freshman in 2013. After just one drive on the field, the sophomore found his team behind by a touchdown. However, he marched the Green and White down the field on back-to-back scoring drives that resulted in 10 points, enough for a three-point victory. The win was the second come-from-behind victory in Roback's career. As a freshman, he brought the Eagles back against Western Michigan after trailing by eight; EMU ended up beating its rivals in overtime at Rynearson Stadium, Nov. 9, 2013.

MICHIGAN BORN AND BRED: The Eagles' roster featured 38 players from the state of Michigan.

WINNING WITH CREIGHTON: When he was hired in December 2013, Coach Chris Creighton brought a winning resume with him to Ypsilanti. In his first game at the helm of the Green and White, Creighton saw his new team pick up a 31-28 victory over Morgan State, Aug. 30. The win was the 140th of Creighton's head coaching career and the first of what is expected to be many more during his tenure at Eastern Michigan.

OFF TO ODU: Eastern's road trip continues after playing in "The Swamp," as the Green and White travel to Norfolk, Va. to square off against the Old Dominion Monarchs. The Eagles will battle the new FBS program at 6 p.m. under the lights of Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium. The two squads will hit the gridiron for the first time ever as ODU makes the transition to Conference USA.

FRESHMAN FIND THE FIELD: Three "true" freshmen and five redshirt freshmen found the field to open the 2014 campaign against Morgan State, Aug. 30. The true freshmen that saw time on the gray turf at Rynearson Stadium for the first time in the season lid-lifter were: Jason Beck, Jeremiah Harris and Kenny Jones. Redshirt freshmen making their collegiate debut included: Reginald Bell Jr., Derrick Dunlap, Thomas Glick, Deshai Powell and Lavonte Robinson.
   Kray'shawn Brewer, Gabriel Guilbee-Rodriguez, Oliver Kathalay, Tyrie Mack, Gary White Jr. also saw their first action in the Eagles' 31-28 victory.

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Players Mentioned

Nathan Adams

Jason Beck

Reginald Bell

Kray’shawn Brewer

Ryan Brumfield

Derrick Dunlap

Thomas Glick

Gabriel Guilbee-Rodriguez

Jeremiah Harris

Bronson Hill

Darius Jackson

Kenny Jones

Oliver Kathalay

Tyrie Mack

Dylan Mulder

Pat O'Connor

Deshai Powell

Brogan Roback

Lavonte Robinson

Gary White Jr.

Eastern Michigan Athletics