Football Opens Mid-American Conference Play Saturday at Akron

AKRON, Ohio (EMUGameDay.com) -- Following an off week, the Eastern Michigan University football team heads back out on the road Saturday, Oct. 4, to open its 39th season of Mid-American Conference action against the University of Akron. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:04 p.m. at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field.
   The Eagles are 1-3 (0-0 MAC) following a road setback against nationally-ranked Michigan State University, Sept. 20. Meanwhile, the Zips (2-2, 0-0 MAC) are looking to sustain the momentum following a 21-10 victory over the University of Pittsburgh, Sept. 27.
   The contest will be televised by ESPN3 with Michael Reghi providing the play-by-play and Jerod Cherry 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.

GLAD TO BE MAC: Saturday's contest kicks off the 39th 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 13-25 all-time in MAC lidlifters.

NEXT EIGHT CONTESTS TO DECIDE A CHAMPION: For just the third time since the 2005 campaign, Eastern Michigan will play eight straight Mid-American Conference games to close out the regular season. Ball State, Ohio and Toledo are the only three league institutions that cannot boast that feat about their 2014 schedules.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE ZIPS: Akron and Eastern Michigan will be meeting on the gridiron for the 30th time with the Zips holding a 17-12 edge in the all-time series. The last time EMU and Akron hooked up was Oct. 1, 2011, with the Eagles triumphing, 31-23, at Rynearson Stadium. Running back Dominique White turned in a career-best 164 yards rushing on 28 carries and tallied three touchdown runs. The Eagles rolled up 322 yards of offense on 65 plays with White turning in the bulk of the work. Quarterback Alex Gillett completed just 4-of-9 passes for 94 yards while rushing 18 times for 62 yards and one score.
   Saturday's game will also mark just the second time the Eagles have visited InfoCision Stadium since it opened in 2009. Eastern Michigan dropped the contest, 28-21, to close out the season, Nov. 27, 2009.

TIME FOR #MACTION: EMU and Akron are opening Mid-American Conference play against each other for the fifth time since UA joined the league during the 1992 campaign. The two sides have split the matchups evenly at two apiece.
    The Zips drew first blood with a 27-9 victory at Rynearson Stadium, Sept. 5, 1992, before EMU returned the favor with a 49-29 win at the Rubber Bowl three years later, Sept. 2, 1995. In 2003, Akron notched a 24-17 triumph in the "Rubber Capital of the World," Sept. 13, before Eastern evened the series in the 2011 opener with a 31-23 decision in Ypsilanti, Oct. 1.

BACK TO THE BUCKEYE STATE: The Eastern Michigan roster features 14 student-athletes from the state of Ohio, the most of any state following Michigan. Wide receiver David Gibson (Cleveland, Ohio-Solon), defensive lineman Arron Pipkins (Maple Heights, Ohio-Maple Heights), linebacker Lavonte Robinson (Cleveland, Ohio-Saint Edward), offensive lineman Dakota Tallman (LaGrange, Ohio-Elyria Catholic), offensive lineman Darien Terrell (Canton, Ohio-Massillon Jackson) and linebacker Anthony Zappone (Westlake, Ohio-Westlake) all grew up in northeast Ohio.

BARNES BOOMS AT MSU: Sophomore punter Austin Barnes turned in an outstanding effort at Spartan Stadium against Michigan State, Sept. 20. The 5-foot-11, 218-pound Barnes racked up nine punts for 407 yards and a 45.2 yard average against the Spartans. His 407 yards via the punt are also 13th best for a single-game in program history. Barnes also boomed a career-long 65-yarder that was downed at the one-yard line.

ALLEN'S RETURN TO EAST LANSING A SPECIAL ONE: Senior wide receiver Tyler Allen snagged the first touchdown reception of his career in the third quarter at Michigan State, Sept. 20. The Lansing, Mich. native hauled in the 43-yard scoring strike from Rob Bolden. Allen urged the coaches to call the play after being open in the middle of the field on the same play earlier in the game. The Eastern High School grad got his wish and slipped behind MSU safety R.J. Williamson to make the touchdown catch and give the Eagles their first passing score of the season.

BOLDEN EARNS HIS FIRST EMU START: Senior Rob Bolden earned his first career start at Michigan State, Sept. 20 The start was the 18th of his career after starting nine times as a freshman and eight times as a sophomore at Penn State. Bolden's two touchdown completions marked the first time since Nov. 2, 2013 that an EMU quarterback has tossed for a pair of scoring strikes in a single-game. Last season, Brogan Roback had two in that contest against Toledo during his return to the Glass City.
   It was Bolden's first start since the Ticket City Bowl on Jan. 2, 2012, when we was a sophomore at PSU. In that game, Bolden threw for 136 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 16 yards in the 30-14 setback to No. 19 Houston.

TIES WITH AKRON: EMU Vice President/Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Heather Lyke earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Akron Law School in 1995.

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

PACE TURNS THE TABLES: In the Sept. 20 contest at No. 11 Michigan State, sophomore DaQuan Pace notched the first interception of his career when he picked off Tyler O'Connor's pass at the MSU 12-yard line. The EMU offense would score three plays later for its first points off of a turnover this season.

RUSSELL FOR SIX: Senior tight end Tyreese Russell caught his first touchdown pass of the year early in the fourth quarter at Michigan State, Sept. 20. The nine-yard strike marked the ninth time in his career he has found paydirt and the first since Oct. 26, 2013, at Northern Illinois.
   With the score, Russell moved into a tie for 11th all-time in the EMU annals in career touchdown receptions. The Chicago, Ill. product is currently tied with Gary Matsche (1966-69), Bristol Greene (1993-95) and Tyler Jones (2004-08). Eric Deslauriers (2003-06) holds the EMU standard with 27 TD catches in his career.

HANSEN ON THE SIDELINES: Senior offensive lineman Lincoln Hansen did not dress at Michigan State, Sept. 20, and missed the first game of his career. It snapped a streak of 15 consecutive starts by the Omaha, Neb. native dating back to the start of the 2013 campaign.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Senior Tyler Allen continues to climb up the EMU record book in terms of kickoff returns. Already the school's record holder with the most kickoff returns in one season, Allen is closing in on the career returns record of 130 held by Trumaine Riley. After returning six kicks against Florida, Sept. 6, the Lansing Mich. native passed the century mark and now has 108 for his career following the game at Michigan State, Sept. 20. Allen is also chasing Riley for the record of career return yards. The speedy EMU receiver has 2,276 return yards for his career, second in EMU laurels behind Riley's 2,541 mark.

MR. COFFIN CORNER: When it comes to punting, Eastern Michigan has used two punters for different scenarios. When the Eagles need to pin their opponent deep its own territory, senior Owen Dubiel is called upon to do the job. More times than not, the East Jackson, Mich. native has been able to do just that. Seven of Dubiel's 12 punts this season have been downed inside the 20-yard line, and only two have gone into the end zone for a touchback. Moreover, all seven punts inside the 20 have actually been placed inside the 12, including three inside the five-yard line. Against Old Dominion, Dubiel and the Eagles' special teams coverage downed the ball at the two-yard line as well as the one-yard line.

CANADIAN CONNECTION: Eastern Michigan is one of just 17 Football Bowl Subdivision schools to feature a player from Canada on its roster. Senior Campbell Allison is heavy contributor, while Oliver Kathalay continues to see more playing time.
   The other FBS schools to have multiple Canadians on its roster include: Michigan State (4), Connecticut (3), UNLV (3), Wyoming (3), Iowa (2), Rice (2), Virginia (2) and Boston College (2).

ON THE HORIZON: After more than a month on the road, Eastern Michigan returns to "The Factory" for a homecoming contest Saturday, Oct. 11, against the University at Buffalo. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
   The Green and White has had success against the Bulls in the past, winning the five of the previous six meetings between the two programs. Last year, Buffalo rolled to a 42-14 victory at UB Stadium, Oct. 5, 2013. Tyler Benz started out hot, completing his first four passes for 44 yards before ending the contest 12-of-19 for 157 yards. Ryan Brumfield led the ground attack with 79 yards on only two carries, including a 75-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
   Buffalo quarterback Joe Licata passed for a game-high 224 yards, going 15-of-22 through the air. Brandon Oliver rushed for 150 yards on 25 carries, finding the end zone on two separate occasions. Devin Campbell also recorded two touchdowns, including a 96-yard kickoff return. Alex Neutz caught four passes for 94 yards with a touchdown.

HOMECOMING 2014: The EMU-UB game Saturday, Oct. 11, will be Homecoming 2014 for the Eagles. The game will be the 87th 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 44-40-2 all-time in homecoming games.

Football Opens Mid-American Conference Play Saturday at Akron

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Allen

Campbell Allison

Austin Barnes

Tyler Benz

Rob Bolden

Ryan Brumfield

Owen Dubiel

David Gibson

Lincoln Hansen

Oliver Kathalay

DaQuan Pace

Arron Pipkins

Brogan Roback

Lavonte Robinson

Tyreese Russell

Dakota Tallman

Darien Terrell

Anthony Zappone

Eastern Michigan Athletics