Football Hosts WMU In Nationally Televised Game Thursday Night

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – With the calendar nearing the month of November, it can only mean one thing – the return of mid-week football throughout the Mid-American Conference. The Eastern Michigan University football team returns home to Ypsilanti Thursday, Oct. 29, to square off against the Broncos of Western Michigan University. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Rynearon Stadium.
   The Eagles enter the Mid-American Conference divisional contest with a 1-7 (0-4 MAC) record following a 49-21 setback to Northern Illinois University at Huskie Stadium, Oct. 24. Meanwhile, the Broncos have won three straight and are 4-3 (3-0 MAC) after downing Miami University, 35-13, at Waldo Stadium, Oct. 24.
The contest will be nationally televised by CBS Sports Network with Ben Holden providing play-by-play, Jay Feely serving as the analyst and John Schriffen reporting from the sideline. WEMU (89.1 FM) will provide audio coverage of the game with Matt Shepard and Rob Rubick calling the action on the field.

BATTLE FOR THE MICHIGAN MAC TROPHY: Thursday will mark the beginning of the 11th battle for the Michigan MAC Trophy for Eastern Michigan. The Michigan MAC Trophy was created in 2005 by the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. There are three trophies, one given to the winner of the football series and the other two to the winner of the men's and women's basketball series. Each school currently possesses one of the trophies as WMU has the football version, CMU has the men's basketball trophy and EMU holds the women's basketball title.

MOVING UP THE CHARTS: With 13 touchdowns this season, senior running back Darius Jackson continues to move up the EMU single-season touchdown rankings. The Sparta, Ill. native already is tied for third most and is within two of equaling the all-time mark of 15 held by Kerry Keating (1957) and Ime Akpan (2002).
   Since the 1987 campaign, only nine EMU student-athletes have recorded 10 or more touchdowns in a particular season. Of those players, all but one (Eric Deslauriers - 2004) have been running backs.

ONE OF THE TOP BACKS IN THE MAC: Senior running back Darius Jackson has been one of the best backs in both the MAC and the country this season. He ranks second in the MAC in rushing this season with 799 yards on the ground, good for 99.8 yards a game. This ranks 19th in the country. Jackson has also totaled 78 points on the season. That is second in the MAC and 25th in the nation. Additionally, 12 of his 13 touchdowns have been rushing touchdowns, which is second in the MAC and seventh in the country.

JACKSON MOVING UP CAREER RUSHING LIST: With his 101 yards on the ground against Northern Illinois, Oct. 24, Darius Jackson now has 1,307 rushing yards in his career since joining the EMU football program, good for 17th on the all-time rushing list. The NIU contest was the fifth time Jackson surpassed 100 yards in a single-game during his career, all coming in the 2015 season, and the third game in a row surpassing 100 yards.
    With his 799 yards on the ground in 2015, Jackson is looking to become just the 13th back in EMU history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season. The current record holder for single-season rushing is Anthony Sherrell, who rushed for 1,531 yards in 2003.

CONSISTENTLY PUTTING UP POINTS: After scoring 21 points against Northern Illinois, Oct. 24, the EMU offense has put up at least 20 points in five consecutive contests. This is the first time an EMU offense has accomplished this feat since 2004, when the Green and White did so in seven consecutive games.

MANUFACTURING SOME OFFENSE: The 2015 EMU offense is shaping up to be one of the most potent in the history of the program. Through eight games, EMU has tallied a total of 3,244 total yards and 28 touchdowns.
    Given that pace, the squad would finish the season with 4,866 yards and 42 scores, which would both rank in the top three all-time. EMU's high-water mark for total offense is 5,010 yards set during the 2008 campaign, while the 1995 club led by Charlie Batch racked up 48 TDs.
    Through the opening eight contests of 2015, the Eagles have already compiled more touchdowns than they did in nine seasons dating back to 1998.

RED HOT IN THE RED ZONE: Eastern Michigan has been one of the most efficient teams in the red-zone through seven games this season, scoring on 22-of-25 (88 percent) attempts, which is good for third in the MAC and 33rd in the country. Nineteen of those scores have been touchdowns for the Green and White.

GREAT TACKLING: Senior linebacker Great Ibe currently leads the team and the conference in total tackles, recording 80 on the season, despite missing one game due to injury. This ranks fourth in the country. In three seasons for the Green and White after transferring into the program, Ibe currently ranks 22nd on the all-time tackles list at EMU with 275 stops.

SACK MASTERS: The Eastern Michigan defense notched three sacks against Northern Illinois, Oct. 24, with Clay Dawson, Nathan Adams, and Luke Maclean all recording takedowns of the QB. It was the second time EMU has recorded three sacks in a game this season, the other coming against LSU, Oct. 3. The Eagles have 13 total sacks on the year.

MADE IN MICHIGAN: A total of 38 players on the 2015 roster hail from the state of Michigan.

SPREADING IT AROUND: The EMU passing attack has spread the wealth with five different receivers having 20-or-more receptions. EMU is one of just eight schools nationally to accomplish that feat through the first seven contests.

# of Receivers with 20 or More Receptions
Seven – Washington State
Five – Arizona, BYU, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Ole Miss, Wake Forest, WKU
Four – Arizona State, Boise State, Bowling Green, Cal, Southern Miss, Texas Tech

WOUNDED EAGLES: The injury bug has not been kind to the Eagle defense in the 2015 season. The Green and White have seen injuries to 12 significant contributors throughout the year, with multiple of these players sustaining injuries that required them to miss games or even the entire season. The list includes: Pat O'Connor, Jeremiah Harris, Ikie Calderon, Nick Dillon, Anthony Zappone, DaQuan Pace, Jalen Williams, Brandon Bossard, Brody Hoying, Ike Spearman, Kyle Rachwal and Arron Pipkins.

ALL-TIME GREAT EMU KICKER: Senior kicker Dylan Mulder will go down as one of the greatest kickers to suit up in the Green and White, as his name is near the top of a few EMU all-time records. He is second in career extra points made (93), fifth in career field goals (32) and fourth in career points (189).
   Mulder is up for the Wuerffel Award, which goes to the FBS player that best combines exemplary community service with academic and athletic achievement. He is also nominated for the Burlsworth Award, which is presented each year to College football's most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on.

RIVALRY RENEWED WITH WESTERN: Thursday marks the 51st meeting all-time between the two programs in the in-state rivalry that began in 1906. WMU holds the all-time mark with a 30-18-2 lead, however EMU has won three of the past four meetings.

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST THE BRONCOS: EMU suffered a 51-7 setback at the hands of the Western Michigan, Nov. 15, 2014, at Waldo Stadium. Bouncing back from an injury suffered two weeks prior, EMU quarterback Reginald Bell went 14-of-21 through the air for 283 yards passing. The redshirt-freshman found eight different Eagles throughout the afternoon, but his favorite receiver was Tyreese Russell as the senior tight end made four catches for a career-high 98 yards. Bell found running back Bronson Hill out of the backfield for a 76-yard touchdown pass for the longest pass of the season and Hill's longest reception of his career.

THURSDAY NIGHT SPOTLIGHT: The game against Western Michigan will be a special environment at "The Factory" at Rynearson Stadium when it plays host to the "Thursday Night Lights Game". It will be the first Thursday night game at Rynearson since the season opener in 2008 versus Indiana State. EMU prevailed in that game, 52-0.

TUITION TOSS: EMU will provide the opportunity to two lucky EMU students to win an in-state tuition giveaway for one academic year (two consecutive semesters). The first opportunity will be during the EMU football team's nationally televised contest versus in-state rival Western Michigan Thursday night, Oct. 29, and the next will be at the Eagles' final home game versus the University of Massachusetts Saturday, Nov. 14.
   Contestants will be randomly chosen and selected during the first quarter of the game. Upon notification, students must check-in at the marketing kiosk on the main concourse of Rynearson Stadium. Students wearing other schools apparel will not be eligible for entry into the contest.
   Two students will be randomly selected with each having the chance to choose a Swoop mascot who will toss footballs into a customized football container from 10 yards out. Whomever gets the most footballs through the container within 60 seconds will win the year of tuition to EMU.

ROAD TRIP TO OXFORD UP NEXT: The next game on the docket for EMU is a road trip down to southern Ohio to square off against MAC East foe Miami University. This will be just the 22nd all-time meeting between the two schools with Miami holding the all-time lead 17-4.
   EMU will look to break a seven game losing streak to the RedHawks, with their last victory having come in 1993. This will be the first matchup for the two since 2010 and just the fourth meeting since 2000.

Football Hosts WMU In Nationally Televised Game Thursday Night

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Players Mentioned

Nathan Adams

Reginald Bell

Brandon Bossard

Ikie Calderon

Clay Dawson

Nick Dillon

Jeremiah Harris

Bronson Hill

Brody Hoying

Great Ibe

Darius Jackson

Luke Maclean

Dylan Mulder

Pat O'Connor

DaQuan Pace

Arron Pipkins

Kyle Rachwal

Tyreese Russell

Ike Spearman

Jalen Williams

Anthony Zappone

Eastern Michigan Athletics