Ball State Comes to Town for Band/Hall of Fame Day Saturday, Sept. 19

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University football team returns to "The Factory" turf for its second home contest, hosting Mid-American Conference rival Ball State University Saturday, Sept. 19, at 3 p.m. The contest against the Cardinals is also Band and Hall of Fame Day at Rynearson Stadium.
   The Eagles are 1-1 (0-0 MAC) on the 2015 campaign following a 48-29 non-conference road win at Wyoming, Sept. 12. Meanwhile, the Cardinals fell to 1-1 (0-0 MAC) with a 56-23 road setback at No. 16/19 Texas A&M University, Sept. 12.
   The contest will be televised by ESPN3 with Dan Gutowsky providing the play-by-play and Mickey Matthews 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.

#GETSOMEMACtion: Saturday's contest kicks off the 40th 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 13-26 all-time in MAC lidlifters.

TIME FOR #MACTION: EMU and BSU are opening Mid-American Conference play against each other for the fifth time since the 1976 campaign. The Eagles drew first blood with a 13-7 victory in Muncie, Ind., Sept. 12, 1998, before BSU returned the favor with a 38-20 win eight years later, Aug. 31, 2006. In 2007, Ball State notched a 38-16 triumph in Ypsilanti, Sept. 9, before posting a 37-26 win in the 2012 opener, Aug. 30.

HISTORIC WIN IN LARAMIE: Winning on the road is always special for college football teams, but for Eastern Michigan the 48-29 victory at Wyoming was even sweeter. No player on EMU's roster was even born the last time the squad returned to Ypsilanti with a non-conference road victory – a streak of 57 games. In 1988, the then-Hurons led by Jim Harkema posted a 17-12 non-league triumph at Football Championship Subdivision foe Youngstown State University, Sept. 10.
   Additionally, the win ended a 14-game road losing skid for the Green and White. EMU last tasted a road win in 2012, when the team posted a 29-23 decision at Waldo Stadium against Western Michigan to win the Michigan MAC Trophy.

FINDING SOME OFFENSE: For someone to say the Eagles' offense has improved would be a major understatement. The Eagles have piled up 82 points and 950 total yards in the team's first two contests in 2015. In the first year under offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer's system the offense surpassed the 900-yard plateau in the fifth game of the year while collecting its 80th point in game number six.

THIRD DOWN SUCCESS: The Eagles have found ways this season to set themselves up for success on third down so far this season, converting 56 percent (15-of-27). More importantly, the team has needed to pick up five-or-less yards on 13 of those occasions with eight resulting in a conversion. Nationally, EMU ranks 10th in third down conversion percentage and second in the Mid-American Conference.
   In 2014, EMU finished at just 36 percent (63-for-177) with 84 of those attempts occurring with six-or-more yards needed for a first down.

ON-SIDE FUN: With the team up seven points at Wyoming in the first quarter, kickoff specialist Brendan Renius caught the Cowboys off-guard and was able to recover the on-side kick. The kickoff recovery was the first by Eastern Michigan since 2007 when Zach Johnson did so against Toledo, Nov. 3.
   EMU had failed on its previous 13 attempts to get the ball back.

PLENTY OF POINTS: The Eagles light up the scoreboard at Wyoming to the tune of 48 points in the Sept. 12 non-conference victory. The total was the most by an EMU team on the road since 2008, and the most during in a non-conference road game since recording 40 at Temple, Sept. 23, 2000. A total of 48 points is also what the Eagles scored in the entirety of its 2014 four-game out-of-conference slate. The Eagles scored 38 consecutive points in the first half to open up a lead they would never relinquish.

DRIVE, SCORE, DO IT AGAIN: After opening with a 3-and-out at Wyoming, the Eagles found their offense rhythm as the squad scored on its next six possessions to take a 38-7 lead just before the halftime break. It was the first time since Oct. 13, 2012, against Toledo that the team had posted scores on six consecutive drives.

ROBACK STANDS TALL IN WYOMING: Redshirt-sophomore quarterback Brogan Roback had a career game is his return to the starting lineup versus Wyoming, Sept. 12. The righty passed for career-highs in yards (330) and touchdowns (3) on 17 completions in the 48-29 victory. Roback was making his first start since Sept. 13, 2014 in place of the injured Reginald Bell, who was sidelined following an injury versus Old Dominion, Sept. 5.

RECEIVING NATIONAL ATTENTION: For his efforts against Wyoming, quarterback Brogan Roback received national attention as he was awarded a "helmet sticker" on ESPN's College Football Final. It was the first helmet sticker for an EMU player since 2013, when Tyler Allen got one after he returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown versus Ohio, Oct. 19. He was also named a Manning Award Star of the Week, one of eight QBs to be spotlighted for the week.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: A trio of first-year players for the Eagles recorded career milestones against Wyoming, Sept. 12. Redshirt-freshman running back Shaq Vann ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns, the first 100-yard rushing game and first score of his EMU career. Freshman wide receiver Eddie Daugherty caught three passes for 105 yards for his first career 100-yard receiving effort. Finally junior tight end Sam Browning added his first career catch, a three-yard touchdown reception.

STRIKE UP THE BAND!: The contest against the Cardinals of Ball State is also Band Day at Rynearson Stadium with eight high school bands in attendance performing as one with the EMU Marching Band. In total approximately 1,000 student musicians will be in attendance for this special massed band performance at halftime of the music from Disney's Fantasmic. Sing a long as we perform some of your favorite Disney selections.
   The schools scheduled to participate include: Blissfield High School, Monroe Jefferson High School, Ovid-Elsie High School, Riverview Community High School, Skyline High School, Whiteford High School, Whitmore Lake High School, and Ypsilanti Community High School.

HALL OF FAMERS RETURN TO CAMPUS: The E-Club Alumni Chapter, the official varsity athletic letterwinners club, inducts seven new members into the Athletic Hall of Fame this weekend. The Class of 2015 will be honored at the Hall of Fame ceremony Friday, Sept. 18, and will be will recognized during Saturday game
   The Class of 2015 includes: Joseph Codrington (men's track and field), Tracy Deeter (women's soccer), George Harrison (football and baseball), Paul Scicluna (women's soccer coach), L.J. Shelton (football), Stephanie Smiley (women's basketball) and Barry Susterka (men's swimming and diving).

CLASH AGAINST THE CARDINALS: The Eagles and Cardinals will be meeting for the 57th time in the all-time history between the two squads. Ball State holds a 33-21-2 edge in the series which began in 1936 when Eastern claimed a 6-0 victory in Ypsilanti, Sept. 26. BSU has taken the previous four matchups with EMU's last win in the series having come on the road in Muncie, Oct. 16, 2010, in an overtime thriller. The Eagles overcame a sluggish start and a 21-point hole before rallying past Ball State in a 41-38 overtime victory.

LAST TIME WE MET: In its final road game of the 2014 season, EMU suffered a 45-30 defeat to the hands of the Ball State, Nov. 22, at Scheumann Stadium. EMU scored 27 second-half points but could not overcome three turnovers and a 28-3 halftime deficit.
    EMU out-gained Ball State in total yardage, 503-440, but three turnovers led to three touchdowns by the Cardinals. Also, the Green and White defense could not force a turnover by the Cardinals, leading to a minus three turnover margin for the contest. All three EMU touchdowns came via the air raid, while Dylan Mulder tied his personal mark for the most field goals in one game with three, connecting on makes from 25, 29 and 26 yards.
    Despite the loss, quarterback Reginald Bell did his part, piling up 510 yards of total offense for the second-most yardage by one individual Eagle in program history. The record of 554 total yards by Andy Schmitt, Nov. 28, 2008, still stands but it was a career day for Bell. He threw for 409 yards on 36-of-49 passing, all personal bests, while rushing for an additional 101 yards on 18 carries.

RENIUS NAMED MAC WEST SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For his efforts at Wyoming, Brendan Renius was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Special Teams Player of the Week for the period ending Sept. 12. It was the first weekly award of his career and the first for any EMU football player this season. Besides the onside kick recovery, Renius also booted all eight of his kickoffs for touchbacks, totaling 520 yards.

ARMY WEST POINT AWAITS: EMU will host back-to-back weeks at "The Factory" when they welcome in non-conference opponent Army West Point Saturday, Sept. 26. Game time is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN3. It will be the seventh meeting between the two programs, with Army leading the series 5-1. They last played in 2013 when Army prevailed 50-25.

Ball State Comes to Town for Band/Hall of Fame Day Saturday, Sept. 19

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Allen

Reginald Bell

Sam Browning

Eddie Daugherty IV

Dylan Mulder

Brendan Renius

Brogan Roback

Shaq Vann

Eastern Michigan Athletics