Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, October 1
Bowling Green, Ohio
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
4-1 , 1-0
28
at
25
Bowling Green
1-4 , 0-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Eastern Michigan
7
0
14
7
28
Bowling Green
7
0
3
15
25
Photo by: Andrew Mascharka
Football Pushes Winning Streak to Three with 28-25 Win Over BGSU
10/1/2016 8:04:00 PM | Football
The victory marked EMU's first MAC-opening road win since 2005
Photo Gallery.
Video Highlights.
Audio Highlights.
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team rattled off its third consecutive win Saturday, Oct. 1, with a 28-25 victory over Bowling Green State University to open Mid-American Conference play 1-0. EMU (4-1, 1-0 MAC) defeated the defending MAC champion Falcons (1-4, 0-1 MAC) for the first time since 2008 and is now 4-1 for the first time since 1995.
It was a tale of two halves, as both teams combined for 14 points in the first and 39 in the second. It was also that way for the EMU quarterbacks, as junior Todd Porter (O'Fallon, Ill.-O'Fallon (Western Kentucky-Garden City C.C.)) led the offense in the first, while redshirt junior Brogan Roback (Maumee, Ohio-Toledo St. John's Jesuit) guided the offense in the second frame.
T. Porter finished the game with 107 yards on 11 completions, while Roback finished with just under the century mark (91), but had three key touchdown passes. It was Roback's first three-touchdown performance since Sept. 12, 2015, against Wyoming.
As a whole offense, EMU had 474 total yards, including 212 on the ground and 262 through the air. Leading the ground assault redshirt freshman Breck Turner (Norwalk, Ohio-Norwalk), who paced the Eagles with a career-high 107 yards on 17 carries. In addition to breaking the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career, Turner scored his second touchdown as an Eagle. Splitting carries with Turner, redshirt sophomore Ian Eriksen (Clarkston, Mich.-Clarkston) added 69 yards on 20 rushes.
In the air, the Eagles completed passes to seven different receivers, maintaining the balance they have displayed all season. Redshirt freshman Nigel Kilby (Fort Wayne, Ind.-Northrop) finished with five receptions for a career-best 92 yards, including a 64-yard pick up, the longest reception of the game. Kilby's 64-yard reception came on a trick play in which redshirt freshman Isaac Holder (Tampa, Fla.-Sickles) tossed the ball down field after catching a screen pass in the backfield. Junior Sergio Bailey (La Mesa, Calif.-Olympian (Grossmont)) capped an impressive day with 40-yard touchdown reception, registering 71 yards on four catches, while junior Antoine Porter (San Francisco, Calif.-Mission (SF City College)) chipped in 64 yards receiving.
Defensively, the Green and White were lead by a pair of 12-tackle performances, the most by an Eagle this season. Redshirt sophomore Kyle Rachwal (Lapeer, Mich.-Lapeer East) registered 12 stops, five solo and seven assisted, recording double digit tackles for the third time this season. Redshirt junior Ikie Calderon (Neptune, N.J.-Neptune (College of the Desert)) who also had 12 tackles (seven solo, five assisted) added the first sack of his career, a tackle for a loss, and a pass breakup in strong all-around performance. Meanwhile, senior DaQuan Pace (Detroit, Mich.-Cass Tech) recorded his 19th and 20th career pass breakups, making him EMU's all-time leader since breakups were tracked in 1998.
The Eagles began the game on defense and quickly gave up a big play on a screen pass, a 43-yard strike down to the EMU 13 yard line. After three straight pass plays, the Eagles didn't give up another first down, forcing a 30-yard field goal. It soared wide right, keeping the Falcons off the board.
After trading possessions, EMU began its second drive from its own 17. On a third and three-play, Porter's pass was tipped and hung in the air, only to be intercepted by BGSU at the 31, setting them up with a short field.
The Falcons ended up with first and goal from the two, where three straight rush attempts up the middle were stuffed, forcing fourth and goal. That's when BGSU ran a play fake, and completed a short pass for a touchdown, giving them the first points of the day and a 7-0 lead.
Needing a quick response, the Eagles got it on the next drive. In between rushes from Eriksen and Turner, T. Porter completed long passes to Bailey II and A. Porter for 17 and 38 yards, respectively, getting Eastern into the red zone for the first time at the four yard line. Two plays later Turner punched it in for his second touchdown of the season, tying the game at seven.
After stopping the Falcons on back-to-back drives, the Eagles began a long drive at the 10 minute mark of the second quarter. After a 20-yard T. Porter rush on third down to get into Falcon territory, EMU did something it had not done all season, losing a fumble on a botched option play. The miscue gave the Falcons their second turnover of the game, and possession of the ball at their own 28.
The defense stepped up for the third consecutive time after the turnover, forcing another punt, and giving EMU one more chance to get points before the half, however they went three-and-out. Despite a hail mary attempt right before the half from BGSU after getting to midfield, the pass was picked off in the end zone by freshman Vince Calhoun (Middletown, Ohio-Middletown), keeping the score at seven apiece headed into halftime.
The defensive struggle continued into the second half as both teams failed to tack on any points in the first three possessions. This prompted a change in QB for EMU, with Roback entering the game on the second drive in place of a banged up T. Porter.
BGSU finally broke the stalemate on an efficient 10-play drive midway through the third quarter. The Falcons moved the ball down to the EMU 15 before the defense held their ground, forcing a 32-yard field goal which was converted, giving the Falcons the lead back 10-7 with 7:10 remaining in the third period.
Just like the first time Bowling Green put up points, the Eagles had the immediate answer, this time on three quick strike plays. After a short two yard pass, the Eagles reached into their bag of tricks. On a screen to Holder, he turned around and completed a 64-yard pass to Kilby down the field, setting up EMU at the BG eight. On the very next play, Holder was rewarded for his pass, this time catching the touchdown strike from Roback. Holder's first career TD catch gave Eastern its first lead of the game, 14-10 with 6:10 remaining in the third.
With its first lead of the game, the Eagle defense continued their stout play, forcing a quick three-and-out, giving Eastern Michigan the ball back with an opportunity to extend the lead. The Eagle offense was up to the task, scoring their second consecutive touchdown on the next drive.
This time EMU grinded out a 10-play scoring drive, taking 3:50 off the clock. The first seven plays of the drive saw Eastern ground and pound its way down to the BGSU 33 with runs from Eriksen and Turner. After a 15-yard penalty set Eastern up at the 17, a pass interference call put the ball at the eight. Two plays later, Roback found Kilby over the middle for the score, extending the lead to 21-10 with 1:23 until the fourth quarter.
Facing their biggest deficit, the Falcons got a much needed score early in the fourth quarter on a 10-play, 75-yard drive that cut the Eagle lead to 21-17 with just under 13 minutes to play.
The Eagle offense continued to respond though, as they did on the ensuing drive after the BG score. Beginning the drive with back-to-back strikes to Bailey II, followed by a 14-yard pass to A. Porter, EMU drove into Falcon territory. Three plays later on third and five, Roback rolled out and found Bailey II just in front of the end zone, where he leaped and snagged a would-be interception away from the defender, and rolled in for the score. The 40-yard touchdown strike put Eastern's lead back to 28-17 with just under 10 minutes to play.
Needing to keep up with the Eagles' offensive attack, BGSU went on another efficient scoring drive, this time using 14 plays for 82 yards for the touchdown. A two-point conversion made the tally just three points, 28-25, with 5:22 left in the contest.
Looking to melt the clock down, EMU began to pound the rock on the ensuing possession. Eriksen and Turner split the duties, running for five consecutive first downs to bleed the ticker down to under a minute. On the drive, Turner went over 100 yards on the night. With BGSU out of timeouts, Eastern was able to kneel out the clock, sealing the three-point, 28-25, win.
The Eagles return home next week for their MAC home opener and for the 96th Homecoming against the University of Toledo. Kickoff against the Rockets is set for 3 p.m. at "The Factory" inside Rynearson Stadium.
Video Highlights.
Audio Highlights.
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team rattled off its third consecutive win Saturday, Oct. 1, with a 28-25 victory over Bowling Green State University to open Mid-American Conference play 1-0. EMU (4-1, 1-0 MAC) defeated the defending MAC champion Falcons (1-4, 0-1 MAC) for the first time since 2008 and is now 4-1 for the first time since 1995.
It was a tale of two halves, as both teams combined for 14 points in the first and 39 in the second. It was also that way for the EMU quarterbacks, as junior Todd Porter (O'Fallon, Ill.-O'Fallon (Western Kentucky-Garden City C.C.)) led the offense in the first, while redshirt junior Brogan Roback (Maumee, Ohio-Toledo St. John's Jesuit) guided the offense in the second frame.
T. Porter finished the game with 107 yards on 11 completions, while Roback finished with just under the century mark (91), but had three key touchdown passes. It was Roback's first three-touchdown performance since Sept. 12, 2015, against Wyoming.
As a whole offense, EMU had 474 total yards, including 212 on the ground and 262 through the air. Leading the ground assault redshirt freshman Breck Turner (Norwalk, Ohio-Norwalk), who paced the Eagles with a career-high 107 yards on 17 carries. In addition to breaking the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career, Turner scored his second touchdown as an Eagle. Splitting carries with Turner, redshirt sophomore Ian Eriksen (Clarkston, Mich.-Clarkston) added 69 yards on 20 rushes.
In the air, the Eagles completed passes to seven different receivers, maintaining the balance they have displayed all season. Redshirt freshman Nigel Kilby (Fort Wayne, Ind.-Northrop) finished with five receptions for a career-best 92 yards, including a 64-yard pick up, the longest reception of the game. Kilby's 64-yard reception came on a trick play in which redshirt freshman Isaac Holder (Tampa, Fla.-Sickles) tossed the ball down field after catching a screen pass in the backfield. Junior Sergio Bailey (La Mesa, Calif.-Olympian (Grossmont)) capped an impressive day with 40-yard touchdown reception, registering 71 yards on four catches, while junior Antoine Porter (San Francisco, Calif.-Mission (SF City College)) chipped in 64 yards receiving.
Defensively, the Green and White were lead by a pair of 12-tackle performances, the most by an Eagle this season. Redshirt sophomore Kyle Rachwal (Lapeer, Mich.-Lapeer East) registered 12 stops, five solo and seven assisted, recording double digit tackles for the third time this season. Redshirt junior Ikie Calderon (Neptune, N.J.-Neptune (College of the Desert)) who also had 12 tackles (seven solo, five assisted) added the first sack of his career, a tackle for a loss, and a pass breakup in strong all-around performance. Meanwhile, senior DaQuan Pace (Detroit, Mich.-Cass Tech) recorded his 19th and 20th career pass breakups, making him EMU's all-time leader since breakups were tracked in 1998.
The Eagles began the game on defense and quickly gave up a big play on a screen pass, a 43-yard strike down to the EMU 13 yard line. After three straight pass plays, the Eagles didn't give up another first down, forcing a 30-yard field goal. It soared wide right, keeping the Falcons off the board.
After trading possessions, EMU began its second drive from its own 17. On a third and three-play, Porter's pass was tipped and hung in the air, only to be intercepted by BGSU at the 31, setting them up with a short field.
The Falcons ended up with first and goal from the two, where three straight rush attempts up the middle were stuffed, forcing fourth and goal. That's when BGSU ran a play fake, and completed a short pass for a touchdown, giving them the first points of the day and a 7-0 lead.
Needing a quick response, the Eagles got it on the next drive. In between rushes from Eriksen and Turner, T. Porter completed long passes to Bailey II and A. Porter for 17 and 38 yards, respectively, getting Eastern into the red zone for the first time at the four yard line. Two plays later Turner punched it in for his second touchdown of the season, tying the game at seven.
After stopping the Falcons on back-to-back drives, the Eagles began a long drive at the 10 minute mark of the second quarter. After a 20-yard T. Porter rush on third down to get into Falcon territory, EMU did something it had not done all season, losing a fumble on a botched option play. The miscue gave the Falcons their second turnover of the game, and possession of the ball at their own 28.
The defense stepped up for the third consecutive time after the turnover, forcing another punt, and giving EMU one more chance to get points before the half, however they went three-and-out. Despite a hail mary attempt right before the half from BGSU after getting to midfield, the pass was picked off in the end zone by freshman Vince Calhoun (Middletown, Ohio-Middletown), keeping the score at seven apiece headed into halftime.
The defensive struggle continued into the second half as both teams failed to tack on any points in the first three possessions. This prompted a change in QB for EMU, with Roback entering the game on the second drive in place of a banged up T. Porter.
BGSU finally broke the stalemate on an efficient 10-play drive midway through the third quarter. The Falcons moved the ball down to the EMU 15 before the defense held their ground, forcing a 32-yard field goal which was converted, giving the Falcons the lead back 10-7 with 7:10 remaining in the third period.
Just like the first time Bowling Green put up points, the Eagles had the immediate answer, this time on three quick strike plays. After a short two yard pass, the Eagles reached into their bag of tricks. On a screen to Holder, he turned around and completed a 64-yard pass to Kilby down the field, setting up EMU at the BG eight. On the very next play, Holder was rewarded for his pass, this time catching the touchdown strike from Roback. Holder's first career TD catch gave Eastern its first lead of the game, 14-10 with 6:10 remaining in the third.
With its first lead of the game, the Eagle defense continued their stout play, forcing a quick three-and-out, giving Eastern Michigan the ball back with an opportunity to extend the lead. The Eagle offense was up to the task, scoring their second consecutive touchdown on the next drive.
This time EMU grinded out a 10-play scoring drive, taking 3:50 off the clock. The first seven plays of the drive saw Eastern ground and pound its way down to the BGSU 33 with runs from Eriksen and Turner. After a 15-yard penalty set Eastern up at the 17, a pass interference call put the ball at the eight. Two plays later, Roback found Kilby over the middle for the score, extending the lead to 21-10 with 1:23 until the fourth quarter.
Facing their biggest deficit, the Falcons got a much needed score early in the fourth quarter on a 10-play, 75-yard drive that cut the Eagle lead to 21-17 with just under 13 minutes to play.
The Eagle offense continued to respond though, as they did on the ensuing drive after the BG score. Beginning the drive with back-to-back strikes to Bailey II, followed by a 14-yard pass to A. Porter, EMU drove into Falcon territory. Three plays later on third and five, Roback rolled out and found Bailey II just in front of the end zone, where he leaped and snagged a would-be interception away from the defender, and rolled in for the score. The 40-yard touchdown strike put Eastern's lead back to 28-17 with just under 10 minutes to play.
Needing to keep up with the Eagles' offensive attack, BGSU went on another efficient scoring drive, this time using 14 plays for 82 yards for the touchdown. A two-point conversion made the tally just three points, 28-25, with 5:22 left in the contest.
Looking to melt the clock down, EMU began to pound the rock on the ensuing possession. Eriksen and Turner split the duties, running for five consecutive first downs to bleed the ticker down to under a minute. On the drive, Turner went over 100 yards on the night. With BGSU out of timeouts, Eastern was able to kneel out the clock, sealing the three-point, 28-25, win.
The Eagles return home next week for their MAC home opener and for the 96th Homecoming against the University of Toledo. Kickoff against the Rockets is set for 3 p.m. at "The Factory" inside Rynearson Stadium.
Head Coach Chris Creighton on the team's 28-25 win over BGSU, getting the Eagles to a 4-1 start to the season and 1-0 in MAC play #EMUEagles pic.twitter.com/2igp24orTm
— EMU Athletics (@EMUAthletics) October 2, 2016
QB Brogan Roback talks about his second half performance and helping the Eagles to a 4-1 start to the season #EMUEagles #LetsRoll pic.twitter.com/QkyAn0qxMl
— EMU Athletics (@EMUAthletics) October 2, 2016
DB DaQuan Pace talks about breaking the EMU pass breakups record in tonight's 28-25 win over BGSU #EMUEagles #LetsRoll pic.twitter.com/KkMlBiI8YI
— EMU Athletics (@EMUAthletics) October 2, 2016
TE Nigel Kilby speaks on his 92-yard receiving performance in the 28-25 win over BGSU #EMUEagles #LetsRoll pic.twitter.com/2rmFBladNa
— EMU Athletics (@EMUAthletics) October 2, 2016
DB Ikie Calderon talked about the defensive performance in tonight's 28-25 win over BGSU #EMUEagles #LetsRoll pic.twitter.com/o3HTEohEUt
— EMU Athletics (@EMUAthletics) October 2, 2016
Team Stats
EMU
BGSU
Total Yards
474
456
Pass Yards
262
250
Rushing Yards
212
206
Penalty Yards
56
48
1st Downs
24
29
3rd Downs
7
5
4th Downs
0
2
TOP
31:39
28:21
1st Quarter
EMU 0, BGSU 7
BGSU - WILSON, Donovan 2 yd pass from MORGAN, James (SUDER, Jake kick) 7 plays, 31 yards, TOP 2:46
EMU 7, BGSU 7
EMU - TURNER, Breck 3 yd run (FRICANO, Paul kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:06
3rd Quarter
EMU 7, BGSU 10
BGSU - SUDER, Jake 32 yd field goal 10 plays, 53 yards, TOP 2:54
EMU 14, BGSU 10
EMU - HOLDER, Isaac 8 yd pass from ROBACK, Brogan (FRICANO, Paul kick) 3 plays, 74 yards, TOP 1:00
EMU 21, BGSU 10
EMU - KILBY, Nigel 7 yd pass from ROBACK, Brogan (FRICANO, Paul kick) 10 plays, 73 yards, TOP 3:50
4th Quarter
EMU 21, BGSU 17
BGSU - COPPET, Fred 2 yd run (SUDER, Jake kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:41
EMU 28, BGSU 17
EMU - BAILEY, Sergio 40 yd pass from ROBACK, Brogan (FRICANO, Paul kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:09
EMU 28, BGSU 25
BGSU - COPPET, Fred 2 yd run (MILLER, Scott pass), 14 plays, 82 yards, TOP 4:06
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
Players Mentioned
DB
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DB
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RB
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TE
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DB
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WR
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LB
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RB
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