Football Returns to "The Factory" Friday Night to Battle Wyoming

Football vs. Wyoming
Date	Friday, Sept. 23 \| 7:30 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| "The Factory" at Rynearson Stadium (30,200)
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Press Conference Video \| Teleconference Audio.
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	CBS Sports Network
Listen	WEMU (89.1 FM) \| TuneIn Radio
Twitter	@EMUFB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.2282 \| Clear Bag Policy

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team wraps up non-conference play in 2016 when it hosts the Cowboys of the University of Wyoming Friday, Sept. 23. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. under the lights at "The Factory" inside Rynearson Stadium.
   The Eagles enter the contest with a 2-1 (0-0 MAC) record behind a stout defensive performance in a 37-19 win at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Sept. 17. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are 2-1 (0-0 MW) after downing the University of California-Davis, 45-22, at War Memorial Stadium, Sept. 17.
The contest will be nationally televised by CBS Sports Network with Ben Holden providing play-by-play, Sed Bonner 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.

NON-CONFERENCE ROAD WINS: With the Eagles securing a non-conference road victory in Charlotte, the Green and White have notched back-to-back seasons with a non-conference road win for the first time since 1977. 39 seasons ago, Eastern managed to beat Akron (who had not yet joined the MAC) and North Carolina A&T in the same season, 42-28 and 21-20, respectively.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: The EMU-Wyoming game marks one just of three FBS contest being played Friday evening, Sept. 23. The tilt in Ypsilanti will get things started at 7:30 p.m., after which TCU and SMU will square off at 8 p.m. Finally, rounding out the trio of matchups is USC at Utah at 9 p.m.

FRICANO AGAIN NAMED MAC WEST DIVISION SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Redshirt freshman kicker Paul Fricano was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Special Teams Player of the Week for the period ending Sept. 17. It marks the second time in the last three weeks that the Rochester, N.Y. native has won the award.
   Fricano had a perfect game against the Charlotte 49ers from a kicking perspective. Fricano was a perfect three-of-three with field goals of 22, 30, and 36 yards, while he was also four-of-four on PATs. With his kick from 36 yards out, Fricano set a new career-best. The first-year kicker is also a perfect 15-for-15 in extra points, which leads the MAC.

COACH TO CURE MD: This week the Eastern Michigan coaching staff will be wearing special arm patches in honor of the AFCA's Coach to Cure MD program. This is the ninth year coaches around the country join together to raise funding and awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Fans are encouraged to donate by texting "CURE" to 90999 or visiting www.CoachtoCureMD.org.

ALL-TIME VERSUS WYOMING: The Eagles have only squared off with the Cowboys of Wyoming once before, as the squads are now on the second game of a home-and-home, with the first game taking place last year in Laramie. In their debut matchup, the Green and White came away with the 48-29 victory after Brogan Roback led the EMU offense with 330 yards passing and three scores. On the ground, Shaq Vann paced Eastern after amassing 129 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns.

LAST SEASON AGAINST THE POKES: In the first game of a home-and-home agreement with Wyoming, the Eagles won the first tilt by a score of 48-29 after scoring 38 points in the first half. Through the air, Brogan Roback had a career day with 330 yards passing and three touchdowns, while Shaq Vann carried the ball 16 times for 129 yards and a pair of scores. On the defensive side, Clay Dawson recorded one sack and one tackle for loss, in addition to forcing, and recovering, a fumble.

EMU AND THE MOUNTAIN WEST: The Eagles have squared off with four teams from the Mountain West Conference in its history, amassing a record of 2-1-1. The pair of wins have come against Wyoming and San Jose State, while the Green and White lost to Fresno State. Finally, Eastern managed to force a tie against Colorado State.
   The team's win against San Jose State was a special one, as the Eagles defeated the Spartans in the 1987 California Bowl by a score of 30-27. Despite being 17-point underdogs, the Eagles managed to seal up the game in the fourth quarter after a 32-yard pass from Ron Adams to Craig Ostrander made the score 30-27 with less than four minutes to play.

HIGH PERCENTAGE PASSING: In Eastern's road win against the 49ers of Charlotte, Sept. 17, quarterback Todd Porter had a very effective day passing the ball. Porter managed to finish the game 24-of-31 passing, marking a completion percentage of 77.4 percent. This figure is the highest completion percentage for an Eagle QB since 2008.

PICKS FOR PICKETT: Sophomore Jaylen Pickett had a career day against the Charlotte 49ers at linebacker. The Zephyrhills, Fla. native secured two interceptions on the day, which were the first two for the squad this season. He was also able to return one of those for a touchdown, marking the first time since last season against Central Michigan, Nov. 27, that EMU had a pick six. Overall, the pair of picks was the 11th time that the Green and White have accomplished the feat since 1999. Most recently, Jermaine Jenkins nabbed two interceptions against Indiana State in 2008.

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE: So far this season, the Eagles have found success in games in which the squad has won the turnover battle. In total, Eastern holds a 8-4 TO advantage with a safety, two interceptions, and five fumble recoveries. Not only is the squad getting the ball back, but they are taking advantage of it and putting points on the board. Against Charlotte, the Eagles picked up 21 points off of turnovers, while they have totaled 42 throughout the season. Opponents have only been able to pick up seven points off of turnovers against the Green and White through the first three games of the year.

AGAINST THE HOME STATE: EMU's upcoming game against Wyoming will give a pair of Eagles the opportunity to square off with a team from their home state. Offensive lineman Pete Bergman hails from Casper, Wyo., while Special Teams Coordinator and Tight Ends Coach Aaron Keen is from Cheyenne, Wyo.

BALL! GRAB THAT FUMBLE: Eastern has been extremely effective when it comes to both forcing, and recovering fumbles this season. The Green and White have forced six fumbles, and recovered five of them. In the MAC, Eastern leads the conference in fumble recoveries by two, as Ohio, Miami, and Kent State have recovered three so far this season. On the national level, the Eagles are tied for third-best in the FBS with five. Washington leads the way with seven, while Pittsburgh is in second with six. There are two other teams tied for third, as both Tennessee and Oklahoma State have also recovered five.

STRONG RUSH DEFENSE: The Eagles have held each opponent to less than 200 yards on the ground so far this season. Opponents have managed a total of just 350 yards on the ground so far, which comes to an average of 116.7 per game. Overall, Mississippi Valley State totaled just 23 yards in the season-opening game, Missouri picked up 170 last weekend, and Charlotte ran to 157 in the team's most recent game. Last season, the Eagles were only able to hold one team to less than 200 yards on the ground, displaying the team's much improved rush defense.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK: Two EMU seniors are close to topping the all-time list for defensive categories in the EMU record book. Pat O'Connor is now just 3.5 sacks away from becoming EMU's all-time sack leader (since 1998), while DaQuan Pace is just two pass breakups away from topping the charts at that category (since 1998).

BOMBS AWAY BARNES: Austin Barnes has been having a fantastic season punting the ball. Most recently, he punted three times against Charlotte for an average of 46.8 yards per punt, including a long of 55. Against Mizzou, Sept. 10, he boomed 10 punts for an average of 47.0 yards, matching his long from Charlotte at 55 yards, putting him in a tie for 11th in single game punting average. The fourth-year punter currently holds a career average of 42.6 yards, which is second all-time in EMU history, while his 5,533 total yards ranks ninth all-time. His 46.8 season punting average is eighth in the country and second in the MAC.

BIG GAME FOR PORTER: Todd Porter has found success passing the ball in back-to-back games against Missouri, Sept. 10, and Charlotte, Sept. 17. Porter threw for more than 280 yards in both, including 287 against Mizzou and 285 against the 49ers. So far this season, Porter has totaled 743 yards passing for an average of 247.7 per game, in addition to picking up six passing touchdowns.

STRANGE KICKOFF GOES VIRAL: In the Eagles' road win in Charlotte, the Eagles had a very bizarre kickoff at the 3:51 mark in the third quarter. After Jaylen Pickett returned an interception for a touchdown, the 49ers were called for multiple personal foul penalties. After totaling the penalty yardage, the Eagles kicked off from the opponent 20-yard line. They attempted an onside kick, but UNCC recovered the ball. Click here to see the play.

STRONG OL: The Eagles' veteran offensive line has lived up to the bill. As a unit, the Eastern OL has only allowed two sacks, which is amongst the best in the conference, as well as all of FBS football. The Green and White are tied for third in the MAC, as well as nationally, with just the two sacks allowed.

SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS: Eastern has been setting themselves up for success on the offensive end through fantastic kick returning all season long. As a unit, the kick returners are averaging 32 yards per return, which leads the conference by 7.9 yards and is also seventh-best nationally. Individually, Blake Banham ranks third-best in kickoff returns nationally at 39.4 yards per return. Against Charlotte, Banham posted a long return of 47 yards, while his season-best is 69.

IMPROVING DEFENSE: The victory over Charlotte marked the second-fewest yards allowed under Head Coach Chris Creighton. The 49ers were able to muster 356 offensive yards, including less than 200 on the ground. The team's best defensive performance came earlier in the season against Mississippi Valley State, as the squad allowed just 201 yards.

SPREADING THE LOVE: The Eagles have done a great job of spreading the ball around through the first three games, and the win against Charlotte was no different. This past weekend, nine different Eagles recorded at least one reception, with seven nabbing at least two. So far this season, 13 EMU players have recorded a reception, and six have five or more.

AN EMU WIN WOULD...: Should the Eagles win against Wyoming, Sept. 23, the squad will be 3-1 after the conclusion of the non-conference season. The last time that EMU started a season 3-1 was in 1995 when the Eagles beat Akron, UNLV, and Ohio within their first four games.

THREE-TIME CAPTAIN: Redshirt senior Pat O'Connor is one of just seven active three-time captains in the FBS this season. The veteran defensive lineman joins New Mexico's Dakota Cox, Colorado's Sefo Liufau, Wake Forest's Ryan Janvion, Minnesota's Mitch Leidner, BYU's Taysom Hill, and Georgia Tech's Justin Thomas. The Chicago native is just the second three-time captain in program history, joining former quarterback Andy Schmitt (2007-09).

ON THE HORIZON: Following this weekend's matchup with Wyoming, the Eagles will begin conference play. The conference-opener comes in the form of a quick road trip down to Ohio to face off with Bowling Green, Oct. 1, at 3 p.m.

Football Returns to "The Factory" Friday Night to Battle Wyoming

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Players Mentioned

Blake Banham

Austin Barnes

Pete Bergman

Clay Dawson

Paulie Fricano

Pat O'Connor

DaQuan Pace

Jaylen Pickett

Todd Porter

Brogan Roback

Shaq Vann

Eastern Michigan Athletics