Football Faces Missouri Saturday, Sept. 10, in Columbia, Mo.

Football at Missouri
Date	Saturday, Sept. 10 \| 6:30 p.m. CT
Venue	Columbia, Mo. \| Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Press Conference Video \| Teleconference Audio.
Live Stats	Media Stats
Watch	SEC Network+
Listen	WEMU (89.1 FM) \| TuneIn Radio
Twitter	@EMUFB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.2282

COLUMBIA, Mo. (EMUEagles.com) – Following a historic offensive performance in its season-opening victory, the Eastern Michigan University football team hits the road for the first time this season with a trip to Columbia, Mo. Saturday, Sept. 10, for a non-conference tilt versus the Tigers of the University of Missouri. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT (7:30 p.m. in Ypsilanti) at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field.
WEMU (89.1 FM) will provide audio coverage of the game with Matt Shepard and Rob Rubick calling the action on the field. The contest will be televised on the SEC Network Alternate Channel (XFINITY Channel 785). Mark Neely and former Central Michigan linebacker Ray Bentley will be in the booth, while Alex Corddry reports from the sideline .

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE TIGERS: EMU has squared off with the Tigers of Missouri once prior in its 125-year history. The two squads first met Sept. 6, 1997, at Faurot Field when MU claimed a 44-24 victory over the visiting Eagles. Despite only trailing by three at halftime, the Tigers ran away with a 44-24 win in that year's season opener. Future E-Club Athletic Hall of Famer and NFL star Charlie Batch went 17-of-38 for 256 yards passing and two touchdown in the contest.

EAGLES VERSUS THE SEC: Saturday marks the ninth time Eastern will play a team from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Eagles are 0-8 all-time against the powerhouse conference. Last year, EMU fell to No. 9/8 LSU, 44-22, despite trailing by just one score headed into the 4th quarter.
Meanwhile, Missouri is 15-3 all-time against the Mid-American Conference with all three losses to Bowling Green State University. The last of those setbacks occurred in 2002, 51-28, at Doyt Perry Stadium.

OFFENSIVE ERUPTION: The Eagles' 61-14 win over MVSU saw the offense have a historic day. The Green and White rolled up 61 points, the most scored since 2004. Meanwhile the margin of victory (47) was the largest in a season opener since 2008.

EXTRA POINT RECORD: When the Eagles scored eight touchdowns in the team's 61-14 victory over MVSU, they also had the opportunity for eight extra point attempts. Paul Fricano managed to knock all eight through the uprights, which tied the most in team history, and was the most since 2008. Making his collegiate debut, Fricano also nailed a 35-yard field goal to total 11 of EMU's 61 points in the opener.

STOUT RUN DEFENSE: In addition to the Eagle offense shining in the season-opener, the defense did a fantastic job of stopping the run. The Delta Devils were only able to muster 23 yards rushing throughout the contest, which is the fifth-fewest surrendered in EMU history, and fewest rushing yards allowed since 2011.

4-2-5 EQUALS SUCCESS: EMU only allowed 201 yards of total offense against MVSU in the debut game of new defensive coordinator Neal Neathery and his 4-2-5 system. That marked the fewest yards allowed in a game in the Chris Creighton era, which eclipsed the previous career-low by 166 yards. Additionally, it marked the first time EMU had held an opponent to 14 points-or-less since Oct. 22, 2011, when EMU hung on for a 14-10 win over Western Michigan.

EMU DEFENSES UNDER NEW COORDINATORS: EMU's 61-14 win over Mississippi Valley, Sept. 2, marked the first game the EMU defense was under the direction of Neal Neathery. In his first game in charge of the Green and White defense, Eastern held its opponent to the lowest number of yards in a defensive coordinator's debut since the 1983 season. In that year, Greg Satanski's squad held the Thundering Herd of Marshall to just 196 total yards.

O'CONNOR BACK IN FORM: After missing last season due to injury, Pat O'Connor picked up where he left off in 2014 as a first-team All-MAC defender and conference sack leader. In the team's season-opening win over Mississippi Valley, Sept. 2, O'Connor tallied two sacks and three quarterback hurries against the Delta Devils. He also tallied six total tackles and played an important role in the defense holding MVSU to just 23 yards on the ground.

TWO-HEADED RUSHING MONSTER: The Eagles have a pair of talented running backs that look to form a dynamic duo this season. Leading the way in the season-opener was Shaq Vann, who ran for a career-high 156 yards and two touchdowns. This marked the second time that Vann has eclipsed the 100-yard mark, as the last time came a year ago against Wyoming, Sept. 19. Behind him, Ian Eriksen was just three yards shy of 100, totaling 97 and a pair of touchdowns as well, which were the first two of his career.

FIRST TOUCHDOWNS ABOUND: A total of six Eagles scored their first touchdowns in the Eagles' season-opener against MVSU, Sept. 2. In his first game behind center for the Eagles, Todd Porter tossed three touchdowns, with Nigel Kilby, Antoine Porter, and Lavonte Robinson tallying their first career receiving touchdowns. Two Eagles also notched their first career rushing touchdowns, as Ian Eriksen and Blake Banham both found the end zone for the first time.

SPREADING THE LOVE: The first game of the season saw quarterback Todd Porter spread the ball around to a total of seven receivers, including four of whom caught their first passes as an Eagle. Nigel Kilby, Antoine Porter, Sergio Bailey II, and Johnnie Niupalau all posted at least two receptions in their first game. Additionally, returners Sam Browning, Kevin Davis, and Lavonte Robinson all tallied at least one catch as well.

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 4.0 sacks away from being EMU's all-time sack leader (since 1998), while DaQuan Pace is just three pass breakups away from topping the charts at that category (since 1998).

SAFETY: In the third quarter against Mississippi Valley, the Eagles forced MVSU to snap the ball out of the end zone, resulting in a safety. This marked the first time since 2005 that the Green and White tallied a safety.

KICK RETURNS: The season-opener saw a pair of kick returners have career days returning the ball. Both Blake Banham and Austin Sanders posted an average kick return of more than 45 yards, with Banham averaging 45.5 yards per return with a long of 69. Sanders, in his lone return on the day, erupted down the field for a return of 51.

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE: The Eagles came out on top in the turnover battle against MVSU, forcing three fumbles and recovering two of them. Both of the recovered fumbles led to points on the board, as the Green and White scored a pair of touchdowns following the turnovers.

NEW FACES ON THE FIELD: The Eagles saw plenty of new faces on the field in the season-opener. "True" freshman Vince Calhoun got the start at safety, while Johnnie Niupalau and Jimmy Leatiota started on the offensive side. Calhoun tallied two tackles, while Niupalau nabbed two receptions for 29 yards. In total, 23 other Eagles made their debuts coming off the bench.

SPEARMAN BACK ON THE FIELD: After not seeing the field over the previous two seasons, Ike Spearman returned to action for the Eagles. The leading tackler from 2013 was able to put up four tackles on the day, including assisting on two tackles for loss.

IT'S FUN KICKING OFF THE SEASON AT HOME!: EMU improved to 74-45-5 (.617) all-time in its home opener with a 61-14 victory over Mississippi Valley State, Sept. 2. Furthermore, the Eagles are now 41-17-1 (.703) when opening the season at home. The MVSU game marked the ninth time in the last 13 years that the Eagles had opened the season at home in Rynearson Stadium.

49ERS ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan remains on the road following their bout in Columbia, Mo. for a game against the UNC Charlotte 49ers. Kickoff from Jerry Richardson Stadium is slated for 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17.

Football Faces Missouri Saturday, Sept. 10, in Columbia, Mo.

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Players Mentioned

Sergio Bailey II

Blake Banham

Sam Browning

Vince Calhoun

Kevin Davis

Ian Eriksen

Paulie Fricano

Nigel Kilby

Jimmy Leatiota

Johnnie Niupalau

Pat O'Connor

DaQuan Pace

Antoine Porter

Todd Porter

Lavonte Robinson

Austin Sanders

Ike Spearman

Shaq Vann

Eastern Michigan Athletics