Football Has a Date With Army West Point for Homecoming

Football vs. Army West Point
Date	Saturday, Oct. 27 \| 12:02 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Rynearson Stadium (30,200)
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Press Conference Video \| Teleconference Audio
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	CBS Sports Network \| Find CBS Sports Network
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| TuneIn Radio \| Podcast
Twitter	@EMUFB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.3669

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team wraps up non-conference play, when it hosts the Black Knights of Army West Point Saturday, Oct. 27. Kickoff for the Homecoming tilt is scheduled for 12 p.m. at "The Factory" inside Rynearson Stadium.
   In week eight, the Eagles (4-4, 2-3 MAC) jumped on Ball State University early and never looked back in a 42-20 road victory, Oct. 20. Meanwhile, Army (5-2) is looking to become bowl-eligible after getting a two-point conversion stop in double-overtime to fend off Miami University, 31-30.
       The contest will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network with Ben Holden providing play-by-play and Ross Tucker serving as the analyst. The game will also be aired on WEMU (89.1 FM) with Matt Shepard and Rob Rubick calling the action from the press box.

98th HOMECOMING: This week marks the 98th EMU Homecoming after it was created in 1920. Overall, it is the 91st Homecoming contest, after the game was added to the festivities during the 1926 season. EMU has celebrated Homecoming every year since with the exception of 1943 and 1944 during World War II. EMU is 45-43-2 all-time on Homecoming, but has not tasted victory in the game since 2014, a 37-27 win over Buffalo. For the complete schedule of homecoming activities, click here.

LANDING LOOKS TO BE GOLDEN: Fans will want to be in their seats early on Saturday as the United States Army Parachute Team, nicknamed the Golden Knights, will be delivering the homecoming game ball. The Golden Knights are one of only three Department of Defense-sanctioned aerial demonstration teams, along with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.

ALL-TIME VERSUS ARMY: Eastern Michigan holds a 1-7 mark against Army West Point. They last met in 2017, with the Black Knights coming away victorious with a 28-27 win at Michie Stadium, Oct. 14. EMU's lone win came during the 2012 campaign, when the Eagles notched a 48-38 victory at Rynearson Stadium, Oct. 20.

CONTINUING TO FLUSH IT: For the past three seasons, Eastern Michigan's motto has been to go 1-0 each week while "flushing" the previous outcome. The short memory has proven beneficial for the program, with 22 of the last 33 contests decided by seven points-or-less.
   Of those contests, six have been decided in overtime with 10 coming down to the final play.

CLOSE CALLS: EMU is one of 19 FBS teams to have played in at least four one-score games this season, however, the Eagles are only one of three to be on the unfortunate side in as many as three. In research originally started by Ball State's Joel Godett, these three schools are: EMU (2-4), Arizona State (1-4), and Western Kentucky (1-4).

TOP-LEVEL COMPETITION: Eastern's four losses have all come from teams (Buffalo, San Diego State, Western Michigan, and Northern Illinois) which are still undefeated in league play. Those teams squads have a combined 15-0 record in conference play and are 23-7 overall.
   Additionally, EMU posted a walk-off victory over Purdue, 20-19, in non-conference play, Sept. 8. The Boilermakers have since rebounded, most recently upsetting No. 2 Ohio State University, 49-20, Oct. 20.

ROCK SOLID: Senior linebacker Kyle Rachwal needs just nine tackles to become the 17th player in school history to record 300-or-more tackles in a career. He currently has 291 (129 solo, 162 assist). The last Eagle to join the club was Jason Beck when he tallied 353 stops between 2014-17. Furthermore, Rachwal would need to average 12 tackles per contest over his last four regular season games to surpass Ron Johnson (339 –1974-77) for 10th.

I'LL TAKE THIS ONE MYSELF: Tyler Wiegers and Isaac Stiebling became the first EMU signal calling duo to rush for touchdowns in the same game in over at decade when they did so at Ball State, Oct. 20. Wiegers punched it in from a yard out, while Stiebling found the end zone on a 14-yard run in the fourth quarter. It marked the first time a pair of EMU QBs have rushed for touchdowns since Andy Schmitt and Tyler Jones did so against Navy, Nov. 11, 2006.

+15 IN TOP: Eastern Michigan held the ball for 37:34 in its 42-20 rout of Ball State, Oct. 20, while limiting the Cardinals to 22:26 of possession. EMU's 15:08 advantage in TOP was its largest since Eastern's matchup with Missouri, Sept. 10, 2016. In that game, the Green and White was +17:28 (38:44-21:16) in time of possession.

SLINGING IT IN FUN-CIE: Quarterback Tyler Wiegers registered 257 yards through the air on 22-for-28 passing in windy conditions against Ball State, Oct. 20. Wiegers' 78.6 completion percentage ranks second-best in EMU single-game history, behind his 85.7 clip against Monmouth earlier this year. For his efforts, he was named the MAC West Division Player of the Week for the second time this season.
   Wiegers leads the MAC while ranking 22nd nationally in completion percentage at 66.0 percent. Despite splitting time under center, he also ranks eighth in the MAC in passing touchdowns (8), as well as sixth in passing yards per completion (11.85).

STANDING TALL: Eastern currently holds the nation's seventh-best red zone defense, allowing opponents to score only 24 times on 35 attempts.
   EMU is ranked 25th nationally in the fewest second-half points allowed at just 9.6 a game.

THREE-GAME HOME STAND: For the first time since the 2012 campaign, EMU will play three consecutive weekends at home inside "The Factory." Coincidently, that home stand also featured a trip to Ypsilanti by Army West Point after EMU had squared off against Kent State and Toledo.

CREIGHTON APPROACHING TOP FIVE IN ALL-TIME WINS AT EMU: With one more win, EMU Head Coach Chris Creighton will tie Rick Rasnick for fifth all-time in victories at Eastern Michigan. Rasnick led the Eagles to 20 wins from 1995-99.

MAKE SOME MORE ROOM IN THE TROPHY CASE: For the fourth time in 2018, sophomore punter Jake Julien was called upon five times in the Eagles victory over Ball State, 42-20, Oct. 20. Battling windy conditions, the Barrie, Ontario averaged 41.4 yards per kick and twice pinned the Cardinals inside their 20-yard line. Julien also registered a long on the day of 57 yards.
Overall, Julien ranks second in the MAC and 18th in the FBS in punting with an average of 44.3 yards

JUST INCHES AWAY – THE STORY OF LAST YEAR AT ARMY: With 5:06 remaining, EMU started from its own 25-yard line and put together an 11 play, 75-yard drive to pull within one point, 28-27, with 49 seconds left in the contest, Oct. 14, 2017. The drive was capped by Brogan Roback's eight-yard score to Sergio Bailey II. With its backs against the wall, Army was forced to make a timely defensive stop, twice on a two-point conversion, to secure the win over EMU.
   After exchanging timeouts to see each others formations, Eastern Michigan hiked the ball and threw a pass into the end zone. The Black Knights' Mike Reynolds batted the ball away at the last second ending the Eagles' hopes of recording the come-from-behind victory. However, EMU Head Coach Chris Creighton called a timeout at the last second nullifying the previous play. Army would be forced to make a second stop in order to preserve the win. This time the Eagles went with an option play, which resulted in a pitch to running back Ian Eriksen. The Clarkson, Mich. product had open space, but James Gibson lowered his shoulder pads and flipped the Eagles' rusher into the air, forcing him to land inches shy of the end zone.
   For the contest, Eastern countered Army's ground game with an aerial attack that proved to be effective, as Roback threw for 229 yards and four scores. The Black Knights totaled 424 yards and four touchdowns on 61 carries, led by Ahmad Bradshaw's 171 yards on the day.

MAYBE THEY SHOULD JOIN THE MAC EAST?: Outside of EMU's MAC West Division rivals, Eastern has played Army West Point more than any other team on its schedule since 2008. Saturday's game marks the Black Knights fifth trip to Rynearson Stadium in the past nine years.
   The Eagles' lone win in the series came in 2012, when the squad piled up 577 yards of total offense, 369 though the air and 208 on the ground. EMU quarterback Tyler Benz threw for five touchdowns to tie for second in the EMU single-game record book with Andy Schmitt and his 369 passing yards were the 18th-best in school history. Meanwhile, running back Bronson Hill rushed for 185 yards on 26 carries with one touchdown.
   The nine-game series between the two programs concludes in West Point on Oct. 17, 2020.

LAST TIME WE MET IN YPSI: The Black Knights' early lead proved to be too much to overcome for the Eagles, as they fell, 58-36, at Rynearson Stadium, Sept. 26, 2015. Brogan Roback and senior Darius Jackson led the Eagles offense while Great Ibe paced the defense.
   Roback finished 28-of-40 with 291 yards and two TDs and Jackson had 141 yards on 16 carries while adding two scores. Defensively, Ibe totaled a team-best 13 tackles, highlighted by 1.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks, and one forced fumble.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan looks to protect the gray turf as Central Michigan invades Ypsilanti Saturday, Nov. 3. Game time is set for 12 p.m. at Rynearson Stadium.        EMU and CMU are meeting on the gridiron for the 96th time in history between the two programs, with the Chippewas holding the series lead, 60-29-6. The last time CMU played in "The Factory", Eastern Michigan capped off a historic regular season with a late come-from-behind 26-21 victory, Nov. 22, 2016.

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Players Mentioned

Sergio Bailey II

Jason Beck

Ian Eriksen

Bronson Hill

Great Ibe

Darius Jackson

Jake Julien

Kyle Rachwal

Brogan Roback

Tyler Wiegers

Eastern Michigan Athletics