Eagles Host Chippewas Saturday, Nov. 3, on Celebrate America Day

Football vs. Central Michigan
Date	Saturday, Nov. 3 \| 12:05 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	ESPN3
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 renews its in-state rivalry when it hosts Central Michigan University in a Mid-American Conference clash Saturday, Nov. 3. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. at "The Factory" inside Rynearson Stadium. All military and first responders can receive discounted tickets and are invited to take part in the pre-game tunnel as the Eagles take the field!
   The Eagles (4-5, 2-3 MAC) look to even their mark in MAC play after stepping out of league action last week with a 37-22 setback at home to Army West Point, Oct. 27. On the other side of the field, Central Michigan (1-8, 0-5 MAC) dropped its fifth consecutive contest, after it could not capitalize on four Akron turnovers in a 17-10 road defeat.
       The meeting between the Chippewas and Eagles will be televised on ESPN3 with Dan Gutowsky providing play-by-play and Bobby Carpenter serving as the analyst. The game will also be aired on WEMU (89.1 FM) with Chad Bush and Rob Rubick calling the action from the press box.

TOP-LEVEL COMPETITION: Eastern's five losses have come against teams that are a combined 15-2 record in conference play and are 30-11 overall. Four of those teams are already bowl eligible with NIU having the chance to join the party this week versus Akron, Nov. 1.

ROCK SOLID: Senior linebacker Kyle Rachwal joined the 300 career tackles club against Army, Oct. 27. The senior led the Eagles defense with 14 stops on the day, becoming just the 17th player in school history to record 300-or-more tackles in a career.
   The Lapeer, Mich. native has 305 (134 solo, 171 assist) tackles, the 16th-most tackles by any Eagle. Rachwal would have to average more than 11 take downs per game to inch his way into Eastern's top-10, besting Ron Johnson's 339 tackles from 1974-77.

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

NO AARP CARD NEEDED HERE: Sophomore punter Jake Julien became the only EMU player in records that date back to 1959 to have recorded two punts of 70-or-more yards in their career. Julien had a 71 yards boot in the first quarter against Army, Oct. 27. It was his second 70+ punt in a three week span, as the Barrie, Ontario native turned in a career-best 73-yard punt against Western Michigan, Oct. 6. The punt against the Broncos made him just the fourth EMU player since 1993 to have eclipsed a punt of 70+ yards.
   Overall, Julien leads the MAC and ranks 16th nationally in punting with an average of 44.8. He has nine punts of 50-or-more yards and has 17 that have been downed inside the 20-yard line. Furthermore, 11 of those 17 have actually been whistled dead inside the 10-yard line with three having traveled more than 68 yards.

CENTENNIAL EFFORTS FOR BANHAM: Blake Banham notched his third 100+ yard receiving effort against Army West Point, Oct. 27, leading the Eagles with 104 yards on seven catches. The 104 yard receiving performance against the Black Knights was the St. Paul, Minn. native's first since Sept. 15, when he registered his career-best effort as a receiver with 159 yards on nine receptions at Buffalo. Banham is the only Eagle to record a 100-yard receiving effort this season.
   In addition, Banham was the first Eagle to catch and run for a touchdown since Darius Jackson recorded a touchdown through the air and on the ground against Central Michigan, Nov. 27, 2015. In that MAC matchup, Jackson caught a six-yard pass from Brogan Roback in the second quarter, and rushed 49 yards for a score in the third quarter.

TWO TWO-POINT CONVERSIONS: The Eagles completed two successful two-point conversions in their Homecoming bout with Army, Oct. 27. Tyler Wiegers nabbed a pass from Isaac Holder in the third quarter to add two to the scoreboard, while Blake Banham caught a pass from Wiegers in the fourth to convert the two-point try.
   It marked the first time in more than 30 seasons that the Eagles had accomplished the feat, last done coincidentally on EMU's 67th Homecoming game against Ball State, Oct. 17, 1987. Then, Ron Adams ran in for two in the third quarter to up the Huron's lead over the Cardinals, while Bob Foster ran into the endzone to convert the two-point try in the fourth quarter to close out EMU's 35-28 victory.

QUARTERBACKS CAN BE RECEIVERS, TOO: Against Army West Point, quarterback Tyler Wiegers became a receiver for a play, catching a pass from wide receiver Isaac Holder to convert the Eagles third quarter two-point conversion try. Wiegers became the first Eastern Michigan quarterback to catch a pass since Brogan Roback caught a two-point conversion pass from then-freshman Eddie Daugherty in the third quarter of Eastern Michigan's loss to No. 8/9 LSU, 44-22, Oct. 3, 2015.
FEARSOME FOURSOME: Four members of the Eagles defense wrangled 10-or-more tackles in their meeting with the Black Knights, Oct. 27. Senior Kyle Rachwal led the way with a game-high 14 stops, including the 300th of his career. Fellow senior Jeremiah Harris added a dozen, while senior Tyler LaBarbera and junior Maxx Crosby chipped in 11 and 10, respectively. The last time four Eagles posted 10+ tackles was against Northern Illinois, Sept. 29, in triple-overtime. In the past five seasons, the Eagles have only accomplished the feat one other time, against Toledo, Nov. 28, 2014.

STANDING TALL: Eastern currently holds the nation's 17th-best red zone defense, allowing opponents to score only 30 times on 41 attempts.
   EMU is ranked 34th nationally in the fewest second-half points allowed at just 11.0 a game.

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.

CHIP DIP: EMU and CMU will clash on the gridiron for the 96th all-time meeting between the two programs, with the Chippewas holding the series lead, 60-29-6. Last year, EMU battled until the end, but ultimately came up short in a crushing 42-30 defeat at Central Michigan, Nov. 8, 2017. Five interceptions proved to be EMU's downfall, including one to seal the game with Eastern down five points with one minute to play.
    In the end, the five turnovers to CMU's one proved to be too much to overcome, even after holding the Chippewas to only one first down and 32 total yards in the second half. The EMU defense forced six three-and-outs against CMU following the break, while the offense cranked out 209 yards to nearly complete the comeback effort. Senior Brogan Roback had a pair of touchdown passes to get to 54 for his career, and surpass E-Club Hall of Famer Charlie Batch for the all-time school record. Total for the game, Roback finished 23-of-39 for 204 yards.

LAST WIN AGAINST THE CHIPS: Brogan Roback found Sergio Bailey II with a 24-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left and Eastern Michigan won its seventh game of the season for the first time in 27 years, knocking off Central Michigan 26-21 in the regular season finale, Nov. 22, 2016.
   The Eagles led 20-7 after three quarters, but the Chippewas rallied behind a pair of Devon Spalding touchdown runs, including a 41-yard dash that put them up 21-20 with 2:34 left. Roback, who finished 26-of-38 for 355 yards, engineered a 72-yard drive in eight plays for the winning score, his second TD pass of the game.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan will close out the home portion of the schedule against the University of Akron Saturday, Nov. 10. Kickoff on the gray turf of Rynearson Stadium is set for 12 p.m.
   EMU will say farewell to 19 seniors prior to game, including: Ka'John Armstrong (Detroit, Mich.-Loyola), Blake Banham (St. Paul, Minn.-Cretin-Derham Hall), Chris Bukoski (Dewitt, Mich.-Dewitt), Ikie Calderon (Neptune, N.J.-Neptune-College of the Desert), Ian Eriksen (Clarkston, Mich.-Clarkston), Jeremiah Harris (Lambertville, Mich.-Bedford Senior), Lemar Harris (Raleigh, N.C.-Millbrook), Jeremy Hickey (Troy, Mich.-Brother Rice), Jesse Kelly (Ventura, Calif.-St. Bonaventure-Oregon-Ventura College), Tyler LaBarbera (Elk Grove Village, Ill.-James B. Conant-DuPage), Jimmy Leatiota (San Jose, Calif.-Wilcox-College of San Mateo), Justin Moody (Richmond, Va.-Monacan), Jaylen Pickett (Zephyrhills, Fla.-Zephyrhills), Kyle Rachwal (Lapeer, Mich.-Lapeer East), Dakota Tallman (LaGrange, Ohio-Elyria Catholic), Shaq Vann (South Bend, Ind.-John Adams), Ville Valasti (Helsinki, Finland-Itakeskuksen Iukio-Diablo Valley College), Tyler Wiegers (Lake Orion, Mich.-Detroit Country Day-Iowa), and Ross Williams (Southfield, Mich.-Groves).

Eagles Host Chippewas Saturday, Nov. 3, on Celebrate America Day

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Players Mentioned

Ka’John Armstrong

Sergio Bailey II

Blake Banham

Chris Bukoski

Ikie Calderon

Maxx Crosby

Eddie Daugherty IV

Ian Eriksen

Jeremiah Harris

Lemar Harris

Jeremy Hickey

Isaac Holder

Darius Jackson

Jake Julien

Jesse Kelly

Tyler LaBarbera

Jimmy Leatiota

Justin Moody

Jaylen Pickett

Kyle Rachwal

Brogan Roback

Dakota Tallman

Ville Valasti

Shaq Vann

Tyler Wiegers

Ross Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics