Toledo Comes to Town for Band Day Saturday, Oct. 13

Football vs. Toledo
Date	Saturday, Oct. 13 \| 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	ESPN+ \| What is ESPN+?
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 returns to "The Factory" turf for its third home contest of the season, hosting Mid-American Conference rival, the University of Toledo Saturday, Oct. 13, at 12 p.m. The contest against the Rockets is also the inaugural Made in the Mitten Day at Rynearson Stadium.
   The Eagles (2-4, 0-3 MAC) came up short at Western Michigan University, 27-24, Oct. 6. Meanwhile, the Rockets (3-2, 1-0 MAC) rolled to their ninth-consecutive win over arch-rival Bowling Green State University, 52-36, in the Battle of I-75, Oct. 6.
   Saturday's contest will be shown on ESPN+ with Doug Sherman providing play-by-play and Bobby Carpenter serving as analyst. The game will also be on WEMU (89.1 FM) with Matt Shepard and Rob Rubick on the call.

BAND DAY: The contest against the Rockets is also Band Day at Rynearson Stadium, with five local high school bands in attendance, performing as one during a special halftime concert. The schools scheduled to participate include: Blissfield, Britton Deerfield, Morenci, Whiteford, and Whitmore Lake High Schools.
   In total, more than 325 high school student musicians will be in attendance and join the EMU Marching Band for a special mass band halftime performance of Rock and Roll All Nite by Kiss and Motown hit Get Ready as performed by the Temptations.

MADE IN THE MITTEN: EMU Athletics will also celebrate many of the homegrown aspects of Michigan life with the inaugural Made In The Mitten game. Events surrounding the game will feature businesses that were founded in the state.

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 21 of the last 31 contests decided by seven points-or-less.
   Of those contests, six have been decided in overtime with nine coming down to the final play.

DON'T CHANGE THAT CHANNEL!: CBS Sports Network and ESPN can thank EMU for plenty of high drama the past two seasons.
   • Sept. 9, 2017: 16-13 win at Rutgers — Eagles win, get sack on game's final play
   • Sept. 23, 2017: 27-20 2OT loss to Ohio — Ohio scores on final play in double overtime
   • Sept. 30, 2017: 24-20 loss at Kentucky — Eagles intercepted in end zone on final play
   • Oct. 7, 2017: 20-15 loss at Toledo — Eagles intercepted on final drive
   • Oct. 14, 2017: 28-27 loss at Army — Eagles fail to convert two-point conversion for win
   • Oct. 21, 2017: 20-17 OT loss to Western Michigan — Eagles miss field goal in overtime
   • Oct. 26, 2017: 30-27 OT loss at NIU — Eagles make field goal, but gives up TD in overtime
   • Nov. 8, 2017: 42-30 loss to CMU — CMU pick six with EMU down 5 points with 48 seconds left
   • Nov. 15, 2017: 27-24 win at Miami — EMU recovered onside kick with two minutes to play
   • Nov. 21, 2017: 34-31 win vs. BGSU — EMU holds off a late rally by the Falcons on Senior Day
   • Sept. 8, 2018: 20-19 win at Purdue — Kicker Chad Rylan drills a 24-yard field goal as time expires
   • Sept. 15, 2018: 35-28 loss at Buffalo — UB recovered onside kick with 40 seconds to play
   • Sept. 22, 2018: 23-20 OT loss at San Diego St. — SDSU hit a 50-yard field goal to force overtime
   • Sept. 29, 2018: 26-23 3OT loss to NIU — EMU makes FG, but gives up TD in third overtime
   • Oct. 6, 2018: 27-24 loss at WMU — EMU missed a 32-yd FG with 3:26 left but gets a TD with 20 seconds

STANDING TALL: EMU is ranked fourth nationally in the fewest second-half points allowed at just 6.0 a game. Additionally, EMU is the only NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision school not to have allowed a third quarter score to a FBS opponent.
   This week's opponent will test that number, as Toledo is sixth nationally with an average of 21.8 points after halftime.

GLASS MORE THAN HALF FULL: EMU junior quarterback Mike Glass III led the Eagles' passing and rushing attacks in their matchup with Western Michigan, Oct. 6. Glass III threw for 155 yards, completing 15-of-24 passes, while also rushing for 101 yards on 17 carries. The junior was responsible for two of Eastern's scores, including a go-ahead four-yard rushing TD in the third quarter. Glass III's other touchdown came via the air on a 13-yard hook up with Blake Banham to bring EMU within three points with 20 seconds to play.
   In addition to being a career-high and the most by an Eagle this season, his 101 rushing yards were the best from an Eastern quarterback since Reginald Bell's 101-yard effort against Ball State, Nov. 22, 2014.

ONE HAND, SIX POINTS: Freshman Gunnar Oakes triggered an ESPN SportsCenter Top-10 alert with his first collegiate touchdown, pawing a Tyler Wiegers' dart with one-hand at WMU, Oct. 6. The 16-yard reception tied the score at 7-all, and earned the Swanton, Ohio native some national attention. In four games this year, Oakes has been EMU's most targeted tight end with eight grabs for 84 yards.

JEREMIAH "BLOCKED KICKS" HARRIS: Senior Jeremiah Harris' defensive efforts against WMU, Oct. 6, included the first blocked kick for the Eagles in 346 days. Harris swatted away the Bronco's extra point attempt in the fourth quarter to keep the game within two scores, 27-17.
   In the Chris Creighton era, the Eagles have blocked 10 kicks with three of them having come from Harris. The Lambertville, Mich. native's block added to his already impressive resume. Previously, he blocked a 22-yard field goal attempt by Wyoming, Sept. 23, 2016, and also thwarted a 36-yard field goal attempt by Northern Illinois, Nov. 16, 2016.

BOOTIN' WITH THE BEST: Sophomore Jake Julien was named the MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week for the third time this season after he registered five punts in EMU's tilt at Western Michigan, Oct. 6. The Barrie, Ontario native tallied 294 yards by punt, with four of his kicks pinning the Broncos inside their 20-yard-line. Julien's longest punt of the day went a career-best 73 yards, the longest punt for an Eagle since Nick Avondet booted for 74 yards against NIU in 1998. The kick marked the longest punt by a Mid-American Conference member this season and stands tied for the fifth-longest punt seen in all of FBS football in 2018.
   Overall, Julien ranks second in the MAC and 13th nationally in punting at 45.2 yards per kick.

MANNING THE RED ZONE LIKE SCOTT HANSON: Eastern Michigan currently holds the nation's eighth-best red zone defense, allowing opponents to score only 17 times on 25 attempts.

RENEWING THE SERIES WITH THE ROCKETS: Separated by just 50 miles, the Eagles and Rockets will be meeting for the 46th time in the all-time history between the two squads. UT holds a 34-11 edge in the series, which began in 1923 when the Rockets claimed a 13-0 victory.

EMU'S LAST WIN OVER TOLEDO: The Eagles' last victory over the Rockets occurred Oct. 21, 2006, when EMU escaped with a 17-13 victory at Rynearson Stadium. With EMU clinging to a 9-7 lead late in the fourth quarter, Toledo missed a field goal that would have put them ahead by one. However, a personal foul penalty for roughing the center by the Eagles gave the Rockets a second chance that they would take advantage of with a score. UT quarterback Clint Cochran connected with tight end Josh Powell on a four-yard touchdown strike to give Toledo a 13-9 lead with just 3:11 left in the game. On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, EMU defensive end Kevin Howe forced a fumble by Cochran which was picked up and returned by linebacker Darran Matthews for two points to cut the Rocket lead to 13-11. Trumaine Riley then returned the ensuing kickoff 45 yards to the EMU 46-yard line. The Eagles put on a game-winning march, going 54 yards in five plays capped off by an 18-yard touchdown run by Pierre Walker with 36 seconds remaining to give the Eagles the come-from-behind victory.

LAST YEAR IN THE GLASS CITY: Shakif Seymour and Art Thompkins each rushed for touchdowns and Khalil Robinson's first of two late-game interceptions sealed Toledo's 20-15 defeat of Eastern Michigan at the Glass Bowl, Oct. 7, 2017. Seymour scored from the 1-yard line, boosting Toledo to a 10-6 lead they never lost, and Thompkins ran in from the 18 midway through the third quarter.
   Eastern Michigan, which has not won in Toledo since 1999, rallied into an apparent 17-all fourth-quarter tie when Brogan Roback threw a fade into the end zone where Antoine Porter made a one-handed catch. A two-point conversion pass was overturned after review, leaving the Eagles behind 17-15.
   Later, Roback's 3rd-and-9 pass went off the outstretched hands of Porter and into the arms of Robinson, who zig-zagged to the Eagles 22. Toledo stalled at the 3, but Jameson Vest kicked the insurance field goal.

TIES TO TOLEDO: Eastern Michigan and Toledo may be 50 miles apart, but the two schools have enough staffing ties to cover the mileage between the two Mid-American Conference members.
   Associate Athletic Director for Sports Medicine Gretchen Buskirk came to the Eagles directly after an eight-year stint at UT, serving as its Assistant Director of Sports Medicine and Associate Head Athletic Trainer. Buskirk is not the only athletic training staff member with ties to the Rockets, as EMU's Head Football Athletic Trainer Steven Berning earned his bachelor's degree at Toledo in 2014. The Toledo, Ohio native assisted with the Rockets football, cross country, and track and field teams as an undergraduate athletic trainer, while fellow athletic trainer Katie Skinner also earned her bachelor's degree from Toledo in 2010.
   Meanwhile, Toledo's Associate Athletic Director for Communications Paul Helgren began his career as an assistant media relations director at EMU in 1985, and was later promoted to coordinator of promotions and ticket sales in 1989. Also, UT's current Assistant Director of Sports Medicine and Associate Head Athletic Trainer for Women's Basketball Brad Pierson most recently spent time as an Eagle, working as the primary athletic trainer for the men's basketball, women's volleyball, and rowing teams from 2010-12. Additionally, he earned his master's degree in exercise physiology in 2011 from Eastern Michigan.

THE PATH TO THE SECOND HALF: Eastern Michigan has not had an easy road through the first half of its 2018 campaign with four of its first six games on the road. Overall, EMU's first six opponents hold a .636 winning percentage (21-12).
   The road ahead for Eastern Michigan is slightly clearer, as the Eagles upcoming opponents currently sit at a combined 9-16 (.360), with only one team sitting above .500 – Toledo.

UP NEXT: Eastern heads back to the road when they travel to Muncie, Ind., to visit Ball State University Saturday, Oct. 20. Kickoff at Scheumann Stadium is set for 3 p.m.
   The Eagles and Cardinals have met 59 times in their respective histories, with BSU leading the all-time series, 34-23-2. The two schools first met back in 1936, and have faced off annually since 1973. Last year, EMU cruised to a 56-14 victory over BSU in Ypsilanti, Nov. 6, 2017.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Blake Banham

Reginald Bell

Mike Glass III

Jeremiah Harris

Jake Julien

Gunnar Oakes

Antoine Porter

Brogan Roback

Tyler Wiegers

Eastern Michigan Athletics