Football Opens 2018 Campaign Friday Versus Monmouth

Football vs. Monmouth
Date	Friday, Aug. 31 \| 6:30 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+
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| TuneIn Radio \| Podcast
Twitter	@EMUFB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.3669 \| Bag Policy

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Football is back in Ypsilanti, Mich. as the Eastern Michigan University football team opens the 2018 season hosting the Monmouth University Hawks Friday, Aug. 31. The 127th season of Eagles football will begin at "The Factory", Rynearson Stadium, with a 6:30 p.m. kick.
    The game will be aired on WEMU (89.1 FM) with veteran broadcasters Matt Shepard and Rob Rubick calling the action on the field. WEMU's pregame show from the stadium begins at 6:20 p.m.

ALL-TIME VS MONMOUTH: This marks the first time the Eagles and Hawks have met on the gridiron. Eastern will be looking for their first-ever win against a Big South Conference team, as EMU has only competed against one other Big South team, the Liberty Flames (L, 24-25, 10-14-1989), since the conference's creation in 1983. Monmouth is 0-2 all time against MAC opponents.

KICKING OFF THE SEASON AT HOME: EMU is 75-45-5 (.620) all-time in its home opener. Furthermore, the Eagles are 42-17-1 (.708) when opening the season at home. Friday's game marks the 11th time in the last 15 years that the Eagles have opened the season at home in Rynearson Stadium.

127 YEARS OF FOOTBALL: This is the 127th year for the EMU football team. The first year of intercollegiate football in Ypsilanti was 1891, when the team, then known as the Michigan Normal College Normalites, posted an 0-2 record. EMU has fielded a team every year since 1891 with one exception, when the 1944 season was canceled because of World War II.
FLYING HIGH OVER THE FCS: Eastern holds a 69-55-10 (55.2%) record when playing FCS teams in regular season match ups. While the Eagles are looking for their first win over a Big South team, the Eagles are 5-0 all time against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and 2-0 in games against the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

THE JERSEY BOYS: Monmouth University is located 645 miles away from Eastern Michigan's campus in West Long Branch, N.J., but will get a small taste of home in Eagles' Ikie Calderon (Neptune, N.J.-Coll. of the Desert) and Dez Horne (Glassboro, N.J.-Glassboro), who both hail from the Garden State. 47 of Monmouth's players come from their home state, nine more than Eastern's 38 players hailing from the Mitten.

2018 CAPTAINS: Eastern Michigan University's football team announced its team captains for the 2018 campaign, April 26. Leading the Eagles to #FocusFightFinish will be seniors Blake Banham, Jeremiah Harris, Jimmy Leatiota and Kyle Rachwal. Banham, Leatiota, and Rachwal earn the honor for the first time, while Harris received the distinction for the second consecutive season.

COMING DOWN TO THE WIRE: In 2017, nine of EMU's 12 games were decided by seven points or less, with EMU winning just three (16-13 at Rutgers, 27-24 at Miami, and 34-31 vs. BGSU). The seven Eagle losses came by just a combined 35 points. EMU will have the opportunity to avenge four of its 2017 losses in the 2018 schedule (Toledo, Army West Point, Northern Illinois, Central Michigan), as these combined four losses came by just 21 points.
   In EMU's last 25 games, dating back to the start of the 2016 season, 17 have come down to final scores of seven points or less. Of the 17 games, EMU has a 8n-9 record.

CREIGHTON APPROACHING TOP FIVE IN ALL-TIME WINS AT EMU: With five more wins, 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 in 54 games from 1995-99. Creighton already has coached the eighth most games in EMU history at 49 in four seasons.

PRESEASON HONORS A-PLENTY: The Eagles are raking in the 2018 preseason honors, with 11 players earning at least one preseason recognition. All four of Eastern's 2018 team captains earned All-MAC honors this preseason by Athlon Sports, as Jeremiah Harris and Jimmy Leatiota earned All-MAC First team nods while Kyle Rachwal and Blake Banham were named to the fourth team.
   EMU players have also been named to eight award watch lists--the Wuerffel Award, Outland Trophy, Polynesian POY, Ted Hendricks Award, Nagurski Award, Doak Walker Award, the Rimington Trophy, and the AllState Good Works Team.

WATCH OUT FOR LEATIOTA: Senior offensive lineman Jimmy Leatiota has been a stalwart on the EMU offensive line since his arriving on campus. A candidate for the Outland Trophy and Polynesian Player of the Year, he helped anchor an overhauled offensive line at right guard that ranked second in the MAC and 28th nationally in the fewest sacks given up in 2017. For his efforts, Leatiota earned Second Team All-MAC accolades while also earning Academic All-MAC honors. EMU's offense ranked third in the MAC in passing offense at 257.3 yards per game through the air. The line also gelled down the stretch for the rushing attack, as EMU racked up 815 yards on the ground and four 100-yard rushers during the final four games.

JERRY'S WORLD: A major factor in EMU's defensive resurgence, senior lineman Jeremiah Harris has played in 39 games for the Eagles in three-plus seasons totaling 24.0 tackles-for-loss and 11.0 sacks. A Second Team All-MAC selection in 2017, Harris ranked sixth in the MAC and 59th in the FBS with 6.0 sacks, while also totaling 45 tackles (25 solo, 20 assisted). He also ranked eighth in the league with 12.5 stops for a loss of 61 yards. A two-time Academic All-MAC selection, he had the game-sealing sack on the final play of the game against Rutgers, Sept. 9, to clinch the first victory over a 'Power 5' program in school history.

MAXX-ING OUT THE WATCH LIST: Junior Maxx Crosby has been named to the Bednarik Award Watch List (College Defensive Player of the Year), Ted Hendricks Watch List (top defensive end in football) and Nagurski Trophy Watch List (nation's top defensive player), as well as Preseason All-MAC First Team from Athlon Sports, earning the most preseason recognitions of EMU's 2018 squad.
   Crosby enters the 2018 campaign on the heels of a breakout season. Playing in all 12 games for the Green and White in 2017, he led the Eagles' defense in sacks with 11, tying the program single-season record. He posted back-to-back multi-sack games, with three each against Central Michigan (Nov. 8) and Miami (Nov. 15). A 2017 First Team All-MAC selection, Crosby also forced four fumbles and recorded two recoveries. In addition, his 12.5 career quarterback-take-downs is already fifth-most at EMU since 1998. He owns the best-season marks at Eastern for yards from tackles for loss, sacks and yards from sacks, in addition to holding the second-best mark for quarterback hurries in a career. Crosby is on pace to make his mark on the Eastern record boards for career yards from tackles for loss, career sacks, career yards from sacks and career tackles for loss.
FIND THAT FOOTBALL: Junior defensive back Brody Hoying had a knack for taking the football away from the opposition in 2017, as the first-year starter led the country in fumble recoveries with four. The First Team All-MAC selection ranked sixth in the FBS with four forced fumbles, while also hauling in a pair of interceptions for EMU. Hoying finished 13th in the MAC with 78 tackles (44 solo, 34 assisted) to go along with four stops for a loss. He returned a pick-six in the season opener against UNC Charlotte, Sept. 1, and followed it up with a 71-yard INT return against Rutgers, Sept. 9, to help the Eagles to their first-ever win over a "Power 5" opponent. In total, Hoying's 106 interception return yards ranked seventh-most in an EMU single-season.

NO NEED FOR SECONDS: A Fourth Team All-MAC selection last year, junior defensive back Vince Calhoun led a talented group of underclassmen in EMU's secondary that allowed the 25th-fewest yards passing in the FBS ranks. He finished the year with 78 tackles (48 solo, 30 assisted) to go along with a trio of pass breakups. The Middletown, Ohio product ranked 13th in the MAC with 7.1 tackles per game.

KICKING IT WITH PAULIE: Named a Preseason All-MAC Fourth Team selection, junior Paulie Fricano is on pace to top the Eastern Michigan kicking record boards in the 2018 season. In only two seasons of college play, Fricano already holds the Eagles' best marks for most extra points made in a game, extra point attempts in a game, and is tied for the second-most field goals made in a game. He ranked 88th nationally in total points scored, making 15-of-21 field goal attempts while connecting on 34-of-36 PATs. He hit on a career-long 46-yarder at Toledo, Oct. 7, while he also tied the EMU school record with eight PATs in the win over Ball State, Nov. 2. Fricano was instrumental in the 27-24 win over Miami, Nov. 15, hitting both of his field goals, from 36 and 34 yards, as well as all three of his extra points to help his team to the three-point win. For his efforts, he was named the MAC Special Teams Player of the Week, Nov. 20. The former walk-on has hit 34-of-45 career attempted field goals, marked 79 career extra point attempts, and earned 76 career made extra points, fifth-best in Eastern history in all three categories. Fricano needs only one more made field goal and 13 extra points made to move to fourth-best all-time at Eastern.

BAD TO THE BANHAM: Blake Banham is not only a leader in the Eagles' locker room as a 2018 team captain, but also in EMU's record books. Banham has spent all three of his seasons at Eastern as the leader of both punt returns and punt return yardage. The Minnesota native is the first to lead the team in punt returns and punt return yardage for three consecutive years since Trumaine Riley (2003-2006) and only the seventh Eagle in school history to lead the team for three or more years.

OFFENSIVELY GREAT ON OFFENSE: The Eagles' offense in the 2017 season was Eastern's sixth-best total offensive mark in school history (4,648 yards). With the loss of Eastern's top career touchdown passer Brogan Roback, the 2018 team looks to build its ground attack, using the return of veteran top rushers Ian Eriksen and Shaq Vann, one of only 13 pairs in Eastern history to both rush 100-or-more yards in the same game (Nov. 21, 2017), as well as Blake Banham, Willie Parker and Breck Turner. The additions of Karmi Mackey, Marclain Hairston, Bo Bell and Dez Horne will add to the already dominant group to bring the Eagles offense to new levels.

CAN THE DEFENSE TOP LAST YEAR?: After setting program records on the offensive side of the ball n 2016, it was the defense's time to shine in 2017, as they had one of the most successful defensive campaigns in program history. The 23.3 points allowed per game was the 12th-best mark in school history in the modern era (since 1976), and the best since 1993. Furthermore, the 364.4 yards of total offense allowed was the second-best mark since 1998 and best since 2011.
   On the national scale, the Eagles ranked in the top-50 in 10 major defensive categories, including second in fourth down defense, 17th in defensive touchdowns, 36th in team sacks, 42nd in points per game allowed, and 43rd in total defense.
   Furthermore, Defensive Coordinator Neal Neathery's crew proved to be very stingy in the fourth quarter, allowing just 3.8 points per game over the course of the final 15 minutes. Even better at home, the Eagles did not give up a fourth quarter point inside "The Factory". Nationally, EMU ranked fourth in the fewest points given up in the fourth. The defense also posted three returns for touchdowns, the most by an EMU squad since 1994.

EMU FOOTBALL COACHING SPOTLIGHTS:
Aaron_Keen
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Players Mentioned

Blake Banham

Bo Bell

Ikie Calderon

Vince Calhoun

Maxx Crosby

Ian Eriksen

Paulie Fricano

Jeremiah Harris

Dez Horne

Brody Hoying

Jimmy Leatiota

Karmi Mackey

Willie Parker

Kyle Rachwal

Brogan Roback

Breck Turner

Shaq Vann

Eastern Michigan Athletics