Eastern Michigan Athletics
EMU to Play Pittsburgh in the Quick Lane Bowl
12/8/2019 4:00:00 PM | Football
Game set for Thursday, Dec. 26, at 8 p.m.; Tickets on Sale Monday, Dec. 9
Click Here to Purchase Tickets.
Bowl Bound Website/Event Schedule.
Quick Lane Bowl Site.
Bowl Announcement Reaction Audio: Chris_Creighton. Mike_Glass_III. Kobie_Beltram.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University football team will take on the University of Pittsburgh in the Sixth Annual Quick Lane Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 26, at Ford Field in Detroit. The announcement was made Sunday, Dec. 8, by officials of EMU, the bowl and the Mid-American Conference. Kickoff for the game will be at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Eastern will play in a postseason bowl for the third time in the last four seasons, and for the fifth time in school history. Furthermore, it is the first time in program history that EMU will play in the postseason in consecutive campaigns after appearing in the 2018 Camellia Bowl.
The Eagles will face an Atlantic Coast Conference team for the first time in a bowl game. The Quick Lane Bowl will mark the third meeting between the Eagles and Panthers (7-5, 4-4 ACC). Pitt and Eastern Michigan have played twice before, most recently in 2007, a 27-3 Pitt victory at Heinz Field. The initial meeting was in 1995, when the Panthers defeated the Eagles, 66-30, in Pitt Stadium.
"We are very excited to accept an invitation to play in the Quick Lane Bowl," said EMU Vice President/Director of Athletics Scott Wetherbee. "Being able to play in the great city of Detroit against a quality opponent in Pitt is a great opportunity for our program and our fans throughout southeastern Michigan. With 32 Michigan natives on our roster, they will take a lot of pride playing at Ford Field in front of their family and friends."
EMU Head Coach Chris Creighton will lead the Eagles into a bowl game for the third time after the Eagles came up short against Old Dominion, 24-20, in the 2016 Bahamas Bowl and Georgia Southern, 23-21, last year in Montgomery, Ala. Creighton is the first head coach in program history to lead Eastern to multiple bowl games.
"We look forward to continuing our season at the Quick Lane Bowl," said Creighton. "We are excited to play in a great venue like Ford Field, and look forward to our fans, students, and the southeastern Michigan community being able to make the short trip to help us create a tremendous home field environment. We know we will face a great opponent that will present a tough challenge, but we're looking forward to the opportunity to win our seventh game of the season."
Overall, the Mid-American Conference has seven programs that accepted bowl invitations for the 2019 bowl season. The MAC set a Conference record with eight teams bowl eligible and matched a league record with seven bowl invitations this upcoming bowl season. The seven bowl invitations tie the Conference mark set in both the 2012 and 2015 bowl seasons.
Miami (Lending Tree Bowl), Central Michigan (New Mexico Bowl), Buffalo (Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl), Western Michigan (SERVEPRO First Responder Bowl), Ohio (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl), Kent State (Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl) and Eastern Michigan (Quick Lane Bowl) will represent the MAC in bowl games this season.
"I am happy for our students, coaches and fans from our seven MAC member institutions who will get to experience a great array of bowl opportunities," said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, Commissioner of the Mid-American Conference. "The matchups are compelling and will provide memorable competitive opportunities. I appreciate our bowl partners who work all year to facilitate great experiences for the game participants and fans."
This marks the fifth time in MAC history to have six or more programs receive a bowl invitation (2012, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019) in a single-season. This also marks the 12th time in MAC history to have five or more programs receive a bowl invitation (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019) in a single-season.
Eastern Michigan wrapped up the regular season with a 6-6 record to become bowl eligible for the third time in four years and continues one of the best four-year stretches in program history. Eastern's 25 wins over the past four years are the most since the team won 29 from 1986-89, and it's just two victories shy of the program's cumulative total from 2000-10.
The Eagles are 10-4 in the month of November the last four years. In the four seasons prior, Eastern combined for a total of seven wins during the entire 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 campaigns.
Eastern was the only MAC team to boast a victory over a Power 5 Conference opponent in 2019. EMU walked off the University of Illinois with a 24-yard field goal as time expired, Sept. 14, 2019. It was the third consecutive season that Eastern knocked off a Big Ten Conference opponent (2017 - Rutgers, 2018 - Purdue).
All but one of EMU's 12 opponents won five-or-more games in 2019 with seven of them being bowl eligible. Furthermore, EMU was one of just 11 FBS teams to have played in at least seven one-score games this season. EMU played the fourth-most single possession contests, as only North Carolina (9), Miami (Fla.) (8), and Pittsburgh (8) played in more games that went down to the wire.
In total, Eastern Michigan tallied a total of 95 game, season or career entries into the program's record books in 2019.
In his first year as the primary signal caller for the Eagles, senior quarterback Mike Glass III was electric with 3,203 yards of total offense (345 rushing, 2,858 passing) and 29 touchdowns. He led the MAC and ranks 17th nationally in total offense with 291.2 yards per contest. Glass finished the regular season ranked 14th in the FBS in completion percentage (67.8%), 18th in completions per game (21.64), 18th in points responsible for per game (16.0), and 24th in passing yards per game (259.8).
Glass ranks fourth in total offense in a season in EMU's 128-year history and needs just 188 yards to pass Charlie Batch's mark of 3,390 that has stood since 1997. Also, Glass is 422 yards away from moving past Batch for the most passing yards in a single-season, while he needs two touchdown passes to surpass the two-time Super Bowl Champion's mark of 23 set in 1997. He is also just 23 passes short of tying Andy Schmitt for the most passes completed in a single year with 261.
Defensively, senior defensive back Brody Hoying ranks fourth nationally with four interceptions in 2019, while senior linebacker Kobie Beltram ranks 17th with 9.7 tackles per game and 21st in forced fumbles with 0.25 per contest. EMU also finished the regular season among the nation's best in both fewest penalties and fewest penalty yards per game. EMU's 56 total penalties ranks 11th-nationally, while its 40.92 penalty yards per game is 13th-best in the country.
Eastern Michigan has had a long-standing relationship with Ford Field as the Eagles previous hosted games in the venue from 2004 to 2007. The inaugural Collegiate Clash was held, Nov. 6, 2004, when the Eagles recorded a 61-58 four-overtime victory over MAC West Division rival Central Michigan. That first year's game was also part of a doubleheader with Wayne State and Hillsdale squaring off in the opener. Collegiate Clash II went to a single-game format with EMU dropping a 44-36 decision to MAC West Division rival Western Michigan, Nov. 5, 2005. The Eagles hosted Navy in 2006 and the team's last contest in Motown was in 2007 against Northwestern University.
EMU held an open practice in the venue in the spring of 2016 with hundreds in the stands, which also serves as the site of the league's annual championship game.
Further adding to the storyline of the match up, Pitt's Director of Athletics Heather Lyke previously held the same position at Eastern from 2013-17. She selected Creighton as the program's 37th head football coach on Dec. 11, 2013.
Tickets for the Quick Lane Bowl will be available through the EMU Athletics Ticket Office. Tickets can be ordered online through EMUEagles.com/bowlbound and beginning Monday, Dec. 9, at 8:30 a.m. by calling 734.487.3669. Eastern fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets through EMU.
Last year, Minnesota cruised past Georgia Tech, 34-10, in the annual event hosted by the Detroit Lions.
The bowl game received its name in August of 2014 when the Detroit Lions announced that Quick Lane, Ford Motor Company's Tire & Auto Center chain, would become the title sponsor. The Quick Lane Bowl secured six-year deals with both its conference tie-ins: the Big Ten Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference with the Mid-American Conference being alternate.
Beginning in 2020, the MAC will return as a primary bowl partner of the annual bowl game played in Detroit.
Since the start of the Quick Lane Bowl in 2014, MAC programs have been featured in two of the first five Quick Lane Bowls – Central Michigan in 2015 and Northern Illinois in 2017.
The MAC has a long association with Detroit and Ford Field as the MAC has held its Marathon MAC Football Championship Game as a neutral site championship event at Ford Field since 2004. Also, the MAC played the first-ever college football game at Ford Field as Toledo faced Boston College in the 2002 Motor City Bowl.
Previously the MAC was a primary bowl partner with the Detroit-based Motor City Bowl (1997-2008) and the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (2009-13).
While the two participating teams and travel parties are in Detroit, the Quick Lane Bowl treats them to the best that Detroit has to offer. Festivities have included a welcome dinner at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation™; a trip to the Fowling Warehouse; ice skating at Campus Martius; helping feed the hungry at Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan; exploring the Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan Science Center, DNR Outdoor Adventure, and The Parade Company; shopping & creating Build A Bears at the Somerset Collection, touring the city of Detroit, and so much more.
2019 Mid-American Conference Bowl Schedule:
Buffalo vs. Charlotte (C-USA), Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl, Dec. 20, 2 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Kent State vs. Utah State (Mountain West), Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl, Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Central Michigan vs. San Diego State (Mountain West), New Mexico Bowl, Dec. 21, 2 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Eastern Michigan vs. Pitt (ACC), Quick Lane Bowl, Dec. 26, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Western Michigan vs. Western Kentucky (C-USA), SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, Dec. 30, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Ohio vs. Nevada (Mountain West), Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Jan. 3, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Miami vs. Louisiana (Sun Belt), Lending Tree Bowl, Jan. 6, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Bowl Bound Website/Event Schedule.
Quick Lane Bowl Site.
Bowl Announcement Reaction Audio: Chris_Creighton. Mike_Glass_III. Kobie_Beltram.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University football team will take on the University of Pittsburgh in the Sixth Annual Quick Lane Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 26, at Ford Field in Detroit. The announcement was made Sunday, Dec. 8, by officials of EMU, the bowl and the Mid-American Conference. Kickoff for the game will be at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Eastern will play in a postseason bowl for the third time in the last four seasons, and for the fifth time in school history. Furthermore, it is the first time in program history that EMU will play in the postseason in consecutive campaigns after appearing in the 2018 Camellia Bowl.
The Eagles will face an Atlantic Coast Conference team for the first time in a bowl game. The Quick Lane Bowl will mark the third meeting between the Eagles and Panthers (7-5, 4-4 ACC). Pitt and Eastern Michigan have played twice before, most recently in 2007, a 27-3 Pitt victory at Heinz Field. The initial meeting was in 1995, when the Panthers defeated the Eagles, 66-30, in Pitt Stadium.
"We are very excited to accept an invitation to play in the Quick Lane Bowl," said EMU Vice President/Director of Athletics Scott Wetherbee. "Being able to play in the great city of Detroit against a quality opponent in Pitt is a great opportunity for our program and our fans throughout southeastern Michigan. With 32 Michigan natives on our roster, they will take a lot of pride playing at Ford Field in front of their family and friends."
EMU Head Coach Chris Creighton will lead the Eagles into a bowl game for the third time after the Eagles came up short against Old Dominion, 24-20, in the 2016 Bahamas Bowl and Georgia Southern, 23-21, last year in Montgomery, Ala. Creighton is the first head coach in program history to lead Eastern to multiple bowl games.
"We look forward to continuing our season at the Quick Lane Bowl," said Creighton. "We are excited to play in a great venue like Ford Field, and look forward to our fans, students, and the southeastern Michigan community being able to make the short trip to help us create a tremendous home field environment. We know we will face a great opponent that will present a tough challenge, but we're looking forward to the opportunity to win our seventh game of the season."
Overall, the Mid-American Conference has seven programs that accepted bowl invitations for the 2019 bowl season. The MAC set a Conference record with eight teams bowl eligible and matched a league record with seven bowl invitations this upcoming bowl season. The seven bowl invitations tie the Conference mark set in both the 2012 and 2015 bowl seasons.
Miami (Lending Tree Bowl), Central Michigan (New Mexico Bowl), Buffalo (Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl), Western Michigan (SERVEPRO First Responder Bowl), Ohio (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl), Kent State (Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl) and Eastern Michigan (Quick Lane Bowl) will represent the MAC in bowl games this season.
"I am happy for our students, coaches and fans from our seven MAC member institutions who will get to experience a great array of bowl opportunities," said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, Commissioner of the Mid-American Conference. "The matchups are compelling and will provide memorable competitive opportunities. I appreciate our bowl partners who work all year to facilitate great experiences for the game participants and fans."
This marks the fifth time in MAC history to have six or more programs receive a bowl invitation (2012, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019) in a single-season. This also marks the 12th time in MAC history to have five or more programs receive a bowl invitation (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019) in a single-season.
Eastern Michigan wrapped up the regular season with a 6-6 record to become bowl eligible for the third time in four years and continues one of the best four-year stretches in program history. Eastern's 25 wins over the past four years are the most since the team won 29 from 1986-89, and it's just two victories shy of the program's cumulative total from 2000-10.
The Eagles are 10-4 in the month of November the last four years. In the four seasons prior, Eastern combined for a total of seven wins during the entire 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 campaigns.
Eastern was the only MAC team to boast a victory over a Power 5 Conference opponent in 2019. EMU walked off the University of Illinois with a 24-yard field goal as time expired, Sept. 14, 2019. It was the third consecutive season that Eastern knocked off a Big Ten Conference opponent (2017 - Rutgers, 2018 - Purdue).
All but one of EMU's 12 opponents won five-or-more games in 2019 with seven of them being bowl eligible. Furthermore, EMU was one of just 11 FBS teams to have played in at least seven one-score games this season. EMU played the fourth-most single possession contests, as only North Carolina (9), Miami (Fla.) (8), and Pittsburgh (8) played in more games that went down to the wire.
In total, Eastern Michigan tallied a total of 95 game, season or career entries into the program's record books in 2019.
In his first year as the primary signal caller for the Eagles, senior quarterback Mike Glass III was electric with 3,203 yards of total offense (345 rushing, 2,858 passing) and 29 touchdowns. He led the MAC and ranks 17th nationally in total offense with 291.2 yards per contest. Glass finished the regular season ranked 14th in the FBS in completion percentage (67.8%), 18th in completions per game (21.64), 18th in points responsible for per game (16.0), and 24th in passing yards per game (259.8).
Glass ranks fourth in total offense in a season in EMU's 128-year history and needs just 188 yards to pass Charlie Batch's mark of 3,390 that has stood since 1997. Also, Glass is 422 yards away from moving past Batch for the most passing yards in a single-season, while he needs two touchdown passes to surpass the two-time Super Bowl Champion's mark of 23 set in 1997. He is also just 23 passes short of tying Andy Schmitt for the most passes completed in a single year with 261.
Defensively, senior defensive back Brody Hoying ranks fourth nationally with four interceptions in 2019, while senior linebacker Kobie Beltram ranks 17th with 9.7 tackles per game and 21st in forced fumbles with 0.25 per contest. EMU also finished the regular season among the nation's best in both fewest penalties and fewest penalty yards per game. EMU's 56 total penalties ranks 11th-nationally, while its 40.92 penalty yards per game is 13th-best in the country.
Eastern Michigan has had a long-standing relationship with Ford Field as the Eagles previous hosted games in the venue from 2004 to 2007. The inaugural Collegiate Clash was held, Nov. 6, 2004, when the Eagles recorded a 61-58 four-overtime victory over MAC West Division rival Central Michigan. That first year's game was also part of a doubleheader with Wayne State and Hillsdale squaring off in the opener. Collegiate Clash II went to a single-game format with EMU dropping a 44-36 decision to MAC West Division rival Western Michigan, Nov. 5, 2005. The Eagles hosted Navy in 2006 and the team's last contest in Motown was in 2007 against Northwestern University.
EMU held an open practice in the venue in the spring of 2016 with hundreds in the stands, which also serves as the site of the league's annual championship game.
Further adding to the storyline of the match up, Pitt's Director of Athletics Heather Lyke previously held the same position at Eastern from 2013-17. She selected Creighton as the program's 37th head football coach on Dec. 11, 2013.
Tickets for the Quick Lane Bowl will be available through the EMU Athletics Ticket Office. Tickets can be ordered online through EMUEagles.com/bowlbound and beginning Monday, Dec. 9, at 8:30 a.m. by calling 734.487.3669. Eastern fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets through EMU.
Last year, Minnesota cruised past Georgia Tech, 34-10, in the annual event hosted by the Detroit Lions.
The bowl game received its name in August of 2014 when the Detroit Lions announced that Quick Lane, Ford Motor Company's Tire & Auto Center chain, would become the title sponsor. The Quick Lane Bowl secured six-year deals with both its conference tie-ins: the Big Ten Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference with the Mid-American Conference being alternate.
Beginning in 2020, the MAC will return as a primary bowl partner of the annual bowl game played in Detroit.
Since the start of the Quick Lane Bowl in 2014, MAC programs have been featured in two of the first five Quick Lane Bowls – Central Michigan in 2015 and Northern Illinois in 2017.
The MAC has a long association with Detroit and Ford Field as the MAC has held its Marathon MAC Football Championship Game as a neutral site championship event at Ford Field since 2004. Also, the MAC played the first-ever college football game at Ford Field as Toledo faced Boston College in the 2002 Motor City Bowl.
Previously the MAC was a primary bowl partner with the Detroit-based Motor City Bowl (1997-2008) and the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (2009-13).
While the two participating teams and travel parties are in Detroit, the Quick Lane Bowl treats them to the best that Detroit has to offer. Festivities have included a welcome dinner at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation™; a trip to the Fowling Warehouse; ice skating at Campus Martius; helping feed the hungry at Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan; exploring the Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan Science Center, DNR Outdoor Adventure, and The Parade Company; shopping & creating Build A Bears at the Somerset Collection, touring the city of Detroit, and so much more.
2019 Mid-American Conference Bowl Schedule:
Buffalo vs. Charlotte (C-USA), Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl, Dec. 20, 2 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Kent State vs. Utah State (Mountain West), Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl, Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Central Michigan vs. San Diego State (Mountain West), New Mexico Bowl, Dec. 21, 2 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Eastern Michigan vs. Pitt (ACC), Quick Lane Bowl, Dec. 26, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Western Michigan vs. Western Kentucky (C-USA), SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, Dec. 30, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Ohio vs. Nevada (Mountain West), Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Jan. 3, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Miami vs. Louisiana (Sun Belt), Lending Tree Bowl, Jan. 6, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
DB
/ FootballEMU Football Pregame Press Conference: Week 2 vs. LIU
Monday, September 01
EMU Football Week One Hype Video
Saturday, August 30
EMU Football Pregame Press Conference: Week 1 at Texas State
Monday, August 25
Rooks Set to Lead in Sixth Year at Eastern
Saturday, August 23