Football Is Back in #MACtion Wednesday at Kent State

Football at Kent State
Date	Wednesday, Nov. 4 \| 6 p.m. ET
Venue	Kent, Ohio \| Dix Stadium
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Media Guide \| Press Conference Video \| MAC Preview Video
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| TuneIn Radio \| Podcast
Twitter	@EMUFB \| @EMUAthletics
Attendance Information	No general public attendance will be allowed

KENT, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Have no fear, #MACtion is here as the Eastern Michigan University football team travels to Kent, Ohio for a week one, Mid-American Conference matchup with Kent State University. The Wednesday, Nov. 4, contest is scheduled to kickoff at 6:05 p.m. inside Dix Stadium.
   The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+. The game will also be aired on WEMU (89.1 FM) with veteran broadcasters Matt Shepard, Rob Rubick, and Tom Helmer calling the action from the press box.

129 YEARS OF FOOTBALL: This is the 129th 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.

HOT IN NOVEMBER: If EMU is going to start a season later than its traditional end-of August, beginning-of September kickoff, then there may not be a better month to do so than November. EMU is 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.

TWO IN-A-ROW: Wednesday's game marks the second time in EMU Head Coach Chris Creighton's seven-year tenure that the team has opened the season away from Ypsilanti. EMU opened each of Creighton's first five seasons at Rynearson Stadium, posting a 4-1 record in that span. Last season, the team trekked to Conway, S.C. for the first opening-game road trip for the squad since the 2012 season, to play Coastal Carolina. Apparently, the Creighton opening-week magic travels well, because EMU came away from the Surf Turf with an impressive 30-23 victory.

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 term memory has proven beneficial for the program, with 30 of the last 50 (60%) contests decided by seven points-or-less.
    Of those contests, eight have been decided in overtime with 18 coming down to the final play.

BIZZARO WORLD: For just the fourth time in program history, Eastern will open a season against the team (Kent State) it closed the previous regular season against. The last time it occurred was in 1986 when EMU opened the year at home against Western Michigan after wrapping up the 1985 campaign in Kalamazoo.
   The Nov. 4 opener is also the latest kickoff to a season in program history, breaking the previous mark set by the 1899 squad when it battled the Michigan Freshman to a 5-5 tie on Oct. 30.

ALL-TIME VS. KENT STATE: Kent State and Eastern Michigan will be meeting for the 33rd time in this year's #MACtion affair. The Golden Flashes hold an 18-14 edge in the series that began in 1973 when KSU recorded a 34-20 victory in Ypsilanti, Oct. 20. Last season, KSU bested EMU 34-26 in the regular season finale after EMU closed the 2018 campaign with a 28-20 win in Kent, Ohio.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE GOLDEN FLASHES: Xavier Williams, Dustin Crum and Will Matthews combined to rush for 204 yards and three touchdowns as Kent State held off Eastern Michigan, 34-26, inside Rynearson Stadium, Nov. 26, 2019.
   Williams ran for 79 yards and a TD on 12 carries, Matthews totaled 74 yards on 14 totes, while Crum had 13 carries for 51 yards and two scores for the Golden Flashes. Crum also completed 17-of-23 passes for 197 yards.
   Kent State took a 24-14 lead into halftime and the Golden Flashes quickly made it a 17-point advantage when Jamal Parker returned the opening kickoff of the second half 96 yards for a score.
   Mike Glass III finished 29-of-37 passing for 386 yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions. Glass connected with Line Latu for a 30-yard score in the third quarter and hit Bryson Cannon for a 6-yard TD midway through the fourth quarter to get the Eagles within 31-26. Arthur Jackson III had four catches for 129 yards for Eastern Michigan, while Latu caught nine passes for 108 yards.
   Matthew Trickett added a 24-yard field goal for Kent State with 1:27 left to play to cap the scoring.
   Overall, the Eagles totaled 509 yards of offense, while Kent State finished with 450.

LAST TIME EMU VISITED KENT: Senior Ian Eriksen rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns to power Eastern Michigan to a 28-20 victory over Kent State in the 2018 regular season finale, Nov. 23, 2018.
   Eastern Michigan posted its first five-game conference winning streak since 1989, clinching a bowl berth for the second time in three seasons.
   EMU trailed 10-0 in the first quarter when Eriksen, who came into the game with 219 yards and one touchdown this season, bulled his way in from a yard out. Issac Stiebeling ran it in from the 1 two minutes into the second quarter to put the Eagles up 14-10. Eriksen's second TD came from a yard out with 4:55 left in the second quarter and gave the Eagles a 21-10 lead at halftime.
   Eriksen stretched the Eagles' advantage to 28-10 on their second possession of the third quarter when he scored on a 32-yard run. The Golden Flashes pulled within 28-20 on Jo-El Shaw's 1-yard TD run in the third and Matthew Trickett's 35-yard field goal midway through the final quarter. But Vince Calhoun picked off Kavious Price and the Eagles kept possession for the final 4:44 of the game to wrap up the win.

CLOSE CONNECTIONS: EMU defensive line coach Ben Needham spent five seasons with the Golden Flashes prior to his time in Ypsilanti. He served as the defensive line coach for three seasons, before becoming the Defensive Coordinator, and eventually, the Associate Head Coach/Defensive and Special Teams Coordinator.

SHORT BUT SWEET: When the MAC became the first Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conference to announce the postponement of fall sports, including football, on Aug. 8, many were saddened by the news. After taking well-needed time to implement proper safety measures and protocols, the conference is back on the field with a six-game return-to-football plan that was unanimously approved by the league's Council of Presidents, Sept. 25.
   The Conference implemented a COVID-19 testing program requiring four antigen tests per week with all positive tests needing confirmation with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Any student-athlete with a positive test will enter a cardiac screening protocol.
   The MAC's approved COVID-19 testing protocols, including four tests per week, began Monday, Oct. 5. Although no fans will be allowed inside the gates of MAC stadiums this year, the conference will still host a championship game, Dec. 18, giving each of the league's 12 teams and their fan bases a lot to be excited about as the holiday season approaches.

SIX-GAME SLATE: Eastern is set to play a six-game, 2020 regular season slate, with five contents coming against its MAC West rivals (Ball State, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Western Michigan), and one game to be played against East Division foe, Kent State.
   EMU looks to continue its positive win totals against its counter-division, where the team has established a 7-5 overall record during the past four seasons. Eastern's most recent win over a MAC East opponent came via a 42-14 handling of Akron, on the road, during week 10 of the 2019 campaign. That Nov. 12 matchup saw the Eagle offense put up season-bests in yards-per-carry (6.0) and rushing touchdowns (6) as it scored six touchdowns for the first time since 2008.
   Improvement will be sought against EMU's West Division rivals, as the Eagles are just 8-12 against their division since 2016. Although it dropped three games in the category last season, EMU matched its opponents by putting up 152 total points over five division affairs. Eastern will look to make it two-straight over NIU and Western Michigan, while getting back in the win column over Central Michigan, Ball State, and Toledo.

ONE OF A KIND: Eastern Michigan was the only Mid-American Conference team to boast a victory over a Power 5 Conference opponent in 2019. EMU walked off Illinois of the Big Ten conference 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 opponents (2017-Rutgers, 2018-Purdue).

BEST FOUR -YEAR STRETCH: EMU capped of one of the best four-year stretches in program history in 2019. EMU is 25-25 since 2016, its most wins in a four-season span since 1987-90 when the Eagles went 10-2, 6-3-1, 7-3-1, and 2-9.

THE BEST SHOW IN TOWN: Four of EMU's wins in 2019 were decided on the final drive of the game – interception (Coastal Carolina, Aug. 31), walk-off field goal (Illinois, Sept. 14), blocked punt (Central Connecticut, Sept. 21), and punt (Western Michigan, Oct. 19). Furthermore, four of EMU's setbacks were decided on the final drive with EMU possessing the ball.

KEEPING IT CLOSE: EMU was one of just five Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team to play in at least eight one-score games last season. EMU tied for the second-most single possession contests, as only North Carolina (9), and Pittsburgh (9) played in more games that went to the wire.

WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE: A common goal in Head Coach Chris Creighton's program, Eastern has won or tied (20-3) the turnover battle in 23 of its last 26 victories under Creighton.

NEATHERY'S SACK FACTORY: Prior to EMU Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Neal Neathery's arrival in 2016, the Eagles recorded four-or-more sacks just eight times in the 10 previous seasons. Under his direction, Eastern has accomplished the feat 12 times, most recently in its 34-31 win over Illinois, Sept. 14, 2019.

TEAM THEME: Plastered along the halls of the Student-Athlete Performance Center, on team t-shirts, and on social media, the 2020 theme of EMU football is officially, "Breakthrough". The theme represents the team's mission to consistently do what is necessary to move the program into the next tier of success. According to team members, being competitive in the MAC and going to bowl games is not enough. Now, it is time for the team to have a "breakthrough," and compete at an even higher level.

2020 CAPTAINS: Eastern Michigan University's football team announced its captains for the 2020 campaign, Aug. 12. Providing leadership for the squad will be seniors Thomas Odukoya and Turan Rush. Both seniors each earned the honor for the first time. Additionally, this marks the first season under Head Coach Chris Creighton that each captain came to Ypsilanti by way of a transfer. Odukoya, an Almere, Netherlands native, began his career at Garden City Community College. Rush, of Charleston West Side, W. Va., started at Antelope Valley College.

RECORD SETTING 2019: EMU tallied a total of 95 game, season, or career entries into the EMU record books in 2019. Then-senior defensive back Vince Calhoun became the all-time leader in starts at Eastern when he took the field against Kent State, Nov. 19. Former quarterback Mike Glass III finished first all-time in single-season completions, and former running back Shaq Vann etched his name as seventh all-time in career rushing yards (2,529). These are just some examples of the record book entries that EMU student-athletes accomplished in 2019.

CONSISTENT COACHING: When Chris Creighton steps onto the field in Kent, Ohio, Nov. 4, to lead the Eagles against the Kent State, he will officially begin his seventh year at the helm of the program. Nine coaches, five head and four interim, have come-and-gone at EMU since the last time a head-man has coached seven years (Jim Harkerma, 1983-92) at Eastern. Harkema, who coached nine full seasons for the Green and White, resides one spot ahead of Creighton as the fourth-winningest coach in program history.

WHO TO WATCH - OFFENSE: Although some key pieces from last year's squad will be missing, the 2020 roster has plenty of important returners back in the lineup.
   The only Eagle to earn preseason honors at two positions, junior wide out Dylan Drummond collected third team All-MAC honors in 2019. The Cleveland, Ohio product was selected as a MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete as well as Academic All-MAC. He saw game action in all 13 games with 10 starts for the Eagles. Drummond finished the season with 493 reception yards on a team-high 55 catches. He averaged 37.9 yards per game and scored three touchdowns.
   Fellow receiver, junior Quian Williams appeared in all 13 games for the Eagles in 2019, making one start at Central Michigan, Oct. 5. He ranked second on the team with 661 receiving yards with six touchdowns. The Oklahoma City, Okla. native posted 115 receiving yards on eight receptions and two touchdowns against Central Connecticut, Sept. 21. He also caught a 29-yard pass for a score versus in-state rival Western Michigan (Oct. 19) and added touchdowns in back-to-back games against Kent State, Nov. 29, and Pittsburgh, Dec. 26.
   On the offensive line, senior Sidy Sow started 12 games for the Green and White last year. In 2019, Eastern's offense was electric, amassing 5,271 total yards, 49 touchdowns, and 379 total points. Overall, the EMU offense set the program record for touchdowns in a season (49), touchdown passes in a season (27), and passes completed in a season (313). Additionally, EMU's 285 first downs, 379 points, and 5,271 total yards of offense ranked second all-time in program history.
   Additionally, senior lineman Jake Donnellon earned Academic All-MAC honors last year after appearing in all 13 games. The Ypsilanti, Mich. native made five starts for the Eagles as a part of the strong offensive line that helped lead the offense to 283.2 passing yards a game and a league-best 27 passing touchdowns. Lineman Mike Van Hoeven, a senior, will start at center for the second season.
   Tight end and senior team captain Thomas Odukoya will make a big impact in both the run and pass game as well. A 2019 Academic All-MAC honoree, Odukoya appeared in 13 games, making seven starts. He made a season-high 10-yard catch at Central Michigan (Oct. 5) after earning 2019 second team All-MAC preseason honors from Phil Steele's College Football Preview.

WHO TO WATCH - DEFENSE: Although some key pieces from last year's squad will be missing, the 2020 roster has plenty of important returners back in the lineup.
   A 2019 Academic All-MAC honoree, senior Freddie McGee III appeared in 12 games, making five starts. He tallied 32 tackles (25 solo, 7 assisted), while ranking fifth on the team with four pass breakups. The Canton, Mich. native made three stops in a thrilling 34-31 victory at Illinois (Sept. 14) and tied a career-high with five tackles versus Ball State (Oct. 12). He then posted five stops in back-to-back games against Buffalo, Nov. 2, and at Akron, Nov. 12.
   Senior Terry Myrick started all 13 games as a linebacker in 2019. He finished third on the team with 89 tackles (39 solo, 50 assisted) and led the team with 7.5 tackles-for-loss. The Austell, Ga. product opened the season with 11 tackles at Coastal Carolina, Aug. 31, and then forced a fumble and had seven stops at Kentucky, Sept. 7. Myrick tallied 11 tackles and one quarterback hurry against Western Michigan, Oct. 19, and picked up two TFLs against Buffalo, Nov. 2.
   Up front, team captain, senior Turan Rush will harass opposing quarterbacks. Rush started 12 contests with the third-most tackles-for-loss on the team with 6.0. He had a two-sack day against Ball State, Oct. 12, finished with six tackles against Toledo, Oct. 26, and had four stops against Kentucky, Sept. 7, and Western Michigan, Oct. 19.

WHO TO WATCH – SPECIAL TEAMS: Returning and looking to improve on their already impressive careers is a pair of special teams playmakers.
   Senior punter Jake Julien, who ranks first in the EMU record books with a 43.8-yard season punting average, is the only punter in Eastern Michigan history to record two 70+ yard punts in his career. In 2019, he appeared in all 13 games for the Eagles with 13 punts traveling 50-or-more yards and 19 landing inside the 20-yard line. The Barrie, Ontario native belted two punts for an average of 50 yards, including a long of 53-yards against Western Michigan, Oct. 19, to collect MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Julien closed the year with three punts over 50 yards and four inside the 20 against Pittsburgh at the Quick Lane Bowl, Dec. 26.
   Additionally, junior placekicker Chad Ryland will make a splash. Ryland, who is tied for fifth in program-history in extra points made and attempted at EMU. Last year, the Lebanon, Pa. native earned Academic All-MAC honors and was named the MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 16. He drilled a 24-yard, game-winning field goal to down Illinois, Sept. 14, after connecting on a career-best 52-yard field goal earlier in the game. The 52-yarder is tied for the second-best in school history, and is the longest made EMU field goal since the 2015 season. Ryland also notched three field goals against Pittsburgh in the Quick Lane Bowl, Dec. 26, which is tied for eighth for a single-game mark.

NEW ADDITIONS: The 2020 Eastern Michigan football team welcomed three new full-time staff members during the course of the offseason.
   Brandon Blaney joins the EMU family as the tight ends coach. Blaney owns 24 years of coaching experience in the college and professional ranks having coached in the NFL, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, and the Gateway Football Conference. Furthermore, Blaney has also won a pair of national championships as a part of the coaching staffs at the University of Oklahoma (2000) and Youngstown State University (1997). He most recently served as a senior offensive analyst for the University of Michigan during the 2018-19 seasons.
   Taking over the corner backs room, LaMarcus Hicks comes to Ypsilanti after spending the past two years at Bowling Green State University. Fred Reed will transition to work with the safeties after the departure of Todd Frakes. The Falcons tallied 13 interceptions in Hicks' two seasons at BGSU, while ranking sixth nationally in passing yards allowed during the 2018 campaign at just 167.6 yards per game. Before arriving in the Buckeye State, Hicks spent two years (2016-17) at Jackson State University. He was part of a defense that ranked in the top-40 in the country in total defense at 341.6 yards per contest in 2017. The team ranked No. 29 nationally in passing efficiency allowed (116.68) and No. 16 in passing yards allowed (171.3). In his first season at JSU in 2016, the program ranked in the top-35 nationally in total defense (348.9) and passing yards allowed (188.0).
   Returning for a second stint in Ypsilanti is former graduate assistant Mike Piatkowski, who will now handle the quarterbacks in a full-time manner. Piatkowski was a record-setting quarterback himself, controlling the offense for Drake University during a portion of Chris Creighton's tenure with the club. Piatkowski has spent the past six years moving up the college football ranks. He worked on the offensive side of the football most recently with a stop at Indiana University learning under former EMU offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer. Piatkowski also previously was a graduate assistant coach at Eastern Michigan (2016-17) and Midland (Neb.) University (2014-15).
   Increasing their roles on staff, offensive line coach James Patton will add Run Game Coordinator to his responsibilities, while Reed will serve as the Pass Game Coordinator for the Green and White. Following the departure of Offensive Coordinator Aaron Keen, who filled the vacated head coaching position at Washington University – St. Louis, his alma mater, Creighton will be responsible for calling the plays on that side of the ball.

DIALING IN THE CALLS: For the first time in his EMU tenure, Head Coach Chris Creighton will be calling his own offensive plays after previously doing so at his other coaching stops. Creighton is one of 17 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches that serves as the primary play caller for their team.

RUNNING BACK PRODUCTION: Eastern Michigan was one of just 10 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools not to have a running back on its roster with a game started. Furthermore, EMU's tailbacks open the 2020 campaign with a combined 10 career rushing attempts (Karmi Mackey 8, Darius Boone Jr. 2).

YOUTH MOVEMENT: EMU will boast the 19th youngest roster in all of the FBS ranks with 62.2 percent of the squad made up of underclassmen in 2020.

THE CREIGHTON DIFFERENCE: Head Coach Chris Creighton has won nearly 50 percent (25-of-51) of his games since the start of the 2016 season. In the three seasons prior to his arrival in Ypsilanti, the Eagles were victorious in just 28 percent (10-of-36) of their games.

THE NOT-SO UNDERDOGS: With EMU's win over Illinois, Sept. 14, 2019, Head Coach Chris Creighton picked up a third "Power Five" win in a three-year span. Creighton is one of two active MAC coaches to have multiple "Power 5" wins. He joins Ohio's Frank Solich (5).

CREIGHTON ENTERS TOP-FIVE: With six more wins in the 2019 campaign, EMU Head Coach Chris Creighton continued to climb the EMU all-time wins ladder. Currently the fifth-winningest coach in program history, Creighton is just 13 games away from tying Jim Harkema (41 wins) for fourth-best all-time at Eastern. The San Francisco native is the only coach in EMU history to take a team to three postseason bowl games.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CHRIS CREIGHTON?: In his head coaching career, Chris Creighton has racked up the frequent flyer miles, coaching games in seven different countries. Creighton added the Bahamas to that list in 2017 when he lead the Eagles to the Bahamas Bowl after it already consisted of the United States, Sweden, Austria, Panama, Tanzania, and Germany.

STABILITY IS THE NAME OF THE GAME: In an era when head coaches seem to change frequently, Eastern Michigan has been able to go seven seasons with the same football and men's basketball coaches. It is the longest by EMU since it also went seven years (1986-92) without a change under the leadership of football's Jim Harkema and men's basketball's Ben Braun.
   Overall, EMU has the longest active streak of stability between the two program's in the Mid-American Conference.

STABILITY PART DUEX: In his seventh season in Ypsilanti, EMU Head Coach Chris Creighton is now the 25th longest-tenured Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) head coach.

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Players Mentioned

Darius Boone Jr.

Vince Calhoun

Bryson Cannon

Jake Donnellon

Dylan Drummond

Ian Eriksen

Mike Glass III

Arthur Jackson III

Jake Julien

Line Latu

Karmi Mackey

Freddie McGee III

Terry Myrick

Thomas Odukoya

Turan Rush

Chad Ryland

Sidy Sow

Mike Van Hoeven

Shaq Vann

Quian Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics