Eastern Michigan Athletics
Remembering Tales from the Gridiron: Week 2
9/10/2020 2:00:00 PM | Football
EMU’s Greg Steiner is taking a weekly lookback at top games from the past 20 seasons
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – If there's one thing that sports fans have a soft spot in their hearts for, it's cheering for underdogs. Sports would not be as fun without underdogs. The stories and journeys of the overlooked, counted out or disregarded add a compelling layer to the games we love.
This week’s selection of games features five contests that saw Eastern Michigan as the decided underdogs. From the first non-conference road win in 27 years to spoiling a pair of Big 10 home dates, Eastern Michigan has recently been front and center in pulling off upsets and forcing those following college football take notice that things have changed in Ypsilanti.
Home-field advantage is, by definition, an advantage. Most fans think that because a game is at a team’s stadium, that the home team will have an upper hand. Whether it is crowd intimidation or whatever x-factor that stadium might produce, this notion of home-field advantage is widely accepted. But is the ‘advantage’ in home-field advantage supported by statistics?
The short answer is yes. Over a large sample size, it is documented that the average NFL game is won by the home team by a score just below three points. What is even more telling is that home teams usually win in between 55 and 60 percent of the time. So, generally speaking, if you want a winner, the home team isn’t a bad bet.
Before the pandemic changed everything, Coastal Carolina was looking to come to Rynearson Stadium this week, Sept. 12, to play the spoiler in a non-conference matchup. Last year in Conway, S.C., the Eagles stormed back after falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter to defeat the Chanticleers, 30-23.
The back-and-forth battle saw Coastal connected on a 38-yard field goal to to pull within seven with just 40 seconds to go. Things got more interesting when the Chanticleers recovered an onside kick to give themselves one last chance. However, on the very next play, Eastern cornerback Kevin McGill pulled down an interception to put the game on ice.
Did I overlook your favorite EMU week two memory? Let me hear about it and you just might find your moment added to the list. To submit a memory, click here and tell me why it was so special.
This will be the 129th year for the EMU football team when it attempts to play in the spring following the fall postponement due to COVID-19. 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.
All Was Right Until the Thunder Rolled in Gainesville - Sept. 11, 2004 – L, 10-49 at Florida
The Midwest may love college football, but in the South, love just ain't good enough. South of the Mason-Dixon Line, football becomes without question a passion. I witnessed this first-hand with my first major trip to cover the team still as a student in 2004.
Throngs of Gator fans directed the recognizable "gator bait" chant and correlating Gator chomp arm motion towards the team buses as they approached Ben Hill Griffin Stadium hours before kickoff. Nestled in my seat on the fourth bus of if the police escort, I wondered to myself that if they got this fired up for us, I cannot imagine what they do when a true rival comes to down.
Needless to say, the fan-base was eager for some football that day. The contest was played one week after Florida was forced to take the weekend off after Hurricane Frances forced postponement of the team's scheduled 2004 season opener against Middle Tennessee State. Adding to the anticipation, the EMU-UF starting time had to be moved up five hours because of threat posed by approaching Hurricane Ivan.
Then-Head Coach Jeff Genyk was always looking to push the envelope to try to get his team the advantage despite being the heavy underdog. Eastern won the toss and elected to receive, the poor starting field position at the three-yard line did not help the situation. Unfazed, the Green and White would march 91 yards on 13 plays to open the scoring with 8:36 remaining in the first quarter. Sophomore kicker Andrew Wellock booted a 23-yard field goal after Eastern could not capitalize on a 1st-and-goal opportunity at the UF four-yard line.
Before the Gator offense had an opportunity to answer, Genyk again rolled the dice to successfully recover an on-side kick at the Florida 43.
After the UF defense forced the Eagles three-and-out, the hosts' offense was unable to capitalize on their first drive. However, the Gator defense responded on EMU's next possession to force a fumble by senior running back Anthony Sherrell near midfield.
Florida center Mike Degory later said "they had us wondering what was going on in the first quarter."
Seizing the momentum, UF quarterback Chris Leak engineered a 50-yard scoring drive that moved the Gators in front to stay. Ciatrick Fason, who rushed for 105 yards on 16 carries, scampered into the end zone from eight yards out to provide UF's opening points of the campaign.
Not long after lightning delayed the game for 64 minutes midway through the second quarter with Florida leading 14-3.
After sitting through a rain delay of more than an hour that began at 2:15 p.m., the Gators resumed play with a bang. Facing a second down and 16 from Eastern Michigan's 46-yard line, Leak fired a 37-yard bullet to junior wide receiver Dallas Baker, who eluded a pair of Eagle defenders to make an acrobatic catch. UF completed the drive with a two-yard run by sophomore DeShawn Wynn to move ahead, 21-3.
With 1:28 remaining until the half, Eastern Michigan narrowed the deficit to 21-10 on a 22-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Matt Bohnet to sophomore wide receiver Eric Deslauriers. The Eagles' drive of 82 yards lasted 4:23 and took 13 plays.
Unfortunately, the same opportunities that presented themselves before the delay did not happen after the break. Overall, the Gator offense rolled up 409 yards of total offense and limited Eastern Michigan to just 74 yards of offense in the second half.
After the game, Bohnet said “For me, I've been to venues like this before, at Michigan and Penn State, but this was the first time I actually competed. Some things worked out and some things didn't, but it was a great experience for the whole team.”
Nearly the Upset in Evanston - Sept. 12, 2009 – L, 24-27 at Northwestern
Years before the thrilling streak of three consecutive upsets against Big Ten Conference programs, Eastern Michigan nearly had it first “Power 5” upset at Northwestern. All three all-time meetings against the Wildcats have been close affairs, but the 2009 meeting was one of just three games that was decided by a touchdown-or-less that season.
Stefan Demos kicked a 49-yard field goal in the closing seconds, and Northwestern escaped with a 27-24 victory over Eastern Michigan after blowing a 21-point lead. Eastern Michigan had just tied it on a 3-yard run by Terrence Blevins with 2:40 remaining, but instead of an upset, the Wildcats prevailed.
Northwestern took over on the 42 and drove to the EMU 25 before being pushed back to the 50 on a pass-interference call. NU quarterback Mike Kafka then hit Andrew Brewer with an 8-yard pass and a 10-yarder before overthrowing him deep along the left side on third down.
Eastern called time with 11 seconds left but couldn't ice Demos, who drove the ball between the uprights and then got mobbed by teammates near the sideline.
Brian Peters then intercepted a deep pass at the Northwestern 33, and with that, the Wildcats could exhale.
Northwestern led 21-0 early in the second quarter after two touchdown runs by Stephen Simmons and a 70-yard interception return by Ben Johnson, and it was 21-3 at the half.
But Eastern Michigan refused to go quietly, and the Eagles looked like they just might pull off their first win under Head Coach Ron English while breaking their skid against the Big Ten. As dramatic as the comeback was, the result was familiar.
Things got really interesting early in the fourth quarter, right after Demos kicked a 20-yard field goal that made it 24-10.
Eastern Michigan's Marty Cardwell recovered a fumbled punt by Brendan Smith at the Northwestern 35, and Andy Schmitt found Jacory Stone for a 25-yard TD pass that made it a seven-point game.
Northwestern then drove to the Eagles' 25 before Ryan Downard picked off Kafka.
Eastern took over on its 21, and Dwayne Priest immediately broke off a 35-yard run, sparking a drive that culminated with a 3-yard run by Blevins that tied it 24-24 with 2:40 remaining.
Decades-Long Non-Conference Streak Ends in Laramie - Sept. 12, 2015 – W, 48-29 at Wyoming
On the field, Eastern Michigan came to play despite all the questions surrounding how the team would adjust to the altitude. UW’s War Memorial Stadium is the highest NCAA Division I football stadium in the country at an elevation of 7,220 feet above sea level. With the crowd noise and elevation, Wyoming's has won 66 percent of its games at home.
Informed by his players that Eastern Michigan had gone 27 years without a non-conference road win, Head Coach Chris Creighton got inspired. And so did his team, which jumped to a 38-7 first-half lead at Wyoming and rolled to a 48-29 victory.
Brogan Roback passed for 330 yards and three touchdowns and Shaq Vann rushed for 129 yards and two.
"This morning, I was just excited," Creighton said postgame. "We've got a chance to do something for the first time, in this century, right? I mean, that's a big word."
After punting on its first possession, Eastern Michigan scored on six consecutive drives to go up by 31 points. The previous week, Eastern took a 24-10 lead over Old Dominion but couldn't hold on. Vann said the squad focused on not letting up this time.
"We kind of had to bring ourselves back down and we realized we had to finish this thing, like we didn't do that last week," he said. "That was our plan all week was to finish."
Roback, who was 17-of-24 passing with no interceptions, started in place of Reginald Bell, who suffered a jaw injury in the opener.
"The O-line played out of their mind," Roback said. "The pass (protection) was awesome."
Vann scored on runs of 15 and 74 yards and Darius Jackson had a 17-yard touchdown reception and a 2-yard scoring run for the Eagles. Sam Browning caught a 3-yard TD pass while Dylan Mulder's 39-yard field goal gave Eastern Michigan a 38-7 lead with 3:46 left in the first half.
Roback threw a 64-yard strike to Eddie Daugherty to make it 45-22 early in the third quarter, while Mulder added a 41-yard field goal late in the game.
Wyoming was forced to go with its No. 3 quarterback, Nick Smith, after future NFL Draft pick Josh Allen exited with an shoulder injury midway through the first quarter. Allen started in place of Cameron Coffman, who suffered a knee injury the previous week.
The Eagles recovered an onside kick late in the first quarter to set up Jackson's scoring catch. He broke two tackles on his way to the end zone and put Eastern Michigan ahead 21-7.
The teams combined 968 total yards, including 506 by Eastern Michigan.
Big 10 Streak Begins in Piscataway - Sept. 9, 2017 – W, 16-13 at Rutgers
Usually my goal is never to say or write something that is showcased by a coach in front of the team as fodder or bulletin board material. That all changed in 2017 when Head Coach Chris Creighton prior to our weekly press conference called me to his office and asked me the last time we had beaten a Big 10 team. My reply was simply – never.
After the game, Creighton even addressed it after the win in his opening statement.
"I know our media relations' director Greg Steiner in the beginning of the week said that in our 126-year history that we've never beaten a Power 5 school. We played 58 times and we're 0-58. I thought about it a little bit and I had to tell our team. We don't want to make it about that, but at the same time, I had not known that. So Tuesday, at our meeting, we said could be first ever in the history, which is a century and a quarter long, and be the first and that will never be taken away from us. It'll be history forever. To fly out here in the second week of the season and have a win like this, it's a pretty big deal."
Now back to how it happened…
Minutes after knocking off Rutgers in what probably will go down as its then-biggest regular-season win, Eastern Michigan players jogged to the area where its fans sat and celebrated after beating Rutgers 16-13. It was sheer joy and there were high fives and hugs to be exchanged.
Paulie Fricano kicked a go-ahead 24-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and the Eagles made two late defensive stands in preserving their moment in time.
Brogan Roback passed for 260 yards and threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Antoine Porter. Fricano, who tied his single-game high with three field goals, also hit from 33 and 21 yards, the latter tying the game at 13 with 30 seconds left in the third quarter.
Creighton had talked about the lack of a win against a Power-5 team earlier in the week.
"It was pretty hard not to be aware because like Coach Creighton said, he said it every chance he got," Roback said. "But you definitely have a little bit of extra juice because you have a chip on your shoulder. You come in, you're the underdogs and that's fine. This team loves being the underdog."
Roback, who was 19-of-36, then led Eastern Michigan on scoring drives of 72 and 77 yards to set up Fricano's last two field goals.
Rutgers wasn't done though.
Starting at their own 7, Kyle Bolin hit Janarion Grant on passes of 8, 10, 22 and 7 yards to help the Scarlet Knights reached the Eastern Michigan 27. On third-and-3 from the 27, Brody Hoying stepped in front of a Bolin pass and returned the interception 71 yards to the Rutgers 5.
The Scarlet Knights held and blocked a 33-yard goal attempt by Fricano with 1:34 to go.
Passes of 33 and 9 yards to Damon Mitchell and a personal foul for roughing the passer got Rutgers to the Eagles 25 with 18 seconds to play.
However, Rutgers was penalized 15 yards for illegal hands to the face that pushed the ball back to the 40 and Bolin (17-of-37 for 198) was sacked on the final play by defensive lineman Jeremiah Harris.
Dropping the Hammer in West Lafayette - Sept. 8, 2018 – W, 20-19 at Purdue
A Big 10 win in 2017 was nice, but could it really happen again nearly a year later? That was the question of the day as Eastern Michigan descended on a rain-soaked Ross-Ade Stadium to battle Purdue in 2018. In the end, it was a freshman walk-on kicker Chad Ryland that become a name that will be forever remembered in EMU stories with his 24-yard field goal as time expired.
After the game, Sports Illustrated’s Laken Litman joked about EMU furthering its case for joining the Big Ten.
“Don’t look now, but Eastern Michigan is on a bit of a hot streak against the Big Ten. After going 0–38—yes, that’s 38 straight losses—against the conference, the Eagles have now won two straight. Someone needs to tell Illinois to watch out, because the Eagles are heading to Champaign next season. Then the Big Ten gets a break before EMU plays Wisconsin in 2021.”
Evidently their warning didn’t help the Illini a year later when Ryland added the same ending.
Back to how the game transpired…
Ryland delivered Eastern Michigan a thrilling victory over the Purdue as time expired. The freshman kicker made the late go-ahead field goal from 24 yards to lift the Eagles over the Boilermakers 20-19.
Quarterback Tyler Wiegers was 20-of-28 for 312 yards and a touchdown pass that came in the second quarter from 75 yards to Mathew Sexton to put the Eagles ahead 7-3.
"It's never over, you don't have any choice other than to believe that it's gonna happen and that it's possible," added Creighton. "There was never a time where our sidelines felt as if we lost the game."
In an overall sloppy game, things seemed to go Eastern Michigan's way when the Eagles needed it most.
On the final drive of the game, Wiegers was sacked on third down by linebacker Cornel Jones, who was called for a late hit when he appeared to shove Wiegers into the playing field while getting up after the play.
Jones sacked Wiegers again plays later, but Wiegers completed a 23-yard pass to Arthur Jackson on fourth down, and later a defensive pass interference penalty put the Eagles on Purdue's 20-yard line before Ryland's game-winning kick.
"I saw the ball go into (Jackson's) hands and it was like, `Now we have life' because he caught that and, not only was it a first down, but he started getting us in field goal range and got it down to the 20," Creighton said. "And then we took the penalty, basically knocked ourselves out of field goal range. There's a lot to learn and look at on film but I think the overriding sense is that our team really believed that they could do this."
Blake Banham finished with six receptions for 99 yards and Jackson had six receptions for 84 yards for the Eagles.
The Boilermakers took a 19-17 lead after D.J. Knox's 45-yard touchdown run with 6:41 remaining. Knox finished with career-high 152 yards rushing on 21 carries and Markell Jones had 109 yards rushing on 12 carries. Starting quarterback David Blough was 6 of 10 for 48 yards passing. Elijah Sindelar was 8 of 14 for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Sindelar connected with Markell Jones on a 7-yard touchdown pass to go ahead 12-7 after a failed extra point with 59 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Ryland kicked a 27-yard field goal with three seconds left in the first half to make it 12-10 at halftime.
Steiner’s Week 2 Slate of Games
Sept. 7, 2019 – L, 17-38 at Kentucky
Sept. 8, 2018 – W, 20-19 at Purdue
Sept. 9, 2017 – W, 16-13 at Rutgers
Sept. 10, 2016 – L, 21-61 at Missouri
Sept. 12, 2015 – W, 48-29 at Wyoming
Sept. 6, 2014 – L, 0-65 at Florida
Sept. 7, 2013 – L 7-45 at Penn State
Sept. 8, 2012 – L, 14-31 vs. Illinois State
Sept. 10, 2011 – W, 14-7 vs. Alabama State
Sept. 11, 2010 – L, 21-28 at Miami
Sept. 12, 2009 – L, 24-27 at Northwestern
Sept. 6, 2008 – L, 10-42 at Michigan State
Sept. 8, 2007 – L, 16-38 vs. Ball State
Sept. 9, 2006 – L, 20-52 at Michigan State
Sept. 10, 2005 – W, 31-10 vs. Louisiana
Sept. 11, 2004 – L, 10-49 at Florida
Sept. 4, 2003 – L, 12-34 vs. Western Illinois
Sept. 7, 2002 – L, 13-65 vs. Toledo
Sept. 8, 2001 – L, 3-50 at Maryland
Sept. 9, 2000 – L, 17-34 vs. Miami
Sept. 18, 1999 – L, 14-35 at Miami
Greg Steiner is in his 19th year with the Eastern Michigan University Athletic Media Relations Office and his fifth as the Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations. From Dec. 2004 until Oct. 2012, he was the office’s assistant director before serving as the assistant athletic director from 2012-16. He serves as the primary contact for the football and golf teams, while aiding in game-day help with nearly all 18 sports.
Steiner also oversees the EMU-ESPN initiative and production unit, in which EMU students receive valuable hands-on experience working with professional equipment and producing content for a national audience on ESPN3/ESPN+. Since its launch in 2015, EMU has produced 185 games for ESPN to go along with dozens more in-house productions.
Favorite Eastern Memories
This will be the 129th year for the EMU football team when it attempts to play in the spring following the fall postponement due to COVID-19. 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.
