Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
3-2 , 0-1
Northern Illinois
3-2 , 1-0
Football's Comeback Falls Short in 27-20 Setback at NIU
10/2/2021 8:56:00 PM | Football
Beydoun puts up historic offensive numbers in the setback
Photo Gallery
Postgame Press Conference | Highlight Video
DEKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) -- Senior quarterback Ben Bryant (La Grange, Ill.-Lyons Twp. (Cincinnati) threw for 338 yards and junior wide out Hassan Beydoun (Dearborn, Mich.-Dearborn) churned out 167 receiving yards, but the Eastern Michigan University football team fell to Northern Illinois University, 27-20, on the road Saturday, Oct. 2. The game featured a 2:45 weather delay, Eastern's first road stoppage since the 2016 season. Despite a second-half comeback in which it outscored NIU 17-14, EMU could not complete the comeback.
The Huskies improved to 3-2 on the year and 1-0 in Mid-American Conference play, while the Eagles fell to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in conference matchups.
Bryant went 27-for-40 on the way to the 338-yard, two-touchdown showing with one interception.
Running back DJ Smith (Dallas, Texas-Frisco Lone Star) paced the Eagles rushing attack by accumulating 26 yards over the course of the game, averaging 8.7 yards per carry. Freshman back Darius Boone Jr. (Tulsa, Okla.-Union) also added 19 yards on the ground, as well as 45 receiving yards.
Beydoun's 167-yard performance led the Eastern Michigan receiving corps.
Sophomore Matthew Buschman (Brighton, Mich.-Brighton) showed out for the Eastern Michigan defense, recording one recovered fumble. Junior linebacker Tariq Speights (Valencia, Calif.-Velencia (College of the Canyons)) had a team-high 12 tackles in the loss.
The Eagles forced one turnover in Saturday's contest, with Eastern Michigan turning that takeaway into three points. Eastern Michigan converted on 42.9 percent of third-down attempts on the day.
Defensively, Eastern Michigan did an impressive job limiting the Northern Illinois passing attack, holding the Huskies to 84 yards through the air.
Eastern Michigan responded to an early 17-0 Northern Illinois lead with a second quarter field goal to narrow the deficit to 17-3.The Eagles then got on the scoreboard again to narrow Northern Illinois' lead to 17-10.
After Northern Illinois scored to increase its lead to 24-10, Eastern Michigan responded with a touchdown with 2:14 left in the third quarter lead to cut the deficit to 24-17.Northern Illinois scored to increase its lead to 27-17 before the Eagles got on the scoreboard again to narrow the advantage and make it a 27-20 game. Neither team scored again in the game.
» Eastern Michigan tallied 14 points in the third quarter, accounting for 70% of their total score.
» Eastern Michigan converted 6-of-14 third downs while Northern Illinois was successful on 4-of-13.
» The Eagles had three players with more than eight tackles in the contest.
» Senior Jake Julien (Barrie, Ontario-North Collegiate) punted three times for the Eagles with an average of 46.0 yards per punt.
» Bryant completed 67.5% of his passes on the day, going 27-for-40 while averaging 8.4 yards per attempt.
» Saturday's game marked just the second time EMU has failed to score in an opening quarter this season (at Wisconsin, Sept. 11).
» Prior to Saturday's game, EMU had not given up more than two sacks in any contest. The Eagles gave up three in the first quarter of the contest against NIU.
» Junior kicker Chad Ryland (Lebanon, Pa.-Cedar Crest)'s 47-yard field goal with four seconds remaining in the first half is his longest of the year, and sixth-longest of his EMU career. Ryland is now 3-for-6 on the season.
» EMU rushed for -15 yards in the first half of Saturday's game. That is the lowest total for the team in any half of football this season.
»Bryant completed passes of 45 and 42 yards, respectively, in EMU's first offensive possession of the second half. Those passes rank second and fourth, respectively, as it relates to his career longs with EMU.
»Senior tight end Bryson Cannon (Columbia, S.C.-Dutch Fork (Independence))'s 42-yard touchdown reception with 10:37 in the third quarter was not only his first score of the season, but his longest of the season and second-longest of his career. Cannon last scored a touchdown Nov. 18, 2020, versus Toledo.
» Sophomore Aaron Jackson (Detroit, Mich.-Cass Tech)'s 13-yard rushing effort in the third quarter is a career-long for the sophomore tight end. Jackson was utilized as the team's Wildcat quarterback in the game. He is familiar with the position, having played QB in high school and starting his EMU career as a signal caller.
» Beydoun's 14 receptions are a new career-high.
» With his 167 yards receiving, Beydoun racked up his sixth-career game of 100+ yards. Beydoun has accounted for six of EMU's 132 all-time 100-yard receiving efforts (5%).
» With his touchdown reception in the third quarter, his second of the season, junior Dylan Drummond (Cleveland, Ohio-Cuyahoga Heights) has now recorded scores in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
» Bryant's performance was arguably the best of his time with the Eagles. The first-year quarterback recorded new career-bests in completions (27) and passing yards (338).
» Boone's 45-yard reception is the longest of his career, and the longest by an EMU running back this season.
» EMU's 338 yards of offense through the air are the most for the team this season. EMU's previous single-game high was 323, which came against UMass, Sept. 18.
»Smith led all Eagles with 26 yards rushing on three attempts. He also had the team's long run (tied) of 13 yards. His 26 yards and 13-yard single rush are both career-bests.
»Speights had a team-best 12 tackles in the game. That number ties his career-best mark (Nov. 27, 2020 vs. Central Michigan).
»Buschman's fumble recovery was the first of his career.
»Saturday's rain delay lasted 2:45.
Historical Notes
» EMU and NIU entered a lightning delay between the first and second quarter. The last time an EMU team experienced a road lightning delay was against Bowling Green, Oct 1, 2016. The delay lasted 2:45.
» With his 14 receptions, Beydoun became the first EMU player to record 10-or-more catches since Oct. 21, 2017, when Antoine Porter did it against Western Michigan.
» Beydoun's 167-yard receiving performance is one for the record books. Tied for 19th in all-time single game reception yards, Beydoun's effort is the best for an EMU player since the 2016 season, when former Eagle Dieuly Aristilde recorded 193 on seven receptions against Miami, Oct. 29.
» Bryant's 338 yards through the air are the most for an EMU quarterback since teammate Preston Hutchinson (Mason, Ohio-Mason) accounted for 365 passing yards against Central Michigan, Nov. 27, 2020.
» Beydoun's 14 receptions are tied for fifth-most in a single-game all time at EMU. The number has been recorded 15 total times in the 130-year history of the program.
» EMU has forced seven turnovers in 2021, and has scored points off of each (5 touchdowns, 2 field goals). That trend continued Saturday (3 points off a recovered fumble).
Up Next
Eastern returns home to host Miami Saturday, Oct. 9, at 3:30 p.m. The game will cap the University's 100th Homecoming Celebration and will be broadcast on ESPN+ and WEMU 89.1 FM.
Team Stats
EMU 0, NIU 7
NIU - Lombardi,Rocky 5 yd run (Richardson,John kick), 8 plays, 34 yards, TOP 3:21
EMU 0, NIU 10
NIU - Richardson,John 28 yd field goal 10 plays, 70 yards, TOP 4:18
EMU 0, NIU 17
NIU - Dolphin,Jaden 59 yd interception (Richardson,John kick)
EMU 3, NIU 17
EMU - RYLAND, Chad 47 yd field goal 9 plays, 25 yards, TOP 1:41
EMU 10, NIU 17
EMU - CANNON, Bryson 42 yd pass from BRYANT, Ben (RYLAND, Chad kick) 5 plays, 94 yards, TOP 2:17
EMU 10, NIU 24
NIU - Ratkovich,Clint 2 yd run (Richardson,John kick), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:19
EMU 17, NIU 24
EMU - DRUMMOND, Dylan 17 yd pass from BRYANT, Ben (RYLAND, Chad kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:04
EMU 17, NIU 27
NIU - Richardson,John 26 yd field goal 14 plays, 58 yards, TOP 6:50
EMU 20, NIU 27
EMU - RYLAND, Chad 31 yd field goal 10 plays, 62 yards, TOP 2:13
