Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
7-4 , 4-3
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Western Michigan
6-5 , 3-4
EMU Rallies Past WMU, 22-21; Ryland Sets Program-Record With Five FGs
11/16/2021 11:59:00 PM | Football
Eastern picks up seventh win of the year; The Eagles earn their third-straight win over WMU
Photo Gallery | Video Highlights.
Postgame Press Conference.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University football team picked up its seventh win of the year with a win over in-state rival and Mid-American Conference rival Western Michigan in comeback-fashion, 22-21, inside "The Factory" at Rynearson Stadium, Nov. 16.
With the victory, the Eagles improved to 7-4 on the year and 4-3 in Mid-American Conference play. Prior to this year's squad, only 14 teams in the 130-year history of EMU Football had finished with seven or more wins. In addition, only two teams had done it in the 21st century; they have both been coached by Chris Creighton.
No one had a bigger impact on tonight's edition of #MACtion than junior kicker Chad Ryland (Lebanon, Pa.-Cedar Crest). Ryland knocked through 5-of-5 field goals and one extra point to give him 16 points of EMU's 22.
The Eagles were paced by senior linebacker Terry Myrick (Austell, Ga.-Woodward Academy) with 11 stops, the second time this season he's reached double figures in the category. Additionally, sophomore Jose Ramirez (Lake Alfred, Fla.-Auburndale (Riverside City)) tied his career-high in tackles 10 to go along with a solo sack.
Senior Jawon Hamilton (Miami, Fla.-South Dade (James Madison)) proved to be the spark for Eastern's offense, racking up 179 yards on 19 attempts. Junior wide out Hassan Beydoun (Dearborn, Mich.-Dearborn) led the team in receptions with five for 48 yards and EMU's only touchdown of the game.
It was a defensive battle in the first quarter, with both defenses stifling the opposing team's offense, resulting in a 0-0 ball game. Western Michigan struck first with a 74-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter to open things up. Eastern Michigan responded with field goals on back-to-back positions to bring the score to 7-6 heading into halftime.
The Broncos found the endzone twice in the third quarter while the Green and White were able to hit two field goals. Late in the third, Western boasted a 21-9 lead before sophomore Samson Evans (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge (Iowa)) connected with Beydoun for the Eagles' only touchdown of the game. From there, the defense caused two turnovers and Ryland knocked home two field goals to complete the comeback, 22-21.
» Eastern Michigan won the turnover battle 2-0 after intercepting one pass and recovering one fumble.
» EMU had its highest-scoring quarter in the third period, when they put up 10 points.
» The Eagles had four players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Myrick who had 11.
» Eastern Michigan went 3-for-3 on fourth down, converting on 100 percent of attempts.
» The Eagles won the time of possession battle 30:44 to 28:31.
» The Eagles ended the game on a strong note, scoring 13 unanswered points to close out the contest.
» Eastern Michigan only led for the final 3:55 of the game.
» Ryland set a program-record in field goals made in a single game with five. The kicker first achieved this feat last season at Western Michigan, Dec. 5, 2020.
» The kicker hit his first field goal of the night in the second quarter, which extended his consecutive games streak of making a field goal to eight games, dating back to Sept. 25, vs Texas State.
» This is also Ryland's first game all season with three-plus field goals.
» Senior defensive back Jeff Hubbard (Atlanta, Ga.-Woodward Academy) recorded the first sack of his college career in the form of a sack assist with sophomore defensive lineman Mikey Haney (Maumee, Ohio-Maumee).
» Haney achieved a career-high 1.5 sacks on the night, which led the team against the Broncos.
» Sophomore Jose Ramirez (Lake Alfred, Fla.-Auburndale (Riverside City)) recorded a solo sack in the game, bringing his season total to a team-leading 6.0.
» Vaden's monumental fumble recovery was the first of his career.
» Smith Jr.'s game-changing interception marked the first for the Florida native.
» Senior Jawon Hamilton (Miami, Fla.-South Dade (James Madison)) had a career-long rush of 60 yards, almost doubling his previous best of 32 yards on Nov. 2 at Toledo.
» Hamilton wrapped up his night with a career-high 179 yards on the ground, the best single-game total of any Eagle so far this season.
» The seniors' effort was the first time since Bronson Hill ran for 257 against Ohio, Oct. 19, 2013.
» Junior Dennis Smith (Gaffney, SC.-Gaffney (Duke)) had a season-long 46-yard reception from Ben Bryant, which led to Eastern Michigan's first touchdown of the night.
» Junior Hassan Beydoun (Dearborn, Mich.-Dearborn) had his fourth touchdown catch of the season for 19 yards to cut the deficit to five points
» Eastern Michigan won a game when trailing after the third quarter for the first time this season, they now improve to 1-4 in those games now on the season.
» The Eagles are 4-3 in MAC Play despite not having a single lead after a first quarter in MAC play.
» Additionally, Beydoun hauled in 5 receptions, marking eight total games this season with five-or-more catches.
» Sophomore Samson Evans' (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie View (Iowa)) connection with Beydoun was the running backs' third passing touchdown of the season.
Historical Notes
» Eastern Michigan won the turnover battle 2-0 after intercepting one pass and recovering one fumble.
» Junior kicker Chad Ryland (Lebanon, Pa.-Cedar Crest) had 16 points in the game, he is now two points behind Andrew Wellock for the most points in EMU history.
» The first quarter of the game was scoreless. It was the first such occurrence where Eastern Michigan was involved in a football game that was scoreless after the first quarter since Oct. 26, 2017, at Northern Illinois.
» Sophomore Carter Stagner (Birmingham, Mich.-Seaholm) blocked a field goal for Eastern Michigan with 3:02 to play in the second quarter. It was the first time an EMU player blocked a field goal since Jeremiah Harris vs Northern Illinois on Nov. 16, 2016.
» Four Eagles have thrown for touchdowns this season: Bryant (14), Evans (3), Hutchinson (1), and Drummond (1).
» EMU has now won three-straight games against the Broncos. It is the first time Eastern Michigan has won three-straight contests versus Western Michigan since 2011-13.
» With their victory tonight, the Eagles won their seventh game of the regular season. Only 14 teams in the 130-year history of EMU Football had finished with seven or more wins. In addition, only two teams had done it in the 21st century; they have both been coached by Chris Creighton.
» Prior to Creighton's arrival in 2014, EMU had produced 13 seasons with seven-or-more losses since 2000. The result of seven wins is the first time the EMU football program has had three seven-plus win seasons in a six-year span since the Green-and-White did it three times in four seasons from 1968-1971.
» Eastern Michigan is 12-5 in the month of November excluding last year's COVID-shortened season.
» Eastern once trailed 21-9 in the third quarter, it was the first time the Eagles came back from down 10 or more points in a game since Oct. 19, 2021, also against Western Michigan, when they trailed 11 in the second quarter and came back to win 34-27.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan travels north to take on in-state rival Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant, Mich., next Friday, Nov. 26. Kickoff inside Kelly Shorts Stadium is scheduled for 12 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.
Team Stats
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WMU 7, EMU 0
WMU - Moore,Skyy 74 yd pass from Eleby,Kaleb (Sampson,Parker kick) 3 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:23
WMU 7, EMU 3
EMU - RYLAND, Chad 30 yd field goal 9 plays, 78 yards, TOP 3:20
WMU 7, EMU 6
EMU - RYLAND, Chad 31 yd field goal 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:19
WMU 14, EMU 6
WMU - Tyler,Sean 21 yd run (Sampson,Parker kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:50
WMU 14, EMU 9
EMU - RYLAND, Chad 22 yd field goal 9 plays, 60 yards, TOP 3:46
WMU 21, EMU 9
WMU - Eleby,Kaleb 1 yd run (Sampson,Parker kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:36
WMU 21, EMU 16
EMU - BEYDOUN, Hassan 19 yd pass from EVANS, Samson (RYLAND, Chad kick) 6 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:07
WMU 21, EMU 19
EMU - RYLAND, Chad 31 yd field goal 14 plays, 57 yards, TOP 6:17
WMU 21, EMU 22
EMU - RYLAND, Chad 20 yd field goal 6 plays, 39 yards, TOP 2:51
