Eastern Michigan Athletics
Bryant and Ryland Earn MAC Player of the Week Honors
9/27/2021 11:30:00 AM | Football
Both student-athletes helped lead Eastern to a 59-21 victory over Texas State
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) — Two members of the Eastern Michigan University football team were recognized as Mid-American Conference West Division Players of the Week, the league office announced today, Sept. 27. Senior quarterback Ben Bryant (La Grange, Ill.-Lyons Township-Cincinnati) was named the MAC West co-Offensive Player of the Week, while junior kicker Chad Ryland (Lebanon, Pa-Cedar Crest) earned MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
It marks the first time Bryant has collected the award as he shares the honor with Northern Illinois' Rocky Lombardi. Meanwhile, Ryland earned the accolade for the fifth time in his career.
Bryant threw for a career-high three touchdowns against Texas State, Sept. 25, as he completed 20-of-33 pass attempts en route to 228 yards through the air. Along with a rushing touchdown, the first-year Eagle accounted for four touchdowns in Eastern's historic, 59-21 win over Texas State. His performance marked the 42nd time in program history that an EMU quarterback has thrown for three scores.
The Eagles' 38-point margin of victory was the largest against a non-conference Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program under Chris Creighton. Furthermore, the 59-21 triumph ranks as the 37th-largest margin of victory since the program began in 1891. Overall, EMU's 59 points were the most scored against a non-conference FBS foe. The Charlie Batch-led Eagles of 1995 held the previous standard of 51 in a 45-point victory over UNLV, Sept. 16, 1995. Batch is a MAC Hall of Famer.
Furthermore, Bryant led EMU to 33 first downs against Texas State, which ranks third in the EMU record books for a single game. The last time EMU posted 30-or-more first downs was Nov. 22, 2014, at Ball State.
Ryland put eight extra points through the uprights against Texas State, Sept. 25. Ryland's eight PAT makes are tied for the most in a single game in program history. The last player to hit the mark was Paulie Fricano, who did it versus Ball State, Nov. 15, 2017. Additionally, with his eighth make of the day, Ryland passed Justin Ventura (1995-98) for the all-time program record in point-after makes (114).
Additionally, Ryland's eight PAT makes are the most in a single game in the conference this year. Ryland was a key part of the Eagles' overall effort which secured the team a 3-1 start to the 2021 season, an accomplishment that has been recorded just 43 times in the 130-year history of the program and has not happened since 1995.
The Eagles travel to DeKalb, Ill. to begin Mid-American Conference play against NIU Saturday, Oct. 2. With a win, EMU would move to 4-1 for the first time since 2016 and just the sixth time since joining the MAC in 1975. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+ and WEMU (89.1 FM).
It marks the first time Bryant has collected the award as he shares the honor with Northern Illinois' Rocky Lombardi. Meanwhile, Ryland earned the accolade for the fifth time in his career.
Bryant threw for a career-high three touchdowns against Texas State, Sept. 25, as he completed 20-of-33 pass attempts en route to 228 yards through the air. Along with a rushing touchdown, the first-year Eagle accounted for four touchdowns in Eastern's historic, 59-21 win over Texas State. His performance marked the 42nd time in program history that an EMU quarterback has thrown for three scores.
The Eagles' 38-point margin of victory was the largest against a non-conference Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program under Chris Creighton. Furthermore, the 59-21 triumph ranks as the 37th-largest margin of victory since the program began in 1891. Overall, EMU's 59 points were the most scored against a non-conference FBS foe. The Charlie Batch-led Eagles of 1995 held the previous standard of 51 in a 45-point victory over UNLV, Sept. 16, 1995. Batch is a MAC Hall of Famer.
Furthermore, Bryant led EMU to 33 first downs against Texas State, which ranks third in the EMU record books for a single game. The last time EMU posted 30-or-more first downs was Nov. 22, 2014, at Ball State.
Ryland put eight extra points through the uprights against Texas State, Sept. 25. Ryland's eight PAT makes are tied for the most in a single game in program history. The last player to hit the mark was Paulie Fricano, who did it versus Ball State, Nov. 15, 2017. Additionally, with his eighth make of the day, Ryland passed Justin Ventura (1995-98) for the all-time program record in point-after makes (114).
Additionally, Ryland's eight PAT makes are the most in a single game in the conference this year. Ryland was a key part of the Eagles' overall effort which secured the team a 3-1 start to the 2021 season, an accomplishment that has been recorded just 43 times in the 130-year history of the program and has not happened since 1995.
The Eagles travel to DeKalb, Ill. to begin Mid-American Conference play against NIU Saturday, Oct. 2. With a win, EMU would move to 4-1 for the first time since 2016 and just the sixth time since joining the MAC in 1975. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+ and WEMU (89.1 FM).
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