Football Set to Face Northern Illinois on the Road Saturday

Football at Northern Illinois
Date	Saturday, Oct. 21 \| 3:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. CT)
Venue	Huskie Stadium (20,257) \| DeKalb, Ill.
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF) \| Press Conference Video
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| The Varsity Network App \| Eastern Insider Podcast
Twitter	@EMUFB \| @EMUAthletics
Fan Information	Purchase Tickets \| Gameday Guide \| Season Yearbook

DeKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) – Riding a two-game winning streak, the Eastern Michigan University football team returns to the road this week as the Eagles will venture to Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Ill., for a Mid-American Conference showdown at Northern Illinois University Saturday, Oct. 21. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. CT).
Eastern (4-3, 2-1 MAC) enters the week on the heels of its consecutive home victories, this time via a 28-14 defeat of Kent State University, Oct. 14. Northern Illinois (3-4, 2-1 MAC) is coming off a 23-13 homecoming upset of Ohio University, handing the Bobcats their first MAC loss of the season.
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Doug Sherman (play-by-play) and Forrest Conoly (analyst). As always, fans can hear the game for free on WEMU (89.1 FM) or the Varsity Network app with veteran broadcasters Tom Helmer and Rob Rubick calling the action from the press box.

QUICK SCORE
The Eagles scored one of the quickest touchdowns it could against Kent State, Oct. 14, as the Golden Flashes tried an onside kick that not only did Kendric Nowling recover, but also ran back 44 yards to stake EMU to a 7-0 lead just six seconds into the game. The touchdown is the first of the defensive back's career and the quickest return to open a game this season in the FBS. It also is the first opening kick-off returned for a touchdown by Eastern in nearly 10 years after Tyler Allen ran the opening kick back 90 yards against Ohio, Oct. 19, 2013.

WHAT A START 😲

EASTERN MICHIGAN TAKES THE ONSIDE KICK BACK FOR THE TD @EMUFB pic.twitter.com/1TjJDPS69z
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 14, 2023

RECORD BREAKER
EMU returners have accounted for three touchdowns this year, marking the fifth time in program history Eastern has had multiple return scores in the same season. Two returns for touchdowns have been recorded in 1955, 1974, 1993, and 2022. Additionally, the Eagles have now recorded five touchdowns on kick returns in 20 games, dating back to the start of the 2022 season.

PITTANCE OF POINTS
Through seven games, the EMU defense has been stout, allowing just 136 points (19.4 points per game). The 136 points are the third-fewest points allowed through the first seven games of the season in the MAC Era (since 1976) with only the 1977 and 1989 teams allowing fewer at 74 and 129, respectively. The 2023 Eagles are one of four squads to relinquish 140 points or less in the opening seven games and one of just six EMU teams to allow 150 or less.

TO THE HOUSE
Kendric Nowling's kick-off return for a touchdown not only was his first career score, but also stands as the third run-back of a kick-off this season after both Hamze El-Zayat and Jaylon Jackson took kicks to the house in the opener against Howard, Sept. 1. The only school with three returns for touchdowns this season, Eastern now has 20 kick-off returns for touchdowns in program history.

PROTECTING 'THE FACTORY'
The Eagles grabbed a 28-14 victory over visiting Kent State, Oct. 14, giving Eastern its fifth home victory in a row dating back to Nov. 25, 2022, a 38-19 regular-season finale over Central Michigan. The five-game home winning streak is the longest under Chris Creighton and is the second of four or more games in a row after his squads did so from Dec. 12, 2020-Oct. 9, 2021.

SCORELESS FRAMES
The EMU defense held Kent State scoreless through the first half of play, Oct. 14, and nearly made it three quarters in a row before the Golden Flashes jumped onto the scoreboard with a touchdown with 2:12 remaining in the third quarter. Dating back to the game with Ball State, Oct. 7, the Eagles had not allowed a point in four consecutive quarters after the Cardinals did not score in the second half. The last time the Eagles held a foe scoreless in the first half came Sept. 10, 2022, at Louisiana.

TOUGH OUT THE GATE
The EMU defense continues to limit teams in scoring to start the game as opponents are now averaging just 2.4 points in the first quarter of the game, including not allowing any points in four of those contests, which ranks 21st nationally. Additionally, the defense is allowing an average of just 8.7 points to be scored in the first half of play, the 18th-best average in the FBS, down from 10.0 following the game with Kent State. Overall, the defense is limiting opponents to 19.4 points per game, the third-best in the MAC and 28th-best nationally.

DON'T GO FOR IT
Through seven games, opposing offenses have gone for it on fourth down 20 times against the Eagles, but have found success just six times for a 30-percent conversion rate, the 11th-best in the nation and second in the MAC behind Western Michigan's 25-percent rate (1-for-4). The 20 attempts are tied for the second-most in the nation this year with Syracuse, Texas State, and Western Kentucky, while California leads at 21.

STOP RIGHT THERE
With seven games played, the Eastern defense has allowed 387.9 yards per game, which ranks 92nd in the FBS and ninth in the MAC. Despite the yardage, opponents have not been able to turn those yards into points as the Eagles rank 28th nationally in points allowed (19.4) and 26th in red zone defense (73.9 percent), values that rank the team third and second, respectively, in the MAC. Opponents have found their way into the red zone 23 times, but managed to score just 17 times, including only 11 touchdowns.

WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE
Eastern has won or tied (36 wins, 7 ties) the turnover battle in 43 of its last 46 victories under Head Coach Chris Creighton. The trend held in EMU's latest win, a 28-14 decision over Kent State, Oct. 14, as EMU recovered three fumbles while turning the ball over once. The three fumbles recovered also were the first three fumbles lost on the year for Kent State, who had led the nation entering the game.

FUMBLE!
Eastern Michigan has recovered six fumbles this year with Adrian Gonzalez, Peyton Price, and Elijah Williams each recording their first recoveries of the season against Kent State, Oct. 14. Eastern ranks eighth nationally and tied with Bowling Green with those six recoveries.

JEFFERSON NEARS THE TOP
Justin Jefferson, one of the five Eagles with fumble recoveries in 2023, continues to be a disruptive player for the Eagles as his two fumble recoveries rank third nationally and first in the MAC. Through seven games, Jefferson is one of just 35 players nationally with multiple fumble recoveries this season.

SAMSON 2K
Samson Evans rushed for 47 yards on 13 carries against Kent State, Oct. 14, to break the 2,000-yard barrier as the graduate student running back has amassed 2,015 yards with the Eagles. The 12th player in program history to reach the milestone, Evans ranks 11th on the program's all-time ledger and is 132 yards away from tying Savon Edwards (1994-97) for 10th on the list.

MIGHTY SAMSON
With 12:57 remaining in the second quarter against Ball State, Oct. 7, Samson Evans pushed his way into the end zone from two-yards out to not only stake the Eagles to a 10-3 lead, but also made history as he scored his program-record 32nd touchdown, breaking his tie with former Huron great Gary Patton (1984-87) for the school record. Evans added two more scores on the ground against Kent State, Oct. 14, bringing his total to 34, all of which have come on the ground.

ACTIVELY SCORING
Samson Evans ranks highly among touchdowns scored by active FBS players as the Eastern running back currently ranks fourth nationally for rushing touchdowns (34) and sits sixth for overall touchdowns scored (34). On the ground, Evans is behind Blake Corum of Michigan (43), Garrett Shrader of Syracuse (35), and Rasheen Ali of Marshall (35). Evans is currently one of only 12 FBS players with 30+ touchdowns scored on the all-time active list and one of just two in the MAC, joining Marquez Cooper of Ball State, who has 30.

SMALL BUT MIGHTY
The Eagles' offense is averaging 253.1 yards of total offense per game. One of six teams nationally that is averaging under 300 yards per contest, Eastern is one of just two teams in that group that holds a winning record, joining 6-1 Iowa, who is averaging 247.4 yards per game. Additionally, of those six teams, EMU and Iowa are the only teams that have not recorded 400+ yards of total offense in a single game this season.

DYNAMIC DUO
Joe Sparacio and Chase Kline continue to be one of the best tackling tandems in the nation as the duo rank fourth and sixth, respectively, in tackles per game average nationally. Sparacio ranks fourth in the FBS and first in the MAC with 11.6 tackles per game while Kline's 11.5 average ranks sixth nationally and second in the league. The two are one of two tandems nationally to be ranked in the top 20 in the FBS, with Old Dominion being the other. The Monarchs have two players also ranked in the top 10 with Jason Henderson first (15.3) and Terry Jones eighth (10.5).

THE TACKLE 200
For the second time this year, a linebacker has recorded his 200th career tackle for the Eagles as Chase Kline surpassed the mark with 14 tackles against Kent State, Oct. 14. Needing just one tackle to reach the milestone, Kline led the team with one solo and 13 assisted tackles while running mate Joe Sparacio added 12 total tackles in the game. Sparacio moved over the 200-tackle threshold during the game at Central Michigan, Sept. 30.

THEY'RE A HANDFUL
The Eagles have sharpened their talons as they are cutting deep into their opponent's offensive lines in the 2023 campaign. EMU has 13 sacks in its first seven games, the seventh-highest mark in the conference. Through seven games last season, the Eagles tallied just six sacks.

GETTING HOME
Mikah Coleman has been a beast up front for the Eagles as the senior has collected 4.0 sacks on the year. With one each against Howard (Sept. 1), Minnesota (Sept. 9), UMass (Sept. 16), and Kent State (Oct. 14), Coleman ranks tied for sixth in the MAC for sacks, and has joined rarefied air as he is just the third Eagle under Chris Creighton to record 1.0 sacks or more in three consecutive games.

MERRITT BADGE
Ahead of the game with Kent State, Oct. 14, Alex Merritt had been limited to action in just three games in 2023 with the graduate student recording three total tackles and two quarterback hurries. Against the Golden Flashes, however, Merritt came to play as the lineman recorded a career-high eight tackles and added another career-high with 3.0 tackles-for-loss. His TFLs total tied him for the most in a single game in 2023 amongst all players in the MAC and includes teammate Chase Kline, who recorded 3.0 against UMass, Sept. 16.

WHO'S BALL?
A question Chris Creighton and his staff regularly ask the team is simply, "Who's Ball?" A call to the players and the team's desire to win the turnover battle, the Eagles currently rank 22nd nationally in turnover margin, which also leads the MAC at 0.71. Eastern added three fumble recoveries against Kent State, Oct. 14, to bring its total to six, while turning the ball over just one time.

SHINING STAR
Kempton Shine continues his march towards becoming the EMU all-time leader for passes defended in a career. He added three more against Kent State, Oct. 14, tying Daiquan White for the team lead against the Golden Flashes. With 25 career breakups, Shine is three shy of tying DaQuan Pace (2013-16) for the most in program history.

WHITE HOT START
A staple of the EMU secondary, freshman Daiquan White has registered a pass break-up in 6-of-7 games played thus far in his college football career. White sits fourth in the MAC with eight PBUs, averaging 1.14 per-game. Additionally, White set a career-best mark against the Golden Flashes, Oct. 14, breaking up three passes en route to a 28-14 win.

TOMASEK TAKING OFF
Mitchell Tomasek continues to boom his punts and added another punt of 70+ yards to his resume as he belted one 70 yards against Ball State, Oct. 7. A two-time MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week honoree in 2023, Tomasek is the only player in the FBS with multiple punts of 70 yards or more after he put one out 72 yards at Jacksonville State, Sept. 23. This punt against the Gamecocks ranks as the third-longest in the nation this year while his 70-yard boot against Ball State ranks tied for eighth. Overall, Tomasek is averaging 45.1 yards per punt, which ranks 19th nationally and second in the MAC, a mark that would rank second for a single season behind Jake Julien's 45.9 average in 2021. Tomasek currently has amassed 3,963 total yards on 89 career punts for an average of 44.5 per boot. He is currently ranked 15th all-time for career punting yardage in program history and leaves him 37 yards away from becoming the 15th EMU player to record 4,000+ punting yards in a career. Overall, his career average ranks first, just ahead of Julien, who averaged 44.0 per punt (2017-21).

CREIGHTON TIES FOR NO. 2 IN WINS
Against Kent State, Oct. 14, Chris Creighton secured his 50th win at Eastern. Currently tied for second in all-time wins, Creighton is now tied-up with Fred Trosko (1952-64), for the number two spot with 50.
IRON MAN
Brian Dooley is closing in on the top spot for games started in program history as the offensive lineman has now started 54-of-56 games he has played for the Eagles. Only the second player to reach 50 career starts, a start for Dooley at Northern Illinois, Oct. 21, would tie him with Sidy Sow (2018-22) for the top spot for both starts (55) and games played (57). Should Dooley continue to start in each coming game, he would break the record at home, Oct. 28, against Western Michigan.

TARGETING TANNER
Tanner Knue caught five passes for 85 yards against Kent State, Oct. 14, to run his streak to 31 games in a row with at least one reception. He is one of 15 current active players in the FBS with a streak of at least 30 games in a row with at least one catch and is tied for the 11th-longest active streak. Knue is now the only MAC player on the ledger as Odieu Hiliare of Bowling Green was held without a reception against Buffalo, Oct. 14.

RISING IN THE RANKINGS
With 27 receptions and 295 yards in 2023, Tanner Knue has brought his career totals to 134 grabs and 1,682 yards, respectively. His 134 catches ranks as the seventh-most in program history and is six grabs away from tying former Eagle Jacory Stone (2006-09). On the yardage side of things, he currently ranks 10th all-time and is 318 yards shy of becoming the sixth EMU player to reach 2,000 career receiving yards.

KNUE SCORING IN THE AIR
Midway through the third quarter versus Kent State, Oct. 14, and with the Eagles leading, 14-0, Eastern drove down the field, covering 62 yards on 10 plays, culminating in Austin Smith hitting Tanner Knue in the back corner of the end zone for the touchdown. The score was Knue's third of the season and brought his career total to 17, which granted him the third most in program history. Knue needs three more scoring grabs to join Kevin Walter (1999-02) for second on the ledger behind Eric Deslauriers (2003-06), who leads the way with 27.

JACKSON OF ALL TRADES
EMU all-purpose back Jaylon Jackson has proved himself versatile on the gridiron week-in and week-out for the Eagles as he has reached 100+ all-purpose yards in 9-of-19 (47.4%) games played donning the Block E. Prior to arriving in Ypsilanti, Jackson notched just one contest where he reached 100+ all-purpose yards in his time with Lamar. This occurrence coincidentally came against Jacksonville State, where Jackson totaled 127 yards in the tilt against the Gamecocks, Nov. 13, 2021.

IN THE SERIES: NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Northern Illinois holds a 35-16-2 lead in the all-time series and has won the last two meetings, including a 38-10 decision in Ypsilanti in the last meeting, Oct. 15, 2022. The Eagles trail, 8-18-1, when playing in DeKalb, Ill., and lost the meeting at Huskie Stadium, 27-20, Oct. 2, 2021. The last time the Eagles were victorious came Dec. 12, 2021, in a 41-33 win at home while the last win in DeKalb came one year prior, Nov. 19, 2019, in a 45-17 victory that snapped an 11-game skid in the series.

FEELING OT?
When Eastern and Northern Illinois meet on the gridiron it's always a battle. In the last six meetings, two have gone into overtime. Furthermore, the two programs needed overtime in three consecutive seasons (2016-18) including a bout that went into three overtime periods, Sept. 29, 2018.

LAST TIME AGAINST NIU
Harrison Waylee ran for 158 yards and a touchdown, Antario Brown added two TD runs and Northern Illinois beat Eastern Michigan, 39-10, Oct. 15, 2022.
   NIU's 295-pound lineman James Ester opened the scoring by batting a pass into the air and jumping to secure it in the end zone. Brown broke loose for a 47-yard touchdown six minutes later and then added a six-yard score that stretched the Huskies' lead to 29-10 late in the third.
   Brown finished with 86 yards on 17 carries for NIU. Waylee had a 76-yard touchdown run that capped the scoring with 7:14 to play.
   Taylor Powell was 11-of-23 passing and threw a touchdown and an interception for Eastern Michigan.

LAST TIME IN DEKALB
Antario Brown rushed for 101 yards and Northern Illinois scored the game's first 17 points, then held on to defeat EMU, 27-20, Oct. 2, 2021, in a game delayed nearly three hours by lightning between the first and second quarters.
   The Huskies built their lead on a five-yard run by Rocky Lombardi, a 28-yard field goal from John Richardson and Jaden Dolphin's 59-yard interception return. The Huskies led 17-3 at halftime and did not give up the lead although Eastern Michigan's Ben Bryant threw touchdown passes of 42 yards to Bryson Cannon and 17 yards to Dylan Drummond in the third quarter. Clint Ratkovich's two-yard run in the third helped Northern Illinois maintain the lead at 24-17 and the teams traded field goals late in the fourth.
   Bryant completed 27-of-40 passes for 338 yards with the two touchdowns and the interception. Hassan Beydoun caught 14 passes for 167 yards, but the Eagles had only 38 yards rushing. The Huskies rushed for 242 yards and Lombardi was only 9-of-20 passing for 84 yards.

FAMILY TIES
NIU quarterback Rocky Lombardi came to NIU as a well-seasoned veteran with nine starts in 22 games over three seasons at Michigan State. His father, Tony, spent three years (1998-2000) at Eastern Michigan as an assistant coach and was also the interim head coach for the final game of the 1999 season after taking over for Rick Rasnick. Lombardi's one game as EMU's head coach was a 30-24 loss at Northern Illinois, Nov. 20, 1999. Lombardi is the only EMU head football coach to serve for just a single game. Jeff Woodruff then retained Lombardi to coach the running backs and coordinate the special teams for the 2000 season.

BEST WISHES ON RETIREMENT
EMU Athletics wishes the "Voice of the Huskies" Bill Baker a happy retirement following the 2023 football season. Since becoming NIU's football and basketball radio play-by-play announcer in 1980, Baker has called 103 EMU-NIU match ups with the Huskies holding a 60-41-1 mark in those contests (FB 27-6-1; MBB 33-35).
   Baker equaled legendary EMU voice John C. Fountain in terms of longevity with 44 years of service. Fountain began his 44-year love affair with EMU in 1963 before handing off the microphone following the 2006-07 basketball campaign.

ON THE HORIZON
EMU next returns home Saturday, Oct. 28, to host instate rival Western Michigan University. The game will be Hall of Fame Day with Eric Alejandro (track and field), Ryan Coleman (women's basketball), Charles Gordon (football), Natalie Hashimoto (gymnastics), and Camila Olaio (volleyball) being enshrined in the E-Club Athletic Hall of Fame. For tickets, call 734.487.3669 or visit EMUEagles.com/tickets.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hassan Beydoun

Mikah Coleman

Brian Dooley

Dylan Drummond

Hamze El-Zayat

Samson Evans

Adrian Gonzalez

Jaylon Jackson

Justin Jefferson

Chase Kline

Tanner Knue

Alex Merritt

Kendric Nowling

Taylor Powell

Peyton Price

Kempton Shine

Austin Smith

Sidy Sow

Joe Sparacio

Mitchell Tomasek

Daiquan White

Elijah Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics