Football Returns Home Saturday for Nationally Televised Game Against Toledo

Football vs. Toledo
Date	Saturday, Nov. 2 \| 12:03 p.m. ET
Venue	Rynearson Stadium (30,200) \| Ypsilanti, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF) \| Press Conference Video
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPNU
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| The Varsity Network App \| Eastern Insider Podcast
Twitter	@EMUFB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Purchase Tickets \| Game Program

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team is set to play its final home Saturday game of the 2024 season, Nov. 2, as the Eagles play host to the University of Toledo inside Rynearson Stadium. The Mid-American Conference bout is scheduled to kick off at 12:03 p.m. Eastern (5-3, 2-2 MAC) and Toledo (5-3, 2-2 MAC) are both looking to bounce back after losses, Oct. 26, with the winner earning bowl eligibility. Plus, one lucky fan at the game has the chance to win $25,000. All they have to do is make a field goal!

ON AIR
The game between the Eagles and Rockets will be televised live on ESPNU with Matt Schumacker and Dustin Fox on the call. Additionally, fans can listen to the game locally on WEMU (89.1 FM) and on The Varsity Network app with Tom Helmer, Rob Rubick, and Greg Steiner calling all the action from Rynearson Stadium.

CLOSING IN NOVEMBER
EMU is 17-11 in the month of November since the beginning of 2016. In the six seasons prior, Eastern combined for a total of 15 wins across all regular-season games. Furthermore, if you exclude 2020's COVID-adjusted season when the schedule began in November, EMU's winning percentage jumps to .708 (17-7).

APPROACHING THE LANES
Heading into the weekend, the Eagles are one of four MAC schools that could punch their ticket to the postseason as both EMU and Toledo are 5-3 overall. Eastern, Toledo, and Ohio look to remain atop the ledger for the most bowl appearances in the MAC since 2016, while Western Michigan is looking for its fifth bowl in the last eight seasons.

GOING BOWLING?
With a win versus Toledo, the Eagles would become bowl eligible at 6-3. It would mark the fourth year in a row - and sixth consecutive when taking out the COVID season of 2020 - that the Eagles would become bowl eligible. It also would mark the seventh time EMU has been bowl eligible under Chris Creighton in his 11 years with the program.

QUICK TO THE PINS?
Not only would a win against Toledo gain bowl eligibility for the Eagles, it would do so in the fewest games in program history. Ahead of the 2024 season, Eastern has earned bowl eligibility six times with the earliest in the season qualification occurring after 10 games in both 2022 and 2016. It took EMU 11 games three times and 12 games once (last year) to reach the magical sixth win.

KINGS OF THE LANES
Since 2016, all 12 MAC teams have played in at least one bowl game, with the Eagles appearing in a league-best six, joining Ohio and Toledo for the top spot.
6 • Eastern Michigan, Ohio, Toledo
5 • Miami
4 • Buffalo, Central Michigan, NIU, Western Michigan
2 • Ball State, Bowling Green, Kent State
1 • Akron

ONE OF THE BEST
Since 2016, Eastern Michigan has posted the fourth most victories of any team in the MAC.
70 • Toledo
63 • Ohio
60 • Western Michigan
56 • Miami
55 • Eastern Michigan
49 • Buffalo • Northern Illinois
47 • Central Michigan
40 • Ball State
34 • Bowling Green
30 • Kent State
25 • Akron

TOPPING THE CHARTS: MAC WINS
With the 38-34 win over Central Michigan, Oct. 19, Chris Creighton collected his 33rd MAC victory since taking over at Eastern ahead of the 2014 season. With E-Club Hall of Fame coach Jim Harkema on hand as the team's honorary coach, Creighton took the top spot after being tied with Harkema for the most in EMU history.

PROTECTING HOME TURF
EMU has won nine of its last 11 home contests at Rynearson Stadium. It is just off the pace set in 1986-87 when the team was victorious in 10 of 11 home games. Jim Harkema's then-Hurons won five of six during the 1986 campaign before going 5-for-5 during the 1987 MAC Championship season. EMU followed it up by winning 10 of its next 13 home games from 1988-90.
    The school record for consecutive home wins is 22 set between 1924-29 when EMU posted an astounding 35-3-1 mark under the leadership of Elton J. Rynearson.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: OPPONENT COMPARISON
EMU will face its fourth opponent with a .500-or-better winning percentage at the time of the game when it battles the Rockets, Nov. 2.

DON'T GO FOR IT
Ben Needham's defense leads the nation in fourth down conversion percentage defense at just 21.4 percent (3-for-14). Indiana is slightly behind EMU at 22.7 percent (5-for-22), with the next best MAC team coming in at 36.4% (Ball State 4-for-11).
    Third downs have not been a gimme either, as EMU ranks 46th in the FBS with just 35.2 percent of opponent tries converted into first downs.

PROTECT THE ROCK
Through nine weeks of play in the FBS, the Eagles are among the best in the nation when it comes to taking care of the ball. Entering the game with Toledo, Eastern ranks 23rd nationally in turnover margin at 0.75 per game and 12th nationally in turnovers lost with six.

A GIVE AND TAKE(AWAY)
During his time guiding the Eagles, Chris Creighton's teams have won the turnover battle 56 times, lost it 45 times, and saw the game end with takeaways tied 27 times. Under Creighton (since the start of the 2014 season), Eastern is 42-14 when winning the turnover battle, 6-39 when losing the battle, and 11-16 when the battle is tied, including the 25-21 loss at Akron, Oct. 26.

GETTING OFFENSIVE
Through the ninth week of FBS football, the Eagles are averaging 387.0 yards per game (3,096 yards) to rank 74th nationally and have scored 25 offensive touchdowns. At this same point during the 2023 season, the offense was ranked 129th out of 130 teams with an average of 258.0 yards per game (2,346 yards) and 17 scores.

IN THE SERIES: TOLEDO
The Rockets hold a 38-13-0 lead in the all-time series, including a 49-43 Toledo win in the Glass City last year, Nov. 8, 2023. UT also leads, 17-8-0, when traveling north to play the game with the Rockets winning the last meeting inside Rynearson Stadium, 27-24, Oct. 29, 2022.

LAST TIME IN TOLEDO AGAINST UT
Dequan Finn threw for 407 yards and three touchdowns, Peny Boone rushed for three touchdowns, and Toledo beat Eastern Michigan, 49-23, to clinch the MAC West Division title, Nov. 8, 2023
    Toledo led 35-3 at halftime behind Finn's 275 yards passing and three touchdowns. Jacquez Stuart and Boone each had a touchdown run in the half, and Junior Vandeross III caught two touchdown passes.
    Finn's third touchdown extended the Rockets' lead to 49-9 with 10:48 left in the fourth quarter.
    Boone had 52 yards rushing on 11 carries and he also caught four passes for 116 yards. Newton added 108 yards receiving on six catches.
    Jaylon Jackson had 74 yards rushing with a touchdown for Eastern Michigan. Running back Samson Evans threw a 28-yard scoring pass to Elijah Jackson-Anderson.
    Eastern Michigan was held to nine first downs in the first half and 106 total yards. The Eagles finished with 255 yards, compared to 508 for Toledo.

LAST TIME AGAINST TOLEDO IN YPSI
Eastern Michigan fell in heartbreaking fashion to Toledo, 27-24, Oct. 29, 2022, inside "The Factory" at Rynearson Stadium. EMU got on the scoreboard first, jumping out to a 7-0 lead with 3:35 remaining in the first quarter. The Rockets then cut into the Eagles' lead, making it a 7-3 game before EMU added another score to build the advantage to 10-3.
   After Toledo evened the game at 10-10, Eastern Michigan got on the scoreboard once again late in the first half. With 0:30 left in the second quarter, a one-yard touchdown rush from Samson Evans put the Eagles back in front, 17-10.
   The Rockets came back to even the game at 17-17 until the Green and White answered back with an 11-yard touchdown run from Evans to retake the lead at 24-17. Eastern Michigan didn't score again in the game and Toledo tacked on 10 more points to finish off the scoring, including a touchdown with 2:09 to play to take the lead for the final time.

CLOSE CONNECTIONS
One member of the Toledo coaching staff has ties to Eastern Michigan – RJ Fleming (wide receivers). Fleming served as the wide receivers coach at EMU in 2021.

SINGLE SCORES
Since the start of the 2016 season, Eastern ranks second nationally with 55 one-score games played, sitting behind only Northern Illinois (60).
    Additionally, only three teams in the top 10 of the national list are at .500 or better in such games, including EMU (28-27) at .519; Kansas State (24-24) at .500; and Oklahoma State (31-18) at .646.

1. Northern Illinois - 60 (28-32)
T2. Eastern Michigan - 55 (28-27)
T2. Texas - 55 (25-30)
T4. Iowa State - 50 (20-30)
T4. Nebraska - 50 (14-36)
T4. North Carolina - 50 (21-29)
7. Oklahoma State - 49 (31-18)
T8. Kansas State - 48 (24-24)
T8. Tulsa - 48 (22-26)

PLAYING 18 (DOWN)
After clawing its way to a 16-14 lead at halftime against Central Michigan, Oct. 19, the Eagles found themselves trailing by 18 points, 34-16, with 13:26 to play in the fourth quarter. A gritty performance on both sides of the ball, fueled by a boisterous crowd, saw Eastern score three touchdowns and hold the Chippewas scoreless to claim a 38-34 win.
    The last time Eastern came back to win after such a deficit was Nov. 11, 2000, at home against Northern Illinois. Similar to the CMU game, the Eagles trailed NIU, 32-12, with 12:14 remaining before scoring three touchdowns to tie the game at 32 with 2:58 remaining. EMU won the game by forcing a Husky punt before marching 59 yards in 56 seconds for a Walter Church to Kevin Walter 25-yard touchdown pass for the win. Eastern nearly made it back-to-back games with wins after trailing by 18, but fell short at Akron, Oct. 26.

Deficit    Final    Opponent    Date
24 (24-0)    W, 30-27    Central Michigan    11-6-76
21 (28-7)    W, 48-38 OT    at Ball State     10-16-10
21 (21-0)    W, 48-41    at Ball State    11-8-16
21 (31-10)    L, 34-37 OT    at Toledo    10-26-19
20 (32-12)    W, 39-32    Northern Illinois    11-11-00
18 (34-16)    W, 38-34    Central Michigan    10-19-24
18 (18-0)    L, 21-25    at Akron    10-26-24

ONE COLE CUSTOMER
In the game at Akron, Oct. 26, Cole Snyder had a career day as the quarterback was 29-of-48 passing for 354 yards and two touchdowns. The 29 completions tie for the most he has recorded in a single game in his career after doing so twice with Buffalo, while the 354 yards are the most he has thrown for in his career. In fact, after throwing for 300 one week earlier against Central Michigan, Oct. 19, Snyder has thrown for 300+ yards in back-to-back games for the first time in his collegiate career.
    All told, Synder leads the MAC in passing yards with 1,822 and is one of just 38 QBs nationwide that has already thrown for more than 1,800 yards this season. Just nine EMU quarterbacks have surpassed 2,000 yards throw the air in a season, with Taylor Powell last doing so in 2022 with 2,111.

SNYDER SLINGING
Cole Snyder connected on two touchdown passes, both to tight end Jere Getzinger, to give him five in the past two games (had three vs. Central Michigan, Oct. 19). The five passing touchdowns total mark the second-most he had recorded in consecutive games, surpassed only by the seven he threw for with Buffalo that saw him throw three against Fordham (Sept. 9) and four against Liberty (Sept. 16) in 2023.

SPREADING IT AROUND
Through eight games in 2024, Cole Snyder has connected with 16 players for at least one reception with four having secured 20+ this year. At Akron, Oct. 26, Snyder found eight different Eagles for at least one reception each, marking the eighth game this year he has found at least five in a game. The eight receivers marks the fourth time he has hit eight or more, including nine against Miami with eight each against Washington, St. Francis, and the Zips.

JERE GETZ(INGER) TOUCHDOWNS
Jere Getzinger pulled in two passes for 20 yards at Akron, Oct. 26, with both resulting in touchdowns. Not only did it mark the first time in his career he recorded multiple scoring grabs in the same game, it tripled his career total as he entered the game with just one score previously. That touchdown came Nov. 14, 2023, at home against the same team, Akron. On the play, Getzinger pulled in the pass in the back of the end zone in double overtime to secure the win for the Eagles.

MAN MAN BACK IN AKRON
Oran Singleton began his career at Akron in 2021 before heading to Hutchinson Community College and then to Eastern this year. In his first game back in Akron, 'Man Man' put up career high numbers in both receptions and yards as he pulled in 10 passes for 97 yards, coming up just three shy of the century mark for the first time in his career. For the year, Singleton is the team's leader with 49 receptions and is second in yards with 454. He is also one of four players to lead the team with two receiving touchdowns.

LOCKETT IN
Terry Lockett Jr. has become a valuable target for the Eagles as he has turned few receptions into big yards. In the game at Akron, Oct. 26, Lockett Jr. posted just three receptions, but turned that into 98 yards, including a 79-yard reception, the longest play of the year to not result in a score. The team leader in receiving yards (471), Lockett has finished three games this year with just three catches each, but those resulted in his three largest yard totals, including 100 against Central Michigan, 98 at Akron, and 80 at Massachusetts.

CARTER COLLECTS
David Carter Jr. pulled in an interception at Akron, Oct. 26, and returned it 12 yards, marking his first pick of the season and the third of his career. To date, he has tallied 127 career yards on those three interceptions, which ranks him 12th all-time in career interception return yardage in program history.

A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING
With his interception at Akron, Oct. 26, David Carter Jr., became the second Eagle in 2024 to record both one interception and one fumble recovery after his 99-yard scoop-and-score at home against St. Francis (Sept. 21). The first to do so was Luke Murphy as he picked up one of each in the road win at Kent State, Sept. 28, in his first game back at his Alma mater.

LOOSE BALL SECURED
With two more fumble recoveries in the game against Central Michigan, Oct. 19, the Eagles moved into a tie for the national lead with Memphis at nine and currently rank tied for second behind Duke's 10. Since the start of the 2014 season, Chris Creighton's defenses have secured at total of 103 fumble recoveries for an average of 9.37 per season with the most recorded in one season being the 13 collected in 2016. The team recovered 11 in 2023, the most for Eastern since 10 in 2019, which was the last of a four-year stretch with at least 10 recoveries.

BALL HAWKS
Not only have the Eagles taken the ball nine times with fumble recoveries, they have done so with nine different players collecting one recovery each. Through the game against Akron (Oct. 26), the Eagles that have recorded fumbles recoveries include David Carter Jr., Justin Jefferson, JT Killen, Barry Manning, Luke Murphy, Dylan Shelton, Jordan Toney, Daniel Warnsman, and Joey Zelinsky. Both Shelton and Manning added their names to the list with recoveries of CMU fumbles.

KNOCKING IT LOOSE
In the game with Central Michigan (Oct. 19), the Eagles forced a season-high four fumbles with two being recovered by Eastern. The four forces are the most a in single game since Sept. 8, 2018, when the Eagles forced four Purdue fumbles in the 20-19 rainy upset of the Boilermakers in West Lafayette, Ind.

GETTING HIS KICKS
Jesús Gómez currently remains among the top kickers in the nation as he ranks eighth nationally with 1.88 field goals made per game and 35th in scoring with 8.4 points per game. His 67 points scored also ranks 26th nationally.

KICKING IT IN
Jesús Gómez has made 15 field goals in 2024 after making 12 throughout the entire 2023 season and two more than his previous season-high of 13 in 2022. He has connected on three field goals in the same game for the fourth time this year and the fifth time in his career. Additionally, he now has 41 career field goals made, which has him just behind Justin Ventura (1995-98), who sits third all-time at EMU with 42 made field goals.

MOVING BACK
Kicking numbers are up this year with distances on the rise. Through seven weeks of play, Jesús Gómez holds one of 13 made field goals of 57-yards or longer, which is already seven makes ahead of the entire 2023 season. Additionally, there have been 21 field goals of 55+ made in 2024 after just 21 were made in 2023. Gomez's longest of the year still stands at 57 yards (at Washington, Sept. 7, which ranks him tied for ninth by distance.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS
For his career, Jesús Gómez has connected on 90 extra points and 41 field goals for 213 points. All time at EMU, his 90 extra points rank sixth overall with both Andrew Wellock (2003-06) and Tim Henneghan (1986-89) just ahead of him with 92. With the fourth-most field goals made, he has grown his career points total to 213, which stands fifth with Justin Ventura (1995-98) next on the list with 239 points.

SACK RACE
The defense posted 6.0 sacks against St. Francis, Sept. 21, tying its single-game season high after recording 6.0 in the season-opening win at UMass, Aug. 31. The Eagles now have 20.0 this season, which is second in the MAC (2.86) and stands 18th nationally. The Eagles, who tallied just 22 total sacks in 2023, have seen 11 different players recorded at least 0.5 sacks this season with Peyton Price leading the way with 4.0 while Justin Jefferson has 3.0. Trey Laing (2.5), Jefferson Adam (2.5), Joey Zelinsky (2.0), and James Djonkam (2.0) each have multiple sacks.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS UNDER CREIGHTON
Since the start of the 1976 season, Eastern Michigan has won 55 games in non-conference play with 43.6 percent of those victories (24 wins) coming in the past 11 seasons under Chris Creighton, an average of two non-conference wins per season.
    In that same span, 14 of those wins have come on the road with a Creighton-led squad capturing nine wins (64.3 percent), including wins at Big Ten Conference opponents Rutgers (16-13, Sept. 9, 2017), Purdue (20-19, Sept. 8, 2018), and Illinois (34-31, Sept. 14, 2019), while adding a 30-21 win at Arizona State (Sept. 17, 2022), a then-member of the Pac-12 (currently Big 12).

ON THE HORIZON
Eastern will enjoy an 11-day break as it adjusts to the midweek #MACtion schedule. It will next take to the field Wednesday, Nov. 13, at Ohio University. Game time is set for 7 p.m. from Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio. It marks Eastern's first visit to the banks of the Hocking River since 2016, when the squad escaped with a 27-20 triumph on Oct. 15, 2016.

Football Returns Home Saturday for Nationally Televised Game Against Toledo

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Players Mentioned

Jefferson Adam

David Carter Jr.

James Djonkam

Samson Evans

Jere Getzinger

Jaylon Jackson

Elijah Jackson-Anderson

Justin Jefferson

Trey Laing

Terry Lockett Jr.

Barry Manning

Luke Murphy

Peyton Price

Dylan Shelton

Oran Singleton

Cole Snyder

Jordan Toney

Daniel Warnsman

Joey Zelinsky

Eastern Michigan Athletics