Football Set to Honor Senior Class Wednesday Versus Buffalo

Football vs. Buffalo
Date	Wednesday, Nov. 20 \| 7:02 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) – For the final time in 2024, the Eastern Michigan University football team will play inside Rynearson Stadium as the Eagles are set for Senior Day and Midweek #MACtion with the University at Buffalo coming to town Wednesday, Nov. 20, in a 7 p.m. kick off.
    Eastern (5-5, 2-4 MAC) will be looking to halt a three-game losing streak, including its 35-10 loss at Ohio, Nov. 13, while trying to gain bowl eligibility at the same time. Meanwhile, the Bulls (6-4, 4-2 MAC) recently claimed bowl eligibility with their 51-48 overtime victory over Ball State, Nov. 12.
    The game between the Eagles and Bulls will be televised live on ESPNU with Justin Kutcher and Rene Ingoglia 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 inside The Factory.

SENIOR SENDOFF
Ahead of the game with Buffalo, the Eastern will honor 16 members of its program, including 12 players and four support staff members, as part of Senior Night festivities. The players set to be honored include Blake Bustard, David Carter Jr., Blake Daniels, James Djonkam, Jere Getzinger, Justin Jefferson, Trey Laing, Delbert Mimms III, Peyton Price, Dylan Shelton, Cole Snyder, and Joey Zelinsky. Additionally, the program will recognize the contributions of three members of the equipment staff in seniors Keeyon Hines, Dominic Jackson, and Andrew Stangis, and operations intern Mo Williams. The ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m.

MIDWEEK MAGIC
Since taking over at Eastern Michigan and excluding the 2020 COVID season when all games were played mid-week, Chris Creighton's Eagles have played in 20 #MACtion games and sport a 13-7 record in those contests, including winning five of the last seven. The Eagles will try to cap #MACtion with a 1-1 record on the year with a win over the Bulls following EMU's loss at Ohio last week.

CLOSING IN NOVEMBER
EMU is 17-13 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 .607 (17-9).

GOING BOWLING?
With a win versus Buffalo, the Eagles would become bowl eligible at 6-5. 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 Buffalo gain bowl eligibility for the Eagles, it would do so in a tie for the second 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 fifth-most victories of any team in the MAC.
73 • Toledo
66 • Ohio
60 • Western Michigan
59 • Miami
55 • Eastern Michigan
52 • Buffalo
52 • Northern Illinois
47 • Central Michigan
40 • Ball State
37 • 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.

IN THE SERIES: BUFFALO
Eastern holds a 7-4 lead in the all-time series with Buffalo that was first played Oct. 27, 2001, a 24-20 home win for the Eagles. The series saw Eastern jump out to a 5-0 record before the Bulls won, 42-14, Oct. 5, 2013, in Buffalo. Since then, the Bulls have won four the last six meetings, however, EMU notched a 24-11 victory last season in Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2023, to punch its ticket to the postseason. The last time the two teams met in Ypsilanti was Sept. 24, 2022, with the Bulls claiming a 50-31 win.

LAST MEETING WITH UB
Austin Smith threw a touchdown pass and ran for another TD, Samson Evans had 127 yards rushing and a touchdown on 22 carries to help Eastern Michigan beat Buffalo, 24-11, to become bowl eligible in the regular season finale for both teams, Nov. 21, 2023.
    Smith was 19-of-27 passing for 141 yards and his five-yard touchdown run opened the scoring midway through the first quarter. JB Mitchell III had seven receptions for 75 yards for Eastern Michigan.
    Jaylon Jackson caught a 19-yard TD pass from Smith to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive and make it 14-0 with 8:58 left in the second quarter. Jesus Gomez kicked a 23-yard field goal about 4 minutes later and the Eagles went 95 yards in eight plays to take a 24-0 lead when Evans scored on a 1-yard run with seven seconds left in the half.
    Ron Cook Jr. got Buffalo (3-9, 3-5) on the scoreboard with a 6-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and Alex McNulty kicked a 40-yard field goal to cap the scoring with 6:01 left.
    The Bulls lost three of their four fumbles.

LAST TIME IN THE FACTORY
EMU fell in its MAC opener, 50-31, to Buffalo inside "The Factory" at Rynearson Stadium, Sept. 24, 2022.
    Austin Smith paced EMU's rushing attack, accumulating 74 yards and one touchdown, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Samson Evans also added 52 yards on the ground for the Eagles.
    Smith's most prolific target in the ballgame was Tanner Knue, who caught three passes for 106 yards and one score. Hassan Beydoun got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in four passes for 50 yards.
T.J. Peavy led the EMU defensive effort, totaling five tackles, 1.5 TFL, and one sack. Chase Kline added a then career-high 14 tackles for the EMU defense.

CLOSE CONNECTIONS
EMU Assistant Coach Issac Reed spent three seasons on the staff at Buffalo. He also worked two seasons (2018-19) as an offensive graduate assistant before earning a promotion to running backs coach in 2020. Reed made an immediate impact in the running back room as he coached two of the best backs in school history. Led by All-American running back Jaret Patterson, UB averaged a program-best 287.4 yards per game rushing and rushed for 32 touchdowns, four shy of the school record for a single season in only seven games. Patterson led the nation in rushing, averaging 178.7 yards per game. As a result of UB's successful 2020 campaign, Reed was named a finalist for the FootballScoop Coach of the Year Award.
    Cole Snyder had a successful two-season stint as Buffalo's starting quarterback, showcasing both his passing and rushing abilities. As a junior in 2022, he threw for 3,030 yards and 18 touchdowns, becoming only the third quarterback in Buffalo history to surpass 3,000 yards in a season, and added 145 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Notable performances included a 305-yard, three-touchdown game against Holy Cross and a game-winning touchdown throw against Miami (OH) with 31 seconds left. In his senior year, Snyder passed for 2,109 yards and 13 touchdowns, with highlights such as a four-touchdown game against Liberty and a solid showing against Fordham with 265 yards and two touchdowns. He earned Academic All-MAC honors and completed his time at Buffalo as a consistent and effective leader on the field.
    Additionally, EMU's Director of Football Operations Neil Herman spent the past six seasons as an integral part of the Buffalo football program. Herman was promoted to the Bulls' director of football operations in 2022, which included a 2022 Camellia Bowl victory over Georgia Southern. Prior to his stint as the DFO, he worked three seasons working with the Bulls' special teams.

SO, WE MEET AGAIN
Chris Creighton and Pete Lembo will meet for the fifth time as MAC head coaches with Lembo holding a 3-1 edge in the series. Previously the leader at Ball State from 2012-16, Lembo's lone blemish was a 48-41 setback to EMU on election night in 2016 as EMU clinched its first postseason appearance in 29 years.
    In the previous four contests, the teams averaged a combined 70 points per game with the average margin of victory for the winning team at 16 points.

OPE... GONNA SNYD RIGHT PASS YOU
Cole Snyder has turned in a strong campaign at quarterback in his lone season with the Eagles and still has time to add to his totals. In 2024, Snyder has tallied 2,242 yards passing with 12 touchdowns while adding a career-high 482 rushing yards and four scores for 2,539 total yards and 16 touchdowns. All told, his passing yards already rank 11th in a single season in program history while his 209 completions make him just the 14th player in program history with 200+ completions in a season. Snyder's 7,545 career yards are 24th among all active FBS quarterbacks.

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.

SPREADING IT AROUND
Through 10 games, Cole Snyder has not been shy about throwing to different receivers as 17 different Eagles have pulled in at least one catch, including four that have 25+ receptions. Against Ohio, Nov. 13, Snyder dished passes to nine different receivers, which ties for the most in a single game this season with the nine he connected with against Toledo, Nov. 2, and Miami, Oct. 12. All told, five or more players have caught at least one pass in all 10 games this season with seven games seeing eight or nine players with at least one catch.

SPREADING IT AROUND SOME MORE
Of the 17 players to catch at least one pass from Cole Snyder, eight have caught at least one touchdown as well with five Eagles having secured at least two scores. Terry Lockett Jr. leads the team with three touchdowns while Oran Singleton, Markus Allen, Max Reese, and Jere Getzinger each have caught two scores with Delbert Mimms III adding his name to TD list with his 18-yard shovel pass score at Ohio, Nov. 13.

GOING TO THE AIR
Despite connecting with numerous receivers this year, two have managed to record over 500 yards each, including Oran Singleton (627) and Terry Lockett Jr. (529). The last time two receivers finished the year with 500+ yards was 2021 when Hassan Beydoun tallied 1,015 yards and Dylan Drummond posted 704. All told, Singleton and Lockett Jr. have both posted more yards than last year's top receiver, Tanner Knue, who had 479.

GETTING SINGLE(TON)-ED OUT
Oran Singleton has been reliable through the air in 2024 as the speedy wideout leads the team with 627 yards on 62 catches and two touchdowns. As it stands, Singleton is tied for 11th on the program's single-season receptions ledger with Ontario Pryor (1996), Jermaine Sheffield (1998), and Kevin Walter (2001). With eight more receptions, Singleton would become the seventh different player to record 70+ grabs in a single season.

MAKE WAY FOR MIMMS
Delbert Mimms III has been a workhorse for the Eagles as he has accumulated 629 yards on 154 carries with seven touchdowns on the ground while adding 15 receptions for 124 yards and one score through the air. The eight touchdowns he has recorded leave him two shy of recording double-digit touchdowns in a single season and just the 14th EMU player to do so. Overall, the eight total touchdowns Mimms has scored for the Eagles match his total scoring output in three years at NC State with all eight coming on the ground in the 13-game 2023 season.

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT(S)
In 2023, the Eagles played 13 games and scored 254 total points. Through 10 games this year, Eastern has put up 273 points, which rank as the 10th-highest total through 10 games in program history. A big reason for the success has been the team's ability to stay on the field as the Eagles currently rank 15th nationally with 223 first downs. This time last year, the team produced just 175 first downs and ranked 107th nationally.

GETTING HIS KICKS
Jesús Gómez currently remains among the top kickers in the nation as he ranks tied for sixth nationally with 1.9 field goals made per game and 42nd in scoring with 8.1 points per game. His 81 total points scored also ranks 23rd nationally and second in the MAC.

KICKING IT IN
Jesús Gómez has made 19 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 five times this year (six times in his career). All told, he has kicked 45 field goals in his career, which ranks third in EMU history.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS
For his career, Jesús Gómez has connected on 97 extra points and 45 field goals for 227 points. His 45 made field goals have him ranked third all-time in program history with Chad Ryland next on the list with 56 (2018-21) while his 92 made PATs have him tied for fourth with both Andrew Wellock (2003-06) and Tim Henneghan (1986-89). Overall, his 227 points rank him fifth all-time in program history with Justin Ventura (1995-98) next on the list at 239 points.

MOVING BACK
Kicking numbers are up this year with distances on the rise. Through seven weeks of play, Jesús Gómez holds one of 17 made field goals of 57-yards or longer, which is already 11 makes ahead of the entire 2023 season. Additionally, there have been 33 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 10th by distance.

MITCH MOVING UP
Mitchell Tomasek has punted 39 times for 1,655 yards in 2024 with 10 of those punts (25.6 percent) traveling 50+ yards, including a long of 66 yards and a pair that went 65 yards. For his career, Tomasek has punted 155 times and accumulated 6,874 yards, which ranks him ninth all-time in program history. Just the 10th EMU punter all-time to record 6,000+ yards, he is 126 yards away from becoming the ninth to reach 7,000 yards.

BETTER THAN AVERAGE
Mitchell Tomasek has averaged 44.4 yards per punt throughout his career, which leades him 0.4 yards per kick ahead of Jake Julien (2017-21) for the best career average in Eastern history. Tomasek is currently averaging 42.4 yards per punt this season.

NEW BEAMER BALL?
During the 1990s, Virginia Tech blocked 66 kicks, more than any school in the country. Beamer Ball became a frightening proposition for opponents. Since 2014, special teams under Chris Creighton have been using that blueprint with 26 during that span.
    EMU added to that total at Ohio, Nov. 13, with Joey Zelinsky getting his hand on a 31-yard field goal attempt by the Bobcats to post the fourth block of the season. Eastern has found different ways to block kicks as it has also blocked two punts and one extra point. All told, EMU has 14 blocked punts in the last 11 years and six that have resulted in a TD.
    As a team, the Eagles are tied with TCU for sixth nationally with four blocks while Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Notre Dame, and UNLV lead the way with five. EMU is tied for third in blocked punts (two) with UNLV (5) and Indiana (3) ahead of the Eagles.

MORE ON REJECTIONS
Since 2016, no Mid-American Conference school has recorded more kick/punt blocks than Eastern Michigan. The Eagles have tallied 20, while Miami (18), Northern Illinois (17), and Buffalo (12) follows closely. EMU's total ranks tied for sixth nationally during that span, trailing just Army (29), Notre Dame (22), Old Dominion (21), Oklahoma State (21), and South Carolina (21).

DON'T GO FOR IT
Ben Needham's defense ranks second the nation in fourth down conversion percentage defense at just 23.5 percent (4-for-17). Louisiana Tech (CUSA) is slightly ahead of EMU at 18.2 percent (2-for-11), with the next best MAC team coming in at 33.3% (Ball State 4-for-12).
    Third downs have not been a gimme either, as EMU ranks 29th in the FBS with just 33.7 percent of opponent tries converted into first downs.

LOOSE BALL SECURED
The Eastern defense has recovered 10 fumbles this year - an average of one per game - and sit third nationally while Oklahoma (11) and Duke (12) leads the FBS with 11 recoveries. Since the start of the 2014 season, Chris Creighton's defenses have secured at total of 104 fumble recoveries for an average of 9.45 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 10 times with fumble recoveries, they have done so with 10 different players collecting one recovery each. Through the game against Toledo (Nov. 2), the Eagles that have recorded fumbles recoveries include David Carter Jr., Justin Jefferson, JT Killen, Barry Manning, Tyrell Martin, Luke Murphy, Dylan Shelton, Jordan Toney, Daniel Warnsman, and Joey Zelinsky. Martin is the new addition to the list following his first quarter recovery against Toledo.

PROTECT THE ROCK
Through 10 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 Ohio, Eastern ranks 21st nationally in turnover margin at 0.78 per game and 12th nationally in turnovers lost with seven.

A GIVE AND TAKE(AWAY)
During his time guiding the Eagles, Chris Creighton's teams have won the turnover battle 57 times, lost it 45 times, and saw the game end with takeaways tied 27 times. Since the start of the 2014 season, Eastern is 42-15 when winning the turnover battle, 6-40 when losing the battle, and 11-16 when the battle is tied.

SINGLE SCORES
Since the start of the 2016 season, Eastern ranks second nationally with 56 one-score games played, sitting behind only Northern Illinois (60).
    Additionally, only two teams in the top 10 of the national list are at .500 or better in such games, including EMU (28-28) at .519 and Oklahoma State (31-18) at .646.

1. Northern Illinois - 60 (28-32)
2. Eastern Michigan - 56 (28-28)
3. Texas - 55 (25-30)
T4. Iowa State - 51 (20-31)
T4. Nebraska - 51 (14-37)
6. North Carolina - 50 (21-29)
T7. Oklahoma State - 49 (31-18)
T7. Kansas State - 49 (24-25)
9. 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

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 wraps up the regular season with a Saturday, Nov. 30, contest at in-state rival Western Michigan University. Game time has yet to be set. The last time the Eagles finished on the road in Kalamazoo came during the 2000 campaign.
    Marking a departure from recent tradition of a "Black Friday" finale, Eastern Michigan will finish on a Saturday for the first time since 2002.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Markus Allen

Blake Bustard

David Carter Jr.

Blake Daniels

James Djonkam

Samson Evans

Jere Getzinger

Jaylon Jackson

Justin Jefferson

Chase Kline

Tanner Knue

Trey Laing

Terry Lockett Jr.

Barry Manning

Tyrell Martin

Delbert Mimms III

JB Mitchell III

Luke Murphy

T.J. Peavy

Peyton Price

Max Reese

Dylan Shelton

Oran Singleton

Austin Smith

Cole Snyder

Mitchell Tomasek

Jordan Toney

Daniel Warnsman

Joey Zelinsky

Eastern Michigan Athletics