Football Returns to the Road to Face Washington Saturday

Football at Washington Huskies
Date	Saturday, Sept. 7 \| 12:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. ET)
Venue	Husky Stadium (70,138) \| Seattle, Wash.
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF) \| Press Conference Video
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	Big Ten Network
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| The Varsity Network App \| Eastern Insider Podcast
Twitter	@EMUFB \| @EMUAthletics

SEATTLE, Wash. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team returns to the road this week as the Eagles (1-0) will travel to Seattle, Wash., to face the University of Washington (1-0) in a 12:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. ET) game inside Husky Stadium Saturday, Sept. 7. The Eagles are coming off a 28-14 road win at the University of Massachusetts while the Huskies, the 2024 College Football Playoff Runners-Up, defeated visiting Weber State University, 35-3, Aug. 31.

ON AIR
The Eastern Michigan at Washington game will be broadcast live to a national television audience on the Big Ten Network. 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 Husky Stadium

FEELING HONORED
The first weekly awards were handed out by the MAC Monday, Sept. 2, with James Djonkam earning the MAC Defensive Player of the Week accolade. He made the most of his debut with the Eagles as the Arizona State transfer led the team with 13.0 tackles, including a team-best 3.0 solo stops, while chipping in 1.0 sacks and 1.5 TFLs. The linebacker's tackle total stands as the fifth-most in the nation this year and the most by a player in the MAC.

𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸

James Djonkam has been named the @macsports Defensive Player of the Week!

🗞️ https://t.co/Ei6E7jbs4F #EMUEagles #ETOUGH #BET pic.twitter.com/0NzRyHxn6F
— Eastern Michigan Football (@EMUFB) September 2, 2024

STRONG START
When removing the 2020 COVID season that was MAC games only, the Eagles' 28-14 win at UMass Saturday, Aug. 31, gave Eastern a season-opening win in eight consecutive years. The last time Eastern failed to win its opener against a non-conference opponent came Sept. 5, 2015, with a close 38-34 loss to visiting Old Dominion. Overall, under Chris Creighton, Eastern is now 9-2 in its first game of the season.

REPEATING DAYS
The last time the Eagles opened the season with back-to-back road games was at the start of the 2006 campaign with familiar game days. The first game was at Ball State on Aug. 31, a 38-20 setback to the Cardinals. The second game Sept. 7 at a Big Ten opponent, Michigan State, which saw the Spartans win, 52-20. This year, Eastern played on Aug. 31 and won, 28-14, at UMass and will now face a Big Ten foe in Washington on Sept. 7.

BACK-TO-BACK
Eastern Michigan is opening its 2024 campaign on the road in back-to-back games for the 32nd time in the 133 year history of the program. In the previous 31 instances, Eastern has escaped those two road games with undefeated records just five times with the most recent coming in 1970 thanks to a 14-14 tie at North Dakota State (Sept. 12) and a 23-0 win at the Quantico Marines (Sept. 19). The last time EMU posted wins in both contests came in 1938 with its 37-0 win at Indiana State (Sept. 24) and a 20-0 blanking of Alma (Sept. 30).

TURNING TWO
The last time the Eagles opened their season with a perfect 2-0 record came in 2018. That season, Eastern opened with a 51-17 home win over Monmouth (Aug. 31) before downing Purdue (Sept. 8), 20-19. Eastern has opened its previous three seasons with 1-1 records that included an opening-week win before falling on the road in Week 2.

KNOW THE FOE: WASHINGTON
Last year's national runners-up, the Washington Huskies enter the weekend with a 1-0 record following their 35-3 home win over visiting Weber State, Aug. 31. QB Will Rogers led the charge with 20-of-26 passing for 250 yards and one touchdown as receiver Giles Jackson pulled in 10 passes for 98 yards. Jonah Coleman led the rushing attack with 127 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns for the Huskies.

SERIES HISTORY: WASHINGTON
The Eagles and Huskies are meeting for the first time.

CONFERENCE CALL
The 2024 season marks a B1G change for Washington as the Huskies have joined the Big Ten Conference as part of the latest round of realignment. An independent from 1889-1915, UW was a member of the Pac-12 Conference through the end of the 2023-24 academic year, a span of 108 years that included iterations of the league as the Pacific Coast Conference (1916-58), Athletic Association of Western Universities (1959-67), Pacific-8 (1968-77), and Pacific-10 (1978-10).

POWER PLAYS
The game at Washington this week will mark the 14th game against a 'power conference' opponent under Chris Creighton and the seventh game against a member of the Big Ten. With Creighton at the helm, Eastern has proven to be 'giant killers' as the Eagles are 4-9 in those games with the most recent win coming Sept. 17, 2022, at Arizona State, a 30-21 defeat of the then-Pac-12 member (Big 12 now). The remaining three wins came against Big Ten foes, including Illinois in 2019 (34-31), Purdue in 2018 (20-19), and Rutgers (16-13) in 2017.

NEAR AND FAR • PART I
If you were able to fly from the 50 yard line of Rynearson Stadium to the 50 yard line of Michigan Stadium, you would log just 5.2 miles. If you do the same, but change the destination to Husky Stadium in Seattle, you would log 1,905.8 miles, which would be the fourth-farthest flight for Eastern when facing a Big Ten school. The three further flights would are Autzen Stadium (Oregon) at 1,972.3 miles, LA Memorial Colisuem (USC) at 1,948.4 miles, and the Rose Bowl (UCLA) at 1,940.9 miles.

TAKE A LAP
Sticking with the flight pattern between the 50-yard lines in Ypsilanti and Seattle, a round trip stands at 3,811.6 miles and, If you drove, it would be 4,644.0 miles. Combined, hopping in a car and taking a lap around the MAC to hit all 12 stadiums totals 1,784.9 miles, 120.9 miles less than the one-way flight to Seattle. Additionally, you could make two laps (2.1) around the MAC in a shorter distance than a round trip flight to Husky Stadium.

CLOSE CONNECTIONS
EMU Head Coach Chris Creighton attended Roosevelt High School in Seattle and played quarterback for the Rough Riders before attending Kenyon College. Eastern also has three student-athletes from The Evergreen State: Gabe Hoffmann (Bellevue, Wash.), Dontae McMillan (Seattle, Wash.), and Zyell Griffin (Vancouver, Wash.). Additionally, Max Reese was born in Seattle before his family relocated to Chicago. Integral parts of the Huskies' College Football Playoff run last season, Kalen DeBoer, Ryan Grubb, Ron McKeefery, Bryan Fink, and Shaq Vann all spent time helping Coach Creighton turn things around in Ypsilanti. DeBoer and McKeefery are now with the University of Alabama, Grubb is the is the offensive coordinator for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, and Vann is the wide receivers coach at Ball State.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS UNDER CREIGHTON
Since the start of the 1976 season, Eastern Michigan has won 53 games in non-conference play with 41.5 percent of those victories (22 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 that currently is a member of the Big 12.

A GIVE AND TAKE(AWAY)
During his time guiding the Eagles, Chris Creighton's teams have won the turnover battle 53 times, lost it 44 times, and saw the game end with takeaways tied 24 times. Under Creighton (since the start of the 2014 season), Eastern is 39-14 when winning the turnover battle, 6-38 when losing the battle, and 10-14 when the battle is tied, including last week's 28-14 win at UMass, a game in which neither team turned the ball over.

QUICK CAP: EMU DEFEATS UMASS, 28-14
EMU opened its 2024 season with a balanced victory, as the Eagles downed UMass, 28-14, in non-conference action inside McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Amherst, Mass. Saturday, Aug. 31. Cole Snyder paced the offense with 241 yards on 17-of-29 passing with one touchdown and added 28 yards and one score on six rushing attempts in his EMU debut. Oran Singleton led the receiving corps with 89 yards on eight catches with one touchdown while Delbert Mimms III ran for 60 yards and one score on the ground. Defensively, James Djonkam led the way with a team-high 13.0 tackles that included 1.0 sacks and 1.5 TFLs. As a team, the defense recorded 6.0 sacks with five different players in on the action, including Justin Jefferson, who led the way with 2.0.

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NON-CONFERENCE ODDITY
For the fourth year in a row, Eastern and UMass, who is set to join the MAC next year, met in a non-conference game. The Eagles have not played the same out-of-league opponent in four consecutive games since playing Youngstown State in six consecutive games between 1985 and 1990 (5-1). Eastern's win marked four in a row over UMass, which is the second-longest winning streak in consecutive years since EMU took the first five meetings in a row against the Penguins in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1989 before falling in 1990.

STARTING OVER
Eastern was unable to win a road non-conference game in 2023, which ended a streak of seven consecutive seasons with at least one victory. The Eagles did their part to open the 2024 season with their 28-14 road win at UMass, Aug. 31, to start a new streak. Overall, the win is just the 14th non-conference road game for the Eagles since the 1977 season.

LID LIFTED
With the 28-14 win at UMass, Aug. 31, Eastern improved to 64-61-8 all-time in its season-opening game and extended its winning streak to four in a row in such contests. The last time the Eagles dropped its first game of the season was also the last time it opened a campaign on the road as Eastern fell at Kent State, 27-23, in the COVID season of 2020 (Nov. 4, 2020). In the Chris Creighton era, the game at UMass marked only the third time his Eagles have opened a season away from the friendly confines of Rynearson Stadium (2-1).

ROAD STARTERS
The game at UMass marked the 69th time Eastern opened a football season on the road with the Eagles now standing 18-44-7 all-time record in those contests. The last time EMU opened on the road was Nov. 4, 2020, in the COVID season at Kent State, a 27-23 setback. Eastern's last season-opening victory on the road was Aug. 31, 2019, in a 30-23 win at Coastal Carolina.

EARLY START
EMU is 7-5-0 all-time in games played in August and now winners of five consecutive August games. The win improve EMU to 2-4-0 when those games are on the road.

ONE COLE CUSTOMER
Cole Snyder was solid right out of the gate in his EMU debut as the senior accumulated 241 yards on 17-of-29 passing with one touchdown and no interceptions. He also rushed the ball six times for 28 yards and one score. For comparison, Snyder's 241 yards are more than any single game total recorded by an EMU signal caller in all of 2023 (Austin Smith, 231 yards vs. Western Michigan) while the 375 yards of total offense he guided the Eagles to are more than any single game in 2023 (371 vs. UMass).

MULTIPLE WAYS OF SCORING
Cole Snyder scored rushed for one touchdown and connected on a passing touchdown in his Eastern debut. Last year, an EMU quarter back threw for one and ran for one touchdown twice with the first coming at Central Michigan and the second at Buffalo against Snyder and his former team. Overall, Snyder has now thrown for one and ran for one in the same game five times in his career with the previous instance coming with Buffalo against Bowling Green when he duplicated the feat.

CLAIMING LAND
EMU's first scoring drive of the season, which resulted in Cole Snyder scoring on a 1-yard rush, went 10 plays for 97 yards and ate 3:53 off the game clock. The 97 yards accumulated are the longest since the Eagles went 98 yards at Akron, Nov. 12, 2019, with Shaq Vann running in from 17-yards out for the score. Last year, the longest EMU drive by yardage came with 96 yards at home against UMass.

HE'S A MAN, MAN!
Oran Singleton, whose nickname is Man Man, had a strong debut at receiver for the Eagles as he led the team with eight grabs for 89 yards and one touchdown, which was a beautiful grab in the end zone. That performance nearly equaled his NCAA Division I career totals as his time at Akron (2021 season) saw the speedy receiver tally 11 grabs for 112 yards and one score. Additionally, his 33-yard reception at UMass is the longest of his career, surpassing the 24-yard catch he had for the Zips.

WHAT A GRAB BY @_manman21!!! @EMUFB | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/XOW39mTEN9
— #MACtion (@MACSports) August 31, 2024

RECEIVERS CATCHING ON
The Eagles had three receivers record at least 60 yards in the game with Oran Singleton tallying 89 yards on eight grabs; Terry Lockett Jr., totaled 80 yards on three catches; and Markus Allen pulled in three passes for 61 yards. The last time Eastern had three receivers with 60+ yards in the same game came last year against Western Michigan (Oct. 28, 2023). On a career level, all three receivers broke career marks in receptions and yards on the day. Singleton bettered his previous totals of four receptions and 42 yards, both of which game at Toledo (with Akron), Nov. 27, 2021; Lockett Jr. posted two grabs and 29 yards against South Alabama in the 68 Ventures Bowl, Dec. 23, 2023, for his previous bests; and Allen's previous bests were two catches and 34 yards for Wisconsin at Rutgers, Nov. 6, 2021.

THE LONG GAME
In 2023, the offense accumulated 20 passing plays of 20 yards or more. In the opener at UMass, Aug. 31, the Eagles tallied four such plays with Terry Lockett Jr. in on two plays and both Oran Singleton and Markus Allen in on one each. Lockett Jr. got things going in the first quarter with a 32-yard connection from Cole Snyder before adding a 29-yard grab in the second. In the third, Allen pulled in a 40-yard pass while Singleton added a 33-yard completion in the fourth quarter. All three receiver's longest plays bettered their previous career longs. Singleton's previous was 24 yards against Bryant, Sept. 18, 2021, for Akron; Lockett Jr. pulled in a 15-yard pass against South Alabama, Dec. 23, 2023, in the 68 Ventures Bowl; and Allen's previous long was 31 yards against Arizona State for Wisconsin, Dec. 30, 2021.

RUNNING
The ground attack for Eastern Michigan accumulated 134 yards on 35 attempts and two touchdowns against UMass, Aug. 31. Last year, the Eagles posted games with 125+ rushing yards just four times with a season-best 226 at Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2023, while recording two or more touchdowns six times, including a season-high three at home against Akron, Nov. 14, 2023.

RUSH COMMITTEE
In the game at UMass, Aug. 31, three players combined for the 134 rushing yards, including Delbert Mimms III (60), Dontae McMillan (54), and Cole Snyder (28). Last year, the Eagles had three games where two players each rushed for 50+ yards and two games in which three players each rushed for 25+ yards. The last time EMU saw three players accumulate 50+ yards was at Buffalo with Samson Evans (127) and Jaylon Jackson (72) doing the honors while the same game produced the most-recent instance of three players with 20+ as Austin Smith ran for 29 yards.

HOLD THE LINE
A big reason the offense was clicking at UMass, Aug. 31, was the play of the offensive line. The big men up front kept QB Cole Snyder up right all game as the line did not allow a sack, something that happened just three times in 2023. The line also allowed for the team to accumulate 375 yards of total offense, which is more than any single game in 2023 as well.

GETTING HOME
Conversely, the Eastern defensive line did well to create sacks as the team recorded 6.0, including a school-record 5.0 in the first half. The 6.0 sacks are the most by the Eagles since Eastern recorded 7.0 at Western Michigan, Oct. 8, 2022. Overall, the 6.0 sacks rank tied for fifth-most in a single game for Eastern, equaling the total accumulated at Illinois, Sept. 14, 2019. The single-game record is 8.0 at home against Alabama State, Sept. 10, 2011.

IT'S A PARTY IN THE BACKFIELD
Individually, five players recorded at least 0.5 sacks at UMass, Aug. 31, with Justin Jefferson leading the charge with 2.0. Peyton Price added 1.5 with 1.0 sacks tallied by newcomers James Djonkam and Trey Laing. Newcomer Donovan Green added 0.5 sacks. Through games played Aug. 31, Jefferson's 2.0 sacks rank tied for the fifth-most in the FBS and the most in the MAC.

DJONKAM MAKING STOPS
In his first game with the Eagles, James Djonkam posted a team and career-high 13 total tackles to pace the defense at UMass, Aug. 31. The total ranks fifth nationally through games played Aug. 31. The transfer from Arizona State recorded his first double-digit tackle total after recording a single-game best of 7.0 last year for the Sun Devils at Cal, Sept. 30, 2023. He also bettered his career-high TFL total with 1.5 against UMass, surpassing the 1.0 he recorded twice for ASU with the last coming at Washington State, Nov. 12, 2022.

KEEPING IT CLEAN
Eastern held UMass scoreless in the opening half of play, taking a 14-0 lead into the half, Aug. 31. Last year, the EMU defense pitched a shutout in the opening quarter six times, including at home against UMass. The defense also allowed zero points in one half of play three times in 2023, including the first half against Kent State and Buffalo, and the second half against Buffalo.

GOMEZ IS GOOD
Jesus Gomez was a perfect 2-of-2 in field goal attempts and 2-of-2 in PATs for the Eagles at UMass, Aug. 31. Gomez, who was good from 20 yards and 31 yards in the game, connected on multiple field goals three times each in the past two seasons for the Eagles.

GOMEZ MOVING UP
With his perfect kicking performance at UMass, Aug. 31, Jesus Gomez moved his way up the all-time scoring ledgers in Eastern history. With his two converted PATs, Gomez brought his career total to 70 makes to become just the seventh EMU player with 70+ makes in a career. Additionally, he now holds a career total of 154 points scored, making him the 14th EMU player all-time to surpass the 150-point barrier.

AND YOU ARE?
The 2024 roster looks quite different than the one that finished the 2023 campaign at the 68 Ventures Bowl. In total, the EMU coaching staff has brought in 52 new student-athletes, 28 of them via the transfer portal.

Total Newcomers (Minimum 50 as of Aug. 25)
1. North Texas (77)
2. Army (74)
3. Charlotte (71)
4. Navy (69)
5. Arkansas State (64)
25. Eastern Michigan (52)

Total Transfers (Minimum 28 as of Aug. 25)
1. Colorado (44) & Charlotte (44)
3. New Mexico (42)
4. Utah State (38)
5. New Mexico State (36) & North Texas (36)
T19. Eastern Michigan (28)

NEW STARTERS
The Eagles started nine newcomers in the game at UMass, including five on offense and four on defense. The newcomers to the starting ledger on offense included Markus Allen (WR), Blake Bustard (OL), Donate McMillan (RB), Oran Singleton (WR), and Cole Snyder (QB) while the defensive list featured James Djonkam (LB), JT Killen (LB), Dramarian McNulty (DB), and Dylan Shelton (DL). All told, 19 newcomers saw their first action in the game as well.

SINGLE SCORES
The two-point win over UMass last season was the first of four contests that were decided by one score with the Eagles adding a three-point win at home over Akron (23-20) in overtime after falling on the road to by Central Michigan (26-23) and Northern Illinois (20-13). Since the start of the 2016 season, Eastern ranks third nationally with 52, one-score games played, sitting behind only Northern Illinois (55) and Texas (54). Additionally, only three teams in the top 10 of the national list are at .500 or better in such games, including both EMU (26-26) and Navy (23-23) at .500 and Oklahoma State at .652 (30-16)

1. Northern Illinois - 55 (27-28)
2. Texas - 54 (24-30)
3. Eastern Michigan - 52 (26-26)
4. Iowa State - 48 (18-30)
T5. Nebraska - 47 (13-34)
T5. North Carolina - 47 (13-34)
T7. Navy - 46 (23-23)
T7. Oklahoma State - 46 (30-16)
T9. Kansas State - 45 (21-24)
T9. Tulsa - 45 (20-25)

CLOSE CALLS
With the double overtime win against Akron, the EMU moved to 176-172 all-time in one score games and snapped a two-game skid in such contests. Additionally, when playing in a game decided by three or fewer points, Eastern is 68-69 all-time. Under Chris Creighton, EMU is 26-26 and 14-11, respectively, in those contests.

DONNING THE DEUCE: SINGLETON
Most jersey numbers hold special meanings to the players who wear them. At EMU, there is one number that holds a special meaning. It is 'The Deuce'. Make no mistake: this jersey is special. It cannot be selected by a player through conventional means, such as requesting it through the equipment staff. Rather, the selection is made by a player through his actions on the field and off. He earns 'The Deuce' by demonstrating he possesses the integrity, character, and selflessness of EMU's football student-athletes and representatives strive to build within themselves. For Eastern football, 'The Deuce', must be earned in remembrance of wide receiver Demarius Reed, who passed away on Oct. 18, 2013. Put back into circulation in 2017 with the blessing of Reed's family and former teammates, his number once again graces the field at Rynearson Stadium on the back of the squad's best senior pass catcher. In a team meeting, held Aug. 22, Head Coach Chris Creighton announced Oran Singleton, better known as 'Man Man' to his teammates, had earned the honor to wear the jersey emblazoned with the No. 2. Singleton, who entered camp wearing No. 24, is following the same path as last year's top receiver, Tanner Knue, who also previously wore No. 24 before earning 'The Deuce'. Knue is currently battling for a roster spot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

ON THE HORIZON
Next up for Eastern Michigan is its home opener as the Eagles will play host to the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State University Saturday, Sept. 14, in a 7 p.m. game inside The Factory at Rynearson Stadium. The game, which will be broadcast live on ESPN+, will be the first game played on the newly installed Crosby Field.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Markus Allen

Blake Bustard

James Djonkam

Samson Evans

Donovan Green

Zyell Griffin

Gabe Hoffmann

Jaylon Jackson

Justin Jefferson

JT Killen

Tanner Knue

Trey Laing

Terry Lockett Jr.

Dontae McMillan

Dramarian McNulty

Delbert Mimms III

Peyton Price

Max Reese

Dylan Shelton

Oran Singleton

Austin Smith

Cole Snyder

Eastern Michigan Athletics