Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
3-7 , 2-4
Bowling Green
3-7 , 1-5
Eagles Battle to Home Victory over Bowling Green, 27-21
11/8/2025 4:27:00 PM | Football
McMillan ran for 100 yards on the ground before the defense closed out the win
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Dontae McMillan rumbled for 100 yards for the four time this season while the defense closed out a close game as the Eastern Michigan University football team prevailed, 27-21, over visiting Bowling Green State University Saturday, Nov. 8, inside Rynearson Stadium. The win, which snapped a two-game slide for the hosts, pushed the Eagles' record to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in Mid-American Conference play while the Falcons fell to 3-7 overall and 1-5 in league play.
How It Happened
After forcing Bowling Green to a three-and-out on their opening drive, the Eagles drove 59 yards for the opening score as Tavierre Dunlap (Del Valle, Texas/Del Valle/Michigan) took the direct snap and punched it in from one-yard out for a 7-0 lead. After the Falcons responded with a 35-yard touchdown drive, the Eagles responded with a 27-yard field goal by Rudy Kessinger (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) to make it 10-7 at the end of the first quarter of play.
The Eagles forced the Falcons to punt to open the second quarter after Sterling Miles (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield/Cincinnati) recorded his first sack of the season. After a 6:26 drive that saw the Eagles miss a 42-yard field goal, the Falcons drove 76 yards to score a touchdown and take their first lead of the game, 14-10. After an EMU punt, the Falcons tried to add points in the waning seconds, but Barry Manning (Stone Mountain, Ga./Tucker) recorded the first interception of his career on the first play to send the game to the halftime break.
The Eagles struck first in the second half as Noah Kim (Centreville, Va./Westfield/Michigan State/Coastal Carolina) connected with Nick Devereaux (Troy, Mich./Brother Rice/Davenport) for a 12-yard touchdown pass that staked the Eagles to a 17-14 lead, a lead they would not surrender. The touchdown pass marked the fifth time in three games the duo has connected for a score.
In the final quarter, Eastern extended its lead to 24-14 when Dontae McMillan (Seattle, Wash./Chief Sealth/Weber State) ran in from 8-yards out for the score with 10:18 to play. BGSU climbed back into the contest with a touchdown with 4:36 remaining, but the Eagles responded with a 44-yard field goal from Kessinger to take a 27-21 lead with 57 seconds to play. On the final play of the game and with the Falcons driving, Ronn Hardin (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Heights/Mt. SAC) secured his first sack with the Eagles as time expired to seal the victory, EMU's fourth consecutive over the Falcons.
Game Notes
» Dontae McMillan led the offense with 130 total yards as he ran the ball 19 times for 100 yards and one touchdown and caught three passes for 30 yards. The 100-yard game is his fourth of the season after he compiled 126 yards against Louisiana (Sept. 20), 117 at Buffalo (Oct. 4), and 104 against Northern Illinois.
» Dontae McMillan's 100-yard rushing game is the 232nd recorded in program history and the 376th 100-yard game in program history when including receiving games. Additionally, Eastern has now had one, 100-yard player in each of its last five games with McMillan running for 117 at Buffalo (Oct. 4) and 104 at home against Northern Illinois (Oct. 11) before Harold Mack Jr. (Fort Wayne, Ind./Wayne) recorded 179 yards through the air at Miami (Oct. 18) and Nick Devereaux pulled in 121 yards against Ohio (Oct. 25). The five-game streak with at least one, 100-yard player ties for fifth-longest single-season streak in program history and the seventh-longest when consecutive games covered two different seasons.
» Noah Kim finished the game with 210 yards on 22-of-39 passing with one touchdown while adding 28 yards on five carries. Kim brought his season total to 2,261 yards, which ranks 14th on the program's single-season passing ledger with Brogan Roback (2015) next in line with 2,304 yards.
» Noah Kim and Nick Devereaux, who led the team with 79 yards on four catches with one score, connected for one passing touchdown against Bowling Green, giving the duo five scores in the last three games after they scored two each at Miami and against Ohio. The last time an EMU receiver recorded back-to-back games with multiple touchdowns and followed with one in the next contest came in 2004 when Eric Deslauriers pulled in two at Ball State (Oct. 9, 2004), two at Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2004), and one at Bowling Green (Oct. 30). He would go on to add four scores at Ford Field, Nov. 6, in a 61-58, four overtime game against Central Michigan.
» As a team, the Eagles were a perfect 4-of-4 in the red zone against the Falcons to remain one of only two teams nationally with a perfect conversion rate in 2025. Eastern is now 31-of-31 on the year and shares the top spot with Oklahoma, who is 28-of-28. The Sooners were on a bye this week.
» Barry Manning recorded his first interception for the Eagles late in the second quarter as he spun around and picked off the pass near midfield. Manning finished the game with six tackles, including a team-high-tying two solo stops.
» Barry Manning secured the fifth EMU interception of the season with four of the five going down as the first in the NCAA FBS careers of those players. Bryce Llewellyn (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral/Charleston Southern) got things started with his first against Louisiana (Sept. 20) before Caleb Dobbs (Cocoa, Fla./Cocoa) picked one in the same game. Juan Salas Jr. (Eastvale, Calif./Roosvelt/Southwest Baptist) and Tyrelle Deener (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney/Adrian) both added their name to the list last game against Ohio (Oct. 25).
» Zach Mowchan (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) led the team with 10 tackles and 0.5 TFLs. His 10 tackles are a season best and rank second behind the 15 he tallied last year against Jacksonville State (Sept. 14, 2024) while his 0.5 TFLs tied a career high set at Washington (Sept. 7, 2024) one week prior.
» Bryce Llewellyn finished the game with seven tackles to bring his season total to 88, leaving him 12 shy of reaching the century mark. The last time an Eagle led the team in tackles and recorded at least 100 was Chase Kline with 143 stops in 2023.
» Sterling Miles and Ronn Hardin each recorded one sack in the game which, coupled with the 2.0 sacks recorded against Ohio, Oct. 25, gave EMU back-to-back games with multiple sacks and three of the last four games. Miles' sack was the second of his career and his first since he tallied one at Kent State, Sept. 28, 2024, while Hardin's was the first of his FBS career.
» Rudy Kessinger converted two field goal attempts, including making 27 and 44-yard kicks, while adding three extra points for nine points in the game. The two field goals brought his season total to 16, which ties for the seventh-best in EMU single-season history with both Tim Henneghan (1989) and Andrew Wellock (2006). Next on the list is Toller Starnes, who kicked 17 in 1999.
Historical Notes
» With the win, the Eagles improved to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in MAC play while the Falcons slipped to 3-7 overall and 1-5 in league play.
» Eastern improved to 15-25-1 all-time against Bowling Green and has won four consecutive meetings, tying for the longest streak by the Eagles since EMU won the first four meetings with BG in 1919, 1920, 1925, and 1929.
» The Eagles improved to 8-10-0 against the Falcons when the two teams meet in Ypsilanti and have won back-to-back home games against the Falcons for the first time since wins in 1987 and 1989.
» The 100-yard game by Dontae McMillan is the 16th recorded all-time against Bowling Green with the program having recorded nine games on the ground and seven through the air. The 16 games are the ninth-most against a MAC foe in program history.
» The victory over Bowling Green marked the 199th career win for Chris Creighton and his 60th while leading the Eastern Michigan program. He currently ranks fourth among active FBS head coaches in wins with 199 with K.C. Keeler of Temple (276), Kirk Ferentz of Iowa (222) and Willie Fritz of Houston (219) ahead of him.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan's final Saturday and final road game of the 2025 season awaits the Eagles in Muncie, Ind., Nov. 15, when the Eagles face Ball State University. The game is scheduled for 12 p.m. on ESPN+. Tom Helmer (play-by-play), Rob Rubick (analyst), Elena Davis (sideline), and Greg Steiner (halftime) will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM), The Varsity Network app, and SiriusXM.
Team Stats
BGS 0, EMU 7
EMU - Dunlap,Tavierre 1 yd run (Kessinger,Rudy kick), 9 plays, 59 yards, TOP 03:23
BGS 7, EMU 7
BGS - Dendy,Austyn 19 yd run (Kleather,Jackson kick), 4 plays, 35 yards, TOP 01:24
BGS 7, EMU 10
EMU - Kessinger,Rudy 27 yd field goal 13 plays, 74 yards, TOP 05:17
BGS 14, EMU 10
BGS - Dendy,Austyn 16 yd run (Kleather,Jackson kick), 6 plays, 76 yards, TOP 03:43
BGS 14, EMU 17
EMU - Devereaux,Nick 12 yd pass from Kim,Noah (Kessinger,Rudy kick) 7 plays, 60 yards, TOP 04:01
BGS 14, EMU 24
EMU - McMillan,Dontae 8 yd run (Kessinger,Rudy kick), 6 plays, 69 yards, TOP 03:13
BGS 21, EMU 24
BGS - Johnson,Jyrin 2 yd pass from Najm,Hunter (Kleather,Jackson kick) 10 plays, 70 yards, TOP 05:35
BGS 21, EMU 27
EMU - Kessinger,Rudy 44 yd field goal 10 plays, 49 yards, TOP 03:39
