Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
1-4 , 0-1
Central Michigan
3-2 , 1-0
Eastern Falls at Central Michigan, 24-13
9/27/2025 5:00:00 PM | Football
Eastern will look to bounce back next week at Buffalo
Photo Gallery | Postgame Audio
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team dropped its Mid-American Conference opener at Central Michigan University, 24-13, as the Eagles tried to fight back from an early deficit before ultimately falling at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, Sept. 27. The Eagles (1-4, 0-1 MAC) were led by Dontae McMillan, who tallied over 100 yards of offense for the second consecutive game with 104 yards against the Chippewas (3-2, 1-0 MAC).
How It Happened
The hosts opened the game with the ball and marched down the field for an opening-drive touchdown and a 7-0 lead. After the Eagles went 3-and-out on their first possession, the Chippewas added a second touchdown before EMU responded with Rudy Kessinger (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) connecting on a 41-yard field goal to make it 14-3 after one quarter. In the second quarter, the hosts added their third touchdown for a 21-3 lead before a Kessinger 38-yard field goal cut the deficit to 21-6 heading into halftime.
Eastern had the ball to open the second half and scored its first touchdown with Noah Kim (Centreville, Va./Westfield/Michigan State/Coastal Carolina) running in from 7-yards out to bring the score to 21-13. The rushing score marked the third consecutive game in which Kim scored a rushing touchdown after not running one in through his first 19 collegiate games. In the fourth quarter, the lone points came on a 22-yard field goal from the Chippewas to bring about the final score, 24-13.
Game Notes
» Noah Kim finished the game with 172 yards on 16-of-27 passing with one interception while rushing for 18 yards and one score. The running touchdown marked his third consecutive game with one rushing scoring after he had not run one in during his previous 19 games. Additionally, his 172 yards brought his season total 1,165 yards, the most he has thrown for in a single season in his career, surpassing the 1,090 yards he tallied in five games with Michigan State during the 2023 season.
» Donate McMillan (Seattle, Wash./Chief Sealth/Weber State) accumulated over 100 yards for the second consecutive game as he finished with 71 yards rushing and 33 yards receiving for 104 total yards. McMillan led all rushers with his yardage while sitting third in receiving.
» Joshua Long (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola/El Camino CC) topped all receivers with 36 yards on four catches, tying his career-high in receptions. He was one of seven receivers to catch at least one pass in the game with five recording multiple grabs and over 29 yards.
» Rudy Kessinger finished the game 2-of-3 in field goals and added one extra point in the game. The two makes, which came from 41 and 38 yards, marked the fourth time in five games this season he has connected on multiple attempts in the same game.
» Caleb Dobbs (Cocoa, Fla./Cocoa) recorded the lone PBU in the game for the Eagles as the recipient of the Zero Jersey knocked down a pass in the end zone to prevent a CMU score. Dobbs has now got his hands on one pass in each of the last three games, as he also added a PBU at Kentucky and recorded an interception last week against Louisiana.
» Bryce Llewellyn (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral/Charleston Southern) led the defense in tackles for the second consecutive game as he finished with 10 stops, four of which were solos, to tie his career high. He was one of four defenders to tie or better their respective career highs in tackles, including Tyrell Martin (Newark, Del./St. Geroge Tech/Delaware State), who had eight (was seven), Jason Marshall (Trenton, Mich./Trenton), who had seven (was five), and Andrew Marshall (Carroll, Ohio/Carroll/Ohio/Lackawana CC), who tied his best with six.
» The EMU offense remained perfect in the red zone by going 3-of-3 on the day to improve to 17-of-17. Eastern entered the game at one of 19 teams nationally with a perfect percentage inside the 20-yard line before adding two field goals and one rushing touchdown. For the season, EMU's 17 red zone trips have yielded 10 touchdowns (three passing and six rushing) and seven field goals.
» Mitchell Tomasek (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) punted three times for 127 yards to bring his career total to 8,127 yards, the fifth-highest total in program history. Tomasek, who became the sixth punter in EMU history to surpass 8,000 yards in a career, moved ahead of Jay Karutz (2010-12), who tallied 8,063 yards in his time in Ypsilanti.
» Three players earned firsts in their careers in the game, including Tylan Boykin, who garnered his first start. Additionally, transfer Ronn Hardin and Duke Clayton both saw their first snaps on defense.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in MAC play while the Chippewas improved to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in league action.
» Eastern Michigan fell to 32-65-6 all-time in its series with Central Michigan following the 103rd all-time meeting between the two programs. The EMU-CMU series is the most played in the history of the Mid-American Conference with the Miami-Ohio series second with 102 games played.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan returns to the road next week to take on the University at Buffalo inside UB Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 4, in a 3:30 p.m. MAC game on ESPN+. Tom Helmer (play-by-play), Rob Rubick (analyst), and Elena Davis (sideline) will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM) and The Varsity Network app.
Team Stats
EMU 0, CMU 7
CMU - Townsend,Brock 1 yd pass from Labas,Joe (Graham,Cade kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:24
EMU 0, CMU 14
CMU - Biggins,Nahree 49 yd run (Graham,Cade kick), 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:51
EMU 3, CMU 14
EMU - Kessinger,Rudy 41 yd field goal 11 plays, 51 yards, TOP 03:39
EMU 3, CMU 21
CMU - Lewis,Langston 2 yd pass from Flores,Angel (Graham,Cade kick) 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:39
EMU 6, CMU 21
EMU - Kessinger,Rudy 38 yd field goal 12 plays, 69 yards, TOP 04:43
EMU 13, CMU 21
EMU - Kim,Noah 14 yd run (Kessinger,Rudy kick), 8 plays, 69 yards, TOP 04:09
EMU 13, CMU 24
CMU - Graham,Cade 22 yd field goal 14 plays, 72 yards, TOP 07:59
