Football Faces Tough Road Test at Kentucky Saturday

Football at KENTUCKY
Date	Saturday, Sept. 13 \| 7:30 p.m.
Venue	Kroger Field \| Lexington, Ky.
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF) \| Press Conference Video
Watch \| Stats	ESPNU \| Media Stats
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (EMUEagles.com) – A big road test awaits the Eastern Michigan University football team as the Eagles are set to face the University of Kentucky Saturday, Sept. 13, at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. The Eagles (0-2) and Wildcats (1-1, 0-1 SEC) will both look to rebound off a tough loss in their outings with a game that will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU with Clay Matvick and Chase Daniel on the call. The game can be heard live on WEMU (89.1 FM), The Varsity Network app, and SiriusXM with Tom Helmer (play-by-play), The Voice of the Eagles, Greg Steiner (analyst), and Elena Davis (sideline) on the radio call.

ON THE LIST
The NFL opened its 2025 season this weekend with four former Eagles making the opening day rosters for their respective teams while two others were named to practice squads. The active players included Maxx Crosby (Las Vegas Raiders), Pat O'Connor (Detroit Lions), Chad Ryland (Arizona Cardinals), and Andrew Wylie (Washington Commanders). Dylan Drummond (Atlanta Falcons), Thomas Odukoya (Tennessee Titans), and Sidy Sow (Houston Texans) are currently on their respective team's practice squads.

NO. 134 IN THE 734
Eastern Michigan is currently playing its 134th season of football with the program first playing in 1891. Tied with NC State and Iowa State for 29th on the all-time ledger in seasons played, the Eagles are third in the Mid-American Conference behind newcomer UMass (143rd season) and Miami (137th). Along with Miami, the only other team on this year's schedule that has played more seasons is Kentucky (135th).

THE EASTERN 500
Following the loss to Long Island (Sept. 6), Eastern holds an all-time record of 495-632-47, leaving it five wins shy of 500. The Eagles are one of four teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) that could reach 500 wins this season, including Temple (498), Rice (497), and Wake Forest (497).

WINNERS IN SEPTEMBER
Since the 2016 season, Head Coach Chris Creighton has led Eastern to a 15-14 record in the month of September. From 2013-15, EMU posted a cumulative September record of 0-9.

KNOW THE FOE: KENTUCKY
The Wildcats enter the game with a 1-1 overall record and stand 0-1 in SEC play after dropping a 30-23 home decision to No. 20 Ole Miss. Kentucky, who opened the year with a 24-16 home win over MAC foe Toledo, took an early 10-0 lead before heading into halftime trailing, 17-13. After tying the score at 20-20, Ole Miss pulled away with consecutive scores to make it 30-20 before UK added one final score with eight seconds to play.

Zach Calzada paces the offense with 234 yards on 25-of-53 passing (0 TD/1 INT) while both Dante Dowdell (185 yards) and Seth McGowan (171) are leading the ground attack. Defensively, Alex Afari Jr. leads the team with 23 tackles, including 16 solo stops, while also pacing the team with 3.0 TFLs and 1.0 sacks (second to Steven Soles Jr. with 2.0).

IN THE SERIES: KENTUCKY
Eastern is 0-2 all-time against Kentucky after dropping a 38-17 decision in Lexington, Sept. 7, 2019. The Eagles are 0-2 on the road as well with the first game coming Sept. 30, 2017, a 24-20 setback to the Wildcats.

EMU AGAINST THE SEC
The Eagles are in search of their first win against a member of the SEC as Eastern is 0-11 all-time when taking the current members of the league. To date, the Eagles have previously faced Kentucky (0-2), Florida (0-2), Missouri (0-2), Vanderbilt (0-2), Arkansas (0-1), LSU (0-1), and South Carolina (0-1).

LAST MEETING WITH KENTUCKY
The Eagles and Wildcats last met Sept. 7, 2019, in Lexington with the hosts jumping out to a 14-0 first quarter lead before claiming at 38-17 decision. Mike Glass III, who currently serves as an EMU offensive assistant, led the Eagles with 337 yards on 34-of-53 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Glass, who added a team-leading 35 rushing yards on 10 carries, connected with Line Latu and Bryson Cannon for touchdowns while Chad Ryland added one field goal.

IN THE FIRST MEETING
The 2017 game against Kentucky could not have started any better for the Eagles, as on the first play from scrimmage, Jeremiah Harris came around the edge and stripped the ball out on a sack, which Dion Dawson recovered to set up EMU at the Kentucky 20-yard line. On EMU's first play on offense, Brogan Roback found Sergio Bailey II down the middle for a touchdown strike to put the Eagles up 7-0 just 15 seconds into the game. It was the quickest score for EMU since returning the opening kickoff for a TD against Ohio, Oct. 19, 2013.

THE BLUEGRASS STATE
Eastern Michigan stands 5-9-1 all-time against teams from Kentucky and last played a member of the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 2019 when the Eagles lost at Kentucky, 38-17 (Sept. 7). Eastern also is 0-7-0 all-time when playing in the Bluegrass State, including 0-2-0 at Eastern Kentucky, 0-2-0 at UK, and 0-1-0 each at Louisville, Murray State, and Western Kentucky.

BACK IN BLUE(GRASS)
EMU returns to the Bluegrass State for the first time since 2019. This matchup was initially set for the 2020 season but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The game had been scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 5, then moved to Thursday, Sept. 3, to avoid conflicting with the Kentucky Derby. The Derby, typically held in May, was rescheduled to Sept. 5 because of the pandemic. It marked the first time the race had been moved since 1945 and only the second time it had not been run in May since its inception in 1875.

SIDELINE LONGEVITY
Two of the longest tenured head coaches in the FBS will square off in Lexington for the third time as Chris Creighton and the Eagles will face Mark Stoops and the Wildcats. Based on hiring dates, Stoops is the sixth-longest tenured coach in the subdivision as he is in his 13th year at Kentucky while Creighton is in his 12th season in Ypsilanti, placing him ninth. The game will mark the first of two games between tenured coaches this year as the Eagles will head to Oxford, Ohio, Oct. 18, to face Chuck Martin, who is eighth on the list by nine days over Creighton (Dec. 3, 2013 to Dec. 12, 2013).

CLOSE CONNECTIONS: KENTUCKY
Several Eagles have ties to the Wildcat program, including Tanner Lemaster, who played the past two seasons for Kentucky before transferring to Ypsilanti in the offseason. Additionally, Director of Sports Performance Deonte Mack (2016-20) and Assistant Sports Performance Coach Bryce Richard (2019-20) spent time on the sports performance staff in Lexington before coming to EMU with a stop at Akron along the way.

FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS
A player facing his former school is more likely now in the Transfer Portal Era than years past as Tanner Lemaster and the Eagles taking on Kentucky this week marking the first of three such games for EMU players in 2025. The remaining two instances will come in back-to-back MAC contests as the Eagles and Carter Herriman will play at Miami, Oct. 18, before Ohio comes to town, Oct. 25, to face EMU and Andrew Marshall.

FROM THE SEC TO THE MAC
Eastern Michigan brings a handful of players with Southeastern Conference backgrounds into its matchup with Kentucky. Along with Tanner Lemaster, James Jointer Jr. was at Arkansas for one year while kicker Nathan Dibert spent three years at LSU as the Tigers' primary kickoff specialist.

MAKING DEBUTS • TRANSFERS
The game at Texas State saw 29 newcomers play their first snaps for the Eagles with 19 transfers playing for the Block E for the first time, including: Kadin Bailey, Caleb Coley, Nathan Dibert, Caleb Dobbs, Tavierre Dunlap, Makhi Gilbert, Nick Harris, James Jointer Jr., Noah Kim, Tanner Lemaster, Joshua Long, Ja'Quel Mack, Andrew Marshall, James Monds III, Marco Patierno, Benson Prosper, Porter Rooks, Juan Salas Jr., and Warren-Stevens Tayou.

MAKING DEBUTS • FRESHMEN
Eleven freshmen have seen their first collegiate playing time this season with Tylan Boykin joining the 10 first-year players that played at Texas State. The full list includes Boykin, Quincy Byas, Marvell Eggelston Jr., Antonio Floyd, Reggie Gardner, Hector Gonzalez, Ray Hester, Rudy Kessinger, Harold Mack Jr., Zah'eed Pierre, and Donmiel Rogers.

ON THE STARTING LINE
Through two games this season, 12 players have earned their first starts with the Eagles with Tavierre Dunlap and Makhi Gilbert joining the 10 newcomers that made the list at Texas State one week prior. The list includes Dodji Dahoue, Nick Deveraux, Dunlap (who appeared in 35 games prior to his first start, including 34 with Michigan), Gilbert, Noah Kim, Bryce Llewellyn, Joshua Long, Jason Marshall, Sterling Miles, Benson Prosper, Porter Rooks, and Terrance Saunders.

2025 Most First-Time Starters
12 - Eastern Michigan, Navy
10 - Fresno State
9 - Bowling Green, Oregon
8 - Old Dominion

PROTECT THE BALL
Taking care of the ball is a big key to every game and, through two games, the Eagles have done just that. Following games played Sept. 6, the Eagles are 1-of-22 teams nationally in the FBS that have not turned the ball over and one of just two teams in the MAC (Bowling Green). As part of that, Eastern is 1-of-47 teams that has not thrown an interception and 1-of-54 that has not lost a fumble this year.

NEED A LEAD
The Eagles have not held a lead in its first two games this season. In fact, it has been 18 consecutive quarters since Eastern was ahead on the scoreboard. The last lead EMU held was a 7-0 advantage at Ohio, Nov. 13, 2024.

NOT SHARING THE BALL
With no turnovers or takeaways through the first two weeks of the season, it marks the first time since 1995 that Eastern has not registered either in consecutive games. Interestingly, during that span, there have only been 15 contests not to feature a turnover by EMU or its opposition. EMU is 7-8 in those games, including going 2-0 last season against UMass (W, 28-14) and Jacksonville State (W, 37-34 2OT).

KEEPING IT LEGAL
Eastern is currently one of the fewest penalized teams nationally. The Eagles rank third nationally and are tied with Akron for the MAC lead in fewest penalties called per game at 3.0. Additionally, the Eagles are ninth in the FBS (second in the MAC) in fewest penalty yards per game at 25.0.

NONE FOR ME, THANK YOU
For just the second time since 1995, Eastern Michigan did not commit a penalty in a game as the Eagles posted a clean sheet against LIU, Sept. 6. The only other occurrence in the modern statistical era came against Army, Sept. 4, 2010. All told, it marked just the 29th time in the last 20 seasons that a Mid-American Conference team was not flagged for a penalty.

MAC Games with 0 Penalties Committed Since 1995
5 - Central Michigan, Kent State
4 - Ball State, Northern Illinois
3 - Ohio
2 - Akron, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan
1 - Miami, Western Michigan

MIGHTY McMILLAN
Dontae McMillan scored twice against LIU, including a 33-yard rushing touchdown and a 40-yard receiving score as he finished with 58 yards rushing on eight carries and 33 yards on one reception for 91 total yards. It marked the first time in his three seasons in Ypsilanti he scored two touchdowns in the same game and just the third time he had done so in his career. The last time came Oct. 8, 2022, with two rushing scores for Weber State at home against Eastern Washington with the first coming in his debut with the Wildcats, Feb. 27, 2021, at Idaho State. Overall, his two scores against the Sharks marked his first game with one rushing and one receiving score while also standing as his first collegiate receiving touchdown.

KIM GETS TWO IN THE AIR
Noah Kim finished the game 18-of-29 passing for 189 yards and two scores while rushing for 38 yards on six carries for 227 yards of total offense. The two scores marked his first multiple touchdown game with the Eagles and his first since throwing for two touchdowns against Louisiana, Oct. 19, 2024, while playing for Coastal Carolina. Kim, who recorded his fourth career multiple touchdown game, has now done so for three different schools after accomplishing the feat twice with Michigan State in 2023.

STAYING ACTIVE
Mitchell Tomasek continues to climb the NCAA's active career ledgers as the EMU punter is now among the top five of all current FBS players in two categories. Tomasek's 7,768 total yards currently ranks him second in the FBS and fourth among all divisions while his career 44.6 yard average ranks fifth in the division and sixth overall.

GRABBING HIS FIRST
Late in the LIU game, Jamarien Wheeler pulled in his first career touchdown reception as Noah Kim found him in the end zone from five yards out. Wheeler's lone reception brought his total to four grabs in 16 games for the Eagles. It marked the second receiving touchdown of the game for Eastern and the second time the scoring grab was the first of that player's collegiate career after Dontae McMillan scored his first earlier in the game.

ABOVE AVERAGE
Mitchel Tomasek finished the LIU game with five punts for 253 yards, including three punts of 50+ yards and two coming down inside the LIU 20-yard line. Tomasek's 50.6-yard average stands as the fourth-highest in a single game in EMU history and comes one week after he set the record with a 52.4 average at Texas State. His average against the Sharks marked the sixth game in EMU history with a punter averaging 50.0+ yards with Tomasek holding two, Jake Julien holding three, and Austin Barnes with one.

PULLING OUT THE DRIVER
Mitchell Tomasek has hit 52 of his 174 career punts for 50+ yards (29.9 percent), including 13 over 60 yards, while recording just 15 touchbacks. For his career, Tomasek has recorded a best of 72 yards at Jacksonville State (Sept. 23, 2023) while hitting a 70-yarder at home against Ball State (Oct. 7, 2023). He has recorded at least three punts of 62 yards or better in all three seasons he has played for the Eagles and is one away already from making four consecutive years after recording boots of 63 and 62-yards at Texas State.

LEADING THE WAY
Mitchell Tomasek is averaging 51.5 yards per punt this season, which ranks first in the MAC and fifth nationally. Tied for the league lead with six punts of 50+ in 2025, Tomasek has also downed four inside the 20-yard line.

KICKING CAREER
With his 253 yards in the game against Long Island, Mitchell Tomasek brought his career total to 7,768 yards, placing him sixth on the program's career ledger. Tomasek, who passed Zach Johnson (7,794 yards, 2006-09), Austin Barnes (7,664 yards, 2013-16), and George Bailey (7,591 yards, 1967-70), is now 295 yards behind Jay Kurtz (2010-12) for fifth after Kurtz tallied 8,063 yards in his career. Tomasek needs just 232 yards to reach 8,000 yards for his career.

RARE SHOWING: A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING
LIU quarterbacks Ethan Greenwood and Luca Stanzani turned in rare all-around performances against Eastern Michigan on Sept. 6. Both impacted the game passing, rushing, and receiving. Greenwood ran for 91 yards, threw for 105 yards, and caught a 7-yard pass. Stanzani rushed for 67 yards, passed for 143 yards, and had a 74-yard reception.

They became the first QB duo in the modern statistical era to each record a completion, a rushing attempt, and a reception in the same game against Eastern Michigan. They are also the first players of any position to do so against EMU since 2021. The last comparable effort came on Sept. 7, 2019, when Kentucky's Terry Wilson completed 14 of 26 passes for 114 yards, rushed 8 times for 43 yards, and caught a 32-yard pass. In the same game, wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. threw a 32-yard completion, ran twice for 17 yards, and caught seven passes for 54 yards.

This marks Greenwood and Stanzani as part of a select group of players to achieve a pass, a rush, and a reception against EMU in the last 25 years, joining names like Wilson, Bowden, Dustin Crum (Kent State, 2019), Jordan Lynch (NIU, 2013), and Terrelle Pryor (Ohio State, 2010).

GOING GREEN IN THE RED ZONE
Having gone 7-of-7 in the red zone this year, the Eagles are one of three MAC teams and 1-of-48 FBS teams to remain perfect after Week 2 with Northern Illinois and Western Michigan both having gone 3-of-3.

UPPER HALF
Since 2016, Eastern has posted 54 wins, which ranks as the sixth-most victories of any team in the MAC.
73 • Toledo
70 • Ohio
60 • Western Michigan, Miami
56 • Buffalo
54 • Eastern Michigan
52 • Northern Illinois
49 • Central Michigan
40 • Ball State
37 • Bowling Green
31 • Kent State
26 • Akron
18 • UMass
* updated through 2025 Week 2 games

BACK ON THE LANES?
After missing out on a bowl game in 2024 by one victory, the Eagles will look to return to the postseason in 2025 and claim their seventh appearance under Chris Creighton. For the 2025 season, the MAC has affiliation with four games: the former Bahamas Bowl (vs. Conference USA), the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl (vs. Mountain West), the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (vs. MWC), and the GameAbove Sports Bowl (vs. Big Ten). Additionally, the MAC could send teams to two of the following: 68 Ventures Bowl (vs. Sun Belt), Boca Raton Bowl (vs. Group of Five), Camellia Bowl (vs. ACC/Sun Belt), Cure Bowl (vs. Group of Five), Frisco Bowl (vs. Group of Five), Myrtle Beach Bowl (vs. ACC/SBC), and New Mexico Bowl (vs. CUSA).

BOWL APPEARANCES
Since 2016, 12-of-13 current MAC teams have played in at least one bowl, with the Eagles appearing in six, which ranks tied for third-most with Miami while Ohio and Toledo lead the way with seven.
7 • Ohio, Toledo
6 • Eastern Michigan, Miami
5 • Buffalo, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan
4 • Central Michigan
3 • Bowling Green
2 • Ball State, Kent State
1 • Akron
0 • UMass (only bowl was 1964)

FLYING THE FLAG
When a MAC team defeats a member of a "Power Four" conference, they celebrate by hoisting a black flag with the MAC logo placed above cross bones, something the Eagles have done four times since 2017 with victories over Rutgers, Purdue, Illinois, and Arizona State. Dating back to the start of the 2006 season, at least one member of the MAC has flown the flag with the conference accumulating 48 wins in that stretch of 19 consecutive seasons, including 32 against the Big Ten. All told, the MAC has posted wins against foes from the Big Ten (32), SEC (2), Big 12 (6), the former Pac-12 (2), the ACC (4), and one over Notre Dame.

Overall, in the Eagles' four wins ties for the sixth-highest total in the MAC with Ball State and Western Michigan while Northern Illinois leads the way with nine, both Bowling Green and Central Michigan have six, and Ohio and Toledo have five.

In 2025, the streak continued as Ohio handed visiting West Virginia (Big 12) a 17-10 decision in Athens, Sept. 6.

CREIGHTON CLIMBING
Head Coach Chris Creighton is entering his 12th year at the helm of the Eastern program and has accumulated 57 wins with the Eagles, the second-most in program history behind the 114 secured under Elton J. Rynearson, for whom the Eagles' home venue is named, sported 196 career wins, leaving him four away from 200. The third-longest tenured coach in program history behind Rynearson (26 years) and Fred Trosko (13) and one of just four men to lead the program for 10+ seasons, Creighton currently ranks fifth among active FBS coaches in career victories, trailing only Brian Kelly at LSU (294), K.C. Keeler at Sam Houston (273), Kirk Ferentz at Iowa (217), and Willie Fritz at Houston (214).

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).

THEY HAVE THE TOUCH
Over the past 11 seasons (2014-24), the Eagles' 26 blocked kicks have them tied for third-most among all teams in the MAC as Eastern, Miami, and Toledo are one off the pace set by both Central Michigan and Northern Illinois, who each have 27. Over that span, Eastern has tallied at least one block in nine consecutive years (20 blocks) with Akron next with six consecutive years (8). EMU is one of three schools (CMU and Toledo) that has recorded at least one block in 10-of-11 seasons during the current span.

NO KICKING ZONE
Since taking over the program in 2014, Chris Creighton's teams have blocked 26 kicks, including at least one in each of the past nine consecutive years. In 2024, the Eagles blocked four kicks, the second-highest total for the team under Creighton behind only the six blocks tallied in 2014. Last year, Eastern blocked one punt and one point-after try at Washington (Sept. 7), blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown at home against St. Francis (Sept. 21), and blocked a 31-yard field goal attempt at Ohio (Nov. 13). The four blocks tied for the MAC lead with Northern Illinois while ranking sixth among all NCAA FBS teams.

Overall, in the 11 seasons under Creighton, EMU has blocked 10 field goal attempts, 10 punts with five being returned for touchdowns, and six extra-point attempts with one returned for a two-point defensive score.

SAFE TO ASSUME IT WILL BE CLOSE
Since 2016, Eastern Michigan has played 110 contests recording a 54-56 record in those games. The margin has been razor thin with the contests decided by a combined 70 points. EMU has scored 2,991 points (27.1 ppg), while giving up 3,091 points (28.1).

SINGLE SCORES
Since the start of the 2016 season, Eastern is tied for second nationally with 58 one-score games played, sitting behind Northern Illinois (63).

1. Northern Illinois - 63 (31-32)
t-2. Eastern Michigan - 58 (28-30)
t-2. Texas - 58 (26-32)
4. Iowa State - 56 (25-31)
5. Nebraska - 55 (16-39)
6. Kansas State - 54 (26-28)
7. North Carolina - 52 (22-30)
8. Oklahoma State - 50 (31-19)
9. Tulsa - 49 (22-27)

AYE, AYE CAPTAINS!
The Eagles will be led by six captains in the 2025 season. Following a vote of the current roster, the players selected Jefferson Adam, Tavierre Dunlap, Dramarian McNulty, Noah Kim, Zach Mowchan, and Mickey Rewolinski to serve as captains this season.

ON THE HORIZON
The Eagles return home to 'The Factory' at Rynearson Stadium Saturday, Sept. 20, as Eastern Michigan and the University of Louisiana will meet for a Homecoming contest in Ypsilanti. The game is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. and the television designation will be announced this week. Tom Helmer (play-by-play), Rob Rubick (analyst), Elena Davis (sideline), and Greg Steiner (halftime) will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM) and The Varsity Network app.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Jefferson Adam

Kadin Bailey

Tylan Boykin

Quincy Byas

Caleb Coley

Dodji Dahoue

Nathan Dibert

Caleb Dobbs

Tavierre Dunlap

Antonio Floyd

Reggie Gardner

Makhi Gilbert

Hector Gonzalez

Nick Harris

Carter Herriman

Ray Hester

James Jointer Jr.

Rudy Kessinger

Noah Kim

Tanner Lemaster

Bryce Llewellyn

Joshua Long

Harold Mack

Ja'Quel Mack

Andrew Marshall

Jason Marshall

Dontae McMillan

Dramarian McNulty

Sterling Miles

James Monds III

Zach Mowchan

Marco Patierno

Zah'eed Pierre

Mickey Rewolinski

Donmiel Rogers

Porter Rooks

Juan Salas

Terrance Saunders

Warren-Stevens Tayou

Mitchell Tomasek

Jamarien Wheeler

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