Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, October 10
Akron, Ohio
3:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
4-3 , 3-0
25
at
23
Akron
1-5 , 0-2
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Mich. | 3 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 25 |
| Akron | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 23 |
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
EMU Football Escapes Akron with 25-23 Win, Improves to 3-0 in MAC
10/10/2026 7:15:00 PM | Football
Kessinger’s 48-yard game-winning field goal moved the Eagles to 3-0 in the MAC
Game Book (PDF) | Photo Gallery | Postgame Press Conference Audio
AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Rudy Kessinger nailed a late 48-yard field goal and Joshua Long pulled in 100 yards to lead the Eastern Michigan University football team to a nail-biting 25-23 win over the University of Akron Saturday, Oct. 10, inside InfoCision Stadium in Akron, Ohio, as the Eagles moved to 3-0 in Mid-American Conference play for the first time since 1995. The Eagles (4-3, 3-0 MAC), winners of three consecutive games for the first time in two seasons, remained atop the league standings as the Zips fell to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in league play.
How It Happened
Eastern received the ball to open the game and marched down the field to put the first points of the game on the board with Rudy Kessinger (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) connecting on a 23-yard field goal to stake the Eagles to an early 3-0 lead. The Zips responded on their first drive as they drove 83 yards in 11 plays to score a touchdown and take a 7-3 lead.
The Eagles opened the next drive in the first and carried it into the second stanza where Noah Kim (Centreville, Va./Westfield/Michigan State/Coastal Carolina) ran it from one-yard out on fourth-and-goal for the touchdown to push the Eagles back in front as their 12-play, 75-yard drive saw Eastern take a 10-7 lead. The hosts responded on their next drive with a 40-yard touchdown pass to cap a 5-play, 75-yard drive to reclaim the lead, 14-10, with 9:26 to play in the half. The Eagles drove the ball on the ensuing drive and settled for a 22-yard field goal from Kessinger to cut the deficit to 14-13 before. After Eastern the defense forced a three-and-out, the offense started a drive but a tipped ball was intercepted to set up the Zips on the EMU 41, but the defense stood tall and forced a punt as the quarter ended with neither team scoring again to send the contest to the break with the hosts ahead, 14-13.
The second half opened with Akron taking the ball and driving down the field before hitting a 40-yard field goal to raise its advantage to 17-13. After the Eagles fumbled on their next possession, the Zips' possession was short-lived as the defense forced a punt that was blocked by Eli Lovett (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne) and recovered by Marvell Eggleston (Detroit, Mich./King) on the UA 22. Kessinger stepped up and was true on a 33-yard field goal to cut into the deficit, 17-16.
Eastern took the ball off the punt and drove down the field to score a touchdown as Kim found Harold Mack Jr. (Fort Wayne, Ind./Wayne) at the 8-yard line before he cut his way into the end zone before the two-point attempt failed, putting the Eagles in front, 22-17. The host reclaimed the lead, 23-22, on a 27-yard touchdown reception with the two-point conversion sailing high. With under two minutes to play, the Eagles drove down the field and saw Kessinger connect on a 48-yard field goal – his fourth of the game – to put the visitors back in front, 25-23, with 1:50 to play. Akron drove down the field and attempted a 47-yard field goal with 19 second remaining, but it moved wide left to give the Eagles the win.
Game Notes
» Noah Kim finished the game with 277 yards on 26-of-46 passing with one touchdown and one interception while added three rushes for one yard and one score in the win. With his statistics, Kim moved over 4,000 yards and 400 completions in his EMU career as he currently has amassed 4,254 yards passing on 412 completions with the team. Kim passed the ball round to eight different receivers with five collecting at least 24 yards.
» Joshua Long (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola/El Camino CC) had a career day as the tight end recorded his first 100-yard game as he pulled down nine passes for 114 yards. His previous career-high totals saw him grab six passes against Sacramento State in the opener and record 52 yards last year against Northern Illinois at home (Oct. 11, 2025). His 100-yard game was the second of the season for the Eagles and the first since Benson Prosper (Hollywood, Fla./Champagnat Catholic/Highland/Hutchinson) tallied 109 yards on 10 catches against Lindenwood.
» Joshua Long's 100-yard receiving game made him the first Eastern tight end to break the century mark since Tyreese Russell pulled in 113 yards and one touchdown on eight receptions at Ball State, Nov. 22, 2014. Additionally, his nine receptions tied for the single-game record by a tight end as well.
» Joey Mattord (Hartland, Mich./Hartland) was the workhorse on offense for Eastern as the running back finished the game with 18 carries for 73 yards while catching three passes for 24 yards, finishing with 97 yards of total offense. Mattord entered the game with a career-high of nine rushes and 54 yards that he recorded against Lindenwood and UMass, respectively.
» Rudy Kessinger had another strong game as the kicker was a perfect 4-of-4 on field goal attempts while adding one extra point for 13 points in the game. His four makes broke his single-game career-high of three he made three times previously with the most recent coming against Lindenwood while his four attempts marked the third time he has tried four in his career with the most recent also coming against Lindenwood.
» Rudy Kessinger's four made field goals tied for the second-highest single-game total in program history as he became the seventh different player to accomplish the feat with Chad Ryland the most recent addition to the list on Dec. 5, 2020, at Western Michigan. Ryland holds the record with five makes that he set against WMU at home, Nov. 16, 2021.
» Bryce Eliuk (Linden, Mich./Linden) led the defense with a career-high nine tackles, surpassing the six he recorded at Michigan State earlier this year. He also added 0.5 TFLs in the game.
» Quincy Byas (St. Louis, Mo./De Smet Jesuit) tallied a career-high 2.5 TFLs for 19 yards, surpassing the 2.0 he recorded last year against Ohio (Oct. 25, 2025) while adding a career-high seven tackles, bettering his six recorded against San Jose State earlier this year. He posted 2.0 sacks as well, surpassing the 1.0 he recorded against Michigan State this year.
» Donmiel Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) recorded his first full sack in the game, bettering the 0.5 sacks he tallied against Lindenwood. He finished the game with a career-high-tying six tackles that he previously posted against San Jose State earlier this year.
» In the third quarter, Eli Lovett shot the gap and blocked an Akron punt with Marvell Eggleston recovering the ball to set up an Eastern field goal. The block was the 27th by Eastern under Chris Creighton and its first since Nov. 13, 2024, when the Eagles blocked a 31-yard field goal attempt by Ohio. The punt was the 11th blocked in that time and the first since Sept. 21, 2024, at home against St. Francis (Pa.).
» Eastern scored a field goal on its opening drive of the game, marking the fourth consecutive contest EMU put points on then board on its first possession after being held scoreless in the first three games.
» The touchdown scored by Akron on their first drive of the game marked just the third time in seven games the Eagles have allowed points in the opening stanza having previously allowed just 10 points to their previous six opponents. With the points scored by both teams, Eastern holds a 30-17 advantage in first-quarter scoring this season.
» Eastern played in its 65th one-score game since 2016, the second-highest total in the FBS behind the 67 Northern Illinois has played. With the win, the Eagles improved to 32-33 in those single-score contests.
Historical Notes
» With the win, Eastern moved to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in the MAC while Akron fell to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in league action. The Eagles have now won three consecutive games for the first time since 2024 after posting consecutive victories over Jacksonville State, St. Francis (Pa.), and Kent State.
» The Eagles improved to 3-0 to open MAC play for the first time since the 1995 campaign when Eastern started the season with a 4-0 mark in league play.
» The win pushed the Eagles to 17-20-0 in their series with the Zips and 6-13-0 when playing at Akron. The victory comes after a 25-21 loss in Akron in the last meeting, Oct. 26, 2024. Eastern has now won five of the past six meetings in the series and three of the last four played at InfoCision Stadium.
» Chris Creighton took sole possession of the No. 10 spot on the All-time wins by a MAC coach with his 65th victory at the helm of the Eagle program, breaking his tie with Bill Mallory, who posted 64 with both Miami (1969-73) and Northern Illinois (1980-83). Trevor J. Reese is next on the list with the 66 wins he tallied with Kent State from 1951-63.
» Eastern lost the turnover battle, 2-0, but won the game, moving the team to 21-69 when losing the category under Chris Creighton.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan is back home next week, Oct. 17, as the Eagles are set to play host to the Rockets of the University of Toledo on Homecoming. The Mid-American Conference contest will be played inside 'The Factory' at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti and will kick off at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Tom Helmer and Rob Rubick will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM), the Varsity Network app, and SiriusXM radio. For more information on all the festivities surrounding Homecoming, visit https://www.emich.edu/Homecoming.
AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Rudy Kessinger nailed a late 48-yard field goal and Joshua Long pulled in 100 yards to lead the Eastern Michigan University football team to a nail-biting 25-23 win over the University of Akron Saturday, Oct. 10, inside InfoCision Stadium in Akron, Ohio, as the Eagles moved to 3-0 in Mid-American Conference play for the first time since 1995. The Eagles (4-3, 3-0 MAC), winners of three consecutive games for the first time in two seasons, remained atop the league standings as the Zips fell to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in league play.
How It Happened
Eastern received the ball to open the game and marched down the field to put the first points of the game on the board with Rudy Kessinger (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) connecting on a 23-yard field goal to stake the Eagles to an early 3-0 lead. The Zips responded on their first drive as they drove 83 yards in 11 plays to score a touchdown and take a 7-3 lead.
The Eagles opened the next drive in the first and carried it into the second stanza where Noah Kim (Centreville, Va./Westfield/Michigan State/Coastal Carolina) ran it from one-yard out on fourth-and-goal for the touchdown to push the Eagles back in front as their 12-play, 75-yard drive saw Eastern take a 10-7 lead. The hosts responded on their next drive with a 40-yard touchdown pass to cap a 5-play, 75-yard drive to reclaim the lead, 14-10, with 9:26 to play in the half. The Eagles drove the ball on the ensuing drive and settled for a 22-yard field goal from Kessinger to cut the deficit to 14-13 before. After Eastern the defense forced a three-and-out, the offense started a drive but a tipped ball was intercepted to set up the Zips on the EMU 41, but the defense stood tall and forced a punt as the quarter ended with neither team scoring again to send the contest to the break with the hosts ahead, 14-13.
The second half opened with Akron taking the ball and driving down the field before hitting a 40-yard field goal to raise its advantage to 17-13. After the Eagles fumbled on their next possession, the Zips' possession was short-lived as the defense forced a punt that was blocked by Eli Lovett (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne) and recovered by Marvell Eggleston (Detroit, Mich./King) on the UA 22. Kessinger stepped up and was true on a 33-yard field goal to cut into the deficit, 17-16.
Eastern took the ball off the punt and drove down the field to score a touchdown as Kim found Harold Mack Jr. (Fort Wayne, Ind./Wayne) at the 8-yard line before he cut his way into the end zone before the two-point attempt failed, putting the Eagles in front, 22-17. The host reclaimed the lead, 23-22, on a 27-yard touchdown reception with the two-point conversion sailing high. With under two minutes to play, the Eagles drove down the field and saw Kessinger connect on a 48-yard field goal – his fourth of the game – to put the visitors back in front, 25-23, with 1:50 to play. Akron drove down the field and attempted a 47-yard field goal with 19 second remaining, but it moved wide left to give the Eagles the win.
Game Notes
» Noah Kim finished the game with 277 yards on 26-of-46 passing with one touchdown and one interception while added three rushes for one yard and one score in the win. With his statistics, Kim moved over 4,000 yards and 400 completions in his EMU career as he currently has amassed 4,254 yards passing on 412 completions with the team. Kim passed the ball round to eight different receivers with five collecting at least 24 yards.
» Joshua Long (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola/El Camino CC) had a career day as the tight end recorded his first 100-yard game as he pulled down nine passes for 114 yards. His previous career-high totals saw him grab six passes against Sacramento State in the opener and record 52 yards last year against Northern Illinois at home (Oct. 11, 2025). His 100-yard game was the second of the season for the Eagles and the first since Benson Prosper (Hollywood, Fla./Champagnat Catholic/Highland/Hutchinson) tallied 109 yards on 10 catches against Lindenwood.
» Joshua Long's 100-yard receiving game made him the first Eastern tight end to break the century mark since Tyreese Russell pulled in 113 yards and one touchdown on eight receptions at Ball State, Nov. 22, 2014. Additionally, his nine receptions tied for the single-game record by a tight end as well.
» Joey Mattord (Hartland, Mich./Hartland) was the workhorse on offense for Eastern as the running back finished the game with 18 carries for 73 yards while catching three passes for 24 yards, finishing with 97 yards of total offense. Mattord entered the game with a career-high of nine rushes and 54 yards that he recorded against Lindenwood and UMass, respectively.
» Rudy Kessinger had another strong game as the kicker was a perfect 4-of-4 on field goal attempts while adding one extra point for 13 points in the game. His four makes broke his single-game career-high of three he made three times previously with the most recent coming against Lindenwood while his four attempts marked the third time he has tried four in his career with the most recent also coming against Lindenwood.
» Rudy Kessinger's four made field goals tied for the second-highest single-game total in program history as he became the seventh different player to accomplish the feat with Chad Ryland the most recent addition to the list on Dec. 5, 2020, at Western Michigan. Ryland holds the record with five makes that he set against WMU at home, Nov. 16, 2021.
» Bryce Eliuk (Linden, Mich./Linden) led the defense with a career-high nine tackles, surpassing the six he recorded at Michigan State earlier this year. He also added 0.5 TFLs in the game.
» Quincy Byas (St. Louis, Mo./De Smet Jesuit) tallied a career-high 2.5 TFLs for 19 yards, surpassing the 2.0 he recorded last year against Ohio (Oct. 25, 2025) while adding a career-high seven tackles, bettering his six recorded against San Jose State earlier this year. He posted 2.0 sacks as well, surpassing the 1.0 he recorded against Michigan State this year.
» Donmiel Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) recorded his first full sack in the game, bettering the 0.5 sacks he tallied against Lindenwood. He finished the game with a career-high-tying six tackles that he previously posted against San Jose State earlier this year.
» In the third quarter, Eli Lovett shot the gap and blocked an Akron punt with Marvell Eggleston recovering the ball to set up an Eastern field goal. The block was the 27th by Eastern under Chris Creighton and its first since Nov. 13, 2024, when the Eagles blocked a 31-yard field goal attempt by Ohio. The punt was the 11th blocked in that time and the first since Sept. 21, 2024, at home against St. Francis (Pa.).
» Eastern scored a field goal on its opening drive of the game, marking the fourth consecutive contest EMU put points on then board on its first possession after being held scoreless in the first three games.
» The touchdown scored by Akron on their first drive of the game marked just the third time in seven games the Eagles have allowed points in the opening stanza having previously allowed just 10 points to their previous six opponents. With the points scored by both teams, Eastern holds a 30-17 advantage in first-quarter scoring this season.
» Eastern played in its 65th one-score game since 2016, the second-highest total in the FBS behind the 67 Northern Illinois has played. With the win, the Eagles improved to 32-33 in those single-score contests.
Historical Notes
» With the win, Eastern moved to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in the MAC while Akron fell to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in league action. The Eagles have now won three consecutive games for the first time since 2024 after posting consecutive victories over Jacksonville State, St. Francis (Pa.), and Kent State.
» The Eagles improved to 3-0 to open MAC play for the first time since the 1995 campaign when Eastern started the season with a 4-0 mark in league play.
» The win pushed the Eagles to 17-20-0 in their series with the Zips and 6-13-0 when playing at Akron. The victory comes after a 25-21 loss in Akron in the last meeting, Oct. 26, 2024. Eastern has now won five of the past six meetings in the series and three of the last four played at InfoCision Stadium.
» Chris Creighton took sole possession of the No. 10 spot on the All-time wins by a MAC coach with his 65th victory at the helm of the Eagle program, breaking his tie with Bill Mallory, who posted 64 with both Miami (1969-73) and Northern Illinois (1980-83). Trevor J. Reese is next on the list with the 66 wins he tallied with Kent State from 1951-63.
» Eastern lost the turnover battle, 2-0, but won the game, moving the team to 21-69 when losing the category under Chris Creighton.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan is back home next week, Oct. 17, as the Eagles are set to play host to the Rockets of the University of Toledo on Homecoming. The Mid-American Conference contest will be played inside 'The Factory' at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti and will kick off at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Tom Helmer and Rob Rubick will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM), the Varsity Network app, and SiriusXM radio. For more information on all the festivities surrounding Homecoming, visit https://www.emich.edu/Homecoming.
Players Mentioned
DL
/ Football
DL
/ Football
LB
/ Football
K
/ Football
QB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
DB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ FootballTeam Stats
EMU
AKR
Total Yards
413
372
Pass Yards
277
229
Rushing Yards
136
143
Penalty Yards
65
82
1st Downs
25
19
3rd Downs
8
5
4th Downs
1
0
TOP
35:35
24:25
1st Quarter
EMU 3, AKR 0
EMU - Kessinger,Rudy 23 yd field goal 11 plays, 70 yards, TOP 05:34
EMU 3, AKR 7
AKR - Williams,Marcel 15 yd pass from Roggow,Brayden (Schramm,Matthew kick) 11 plays, 83 yards, TOP 05:10
2nd Quarter
EMU 10, AKR 7
EMU - Kim,Noah 1 yd run (Kessinger,Rudy kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 07:03
EMU 10, AKR 14
AKR - Williams,Marcel 40 yd pass from Roggow,Brayden (Schramm,Matthew kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:41
EMU 13, AKR 14
EMU - Kessinger,Rudy 22 yd field goal 11 plays, 88 yards, TOP 04:41
3rd Quarter
EMU 13, AKR 17
AKR - Schramm,Matthew 40 yd field goal 9 plays, 53 yards, TOP 04:04
EMU 16, AKR 17
EMU - Kessinger,Rudy 33 yd field goal 4 plays, 7 yards, TOP 01:27
4th Quarter
EMU 22, AKR 17
EMU - Mack,Harold 6 yd pass from Kim,Noah () 8 plays, 59 yards, TOP 03:33
EMU 22, AKR 23
AKR - Williams,Marquese 27 yd pass from Roggow,Brayden () 9 plays, 92 yards, TOP 05:13
EMU 25, AKR 23
EMU - Kessinger,Rudy 48 yd field goal 11 plays, 42 yards, TOP 04:29
Game Leaders
CMP
26
TD
1
YDS
277
INT
1
Sunday, October 11
Sunday, October 11
Saturday, October 10
Friday, October 09