Eastern Drops 27-21 Decision to Visiting San José State

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
San Jose St.	0	10	7	10	27
Eastern Michigan	0	7	14	0	21

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team fell for the first time in 2026 as the visiting Spartans of San Jose State scored a 27-21 decision inside The Factory at Rynearson Stadium Friday, Sept. 4. The loss saw the Eagles fall to 1-1 overall while the Spartans rebounded from their season-opening loss to move to 1-1.

How It Happened
Following a scoreless first quarter, Caleb Dobbs (Cocoa, Fla./Cocoa) pulled in his second career interception on a pass deflected by Juan Salas Jr. (Eastvale, Calif./Roosevelt/Southwest Baptist) to set up the EMU offense on its own 42-yard line. The Eagles marched down the field in six plays with Noah Kim (Centreville, Va./Westfield/Michigan State/Coastal Carolina) hitting Harold Mack, Jr. (Fort Wayne, Ind./Wayne) in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard scoring strike to give the hosts a 7-0 lead. Late in the quarter, the Spartans drove 80 yards to tie the game and added a 45-yard field goal as time expired to give the visitors a 10-7 lead at the break.

Amareon Blue (Dallas, N.C./C.E. Jordan) put the Eagles back in the lead early in the third quarter with the first touchdown of his career as the second-year back broke free on a 4^th-and-1 play from the 50-yard line. Blue, who entered the game with 55 career yards to his name, brought his total to 80 at the time of the score with EMU ahead, 14-10, with 11:53 to play in the third. On the ensuing drive, the Spartans drove 75 yards to score a touchdown to regain the lead, 17-14, with just over six minutes to play in the stanza.

Late in the third quarter, the Eastern defense stood tall and pushed the Spartans deep into their own territory. On a 2^nd-and-11 play from their own 13-yard line, Ronn Hardin (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Heights/Mt. SAC) got loose on the edge and recorded a strip-sack that forced SJSU's Luke Weaver to lose the ball, which rolled toward the goal line where Bryce Llewellyn (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral/Charleston Southern) outran an opponent and fell on the loose ball in the front corner of the end zone for the defensive score, the first of his career. The scoring play, which put the hosts back in front, 21-17, was the first fumble recovery for a touchdown since David Carter, Jr., ran 99 yards against St. Francis (Pa.) at home, Sept. 21, 2024.

Despite holding the lead heading into the final quarter, the Eagles were unable to secure the win as the Spartans scored twice in the stanza. SJSU reclaimed the lead with 11:19 to play on a 40-yard touchdown reception before adding a 49-yard field goal with 1:37 remaining to bring about the final score, 27-21.

Game Notes
» Amareon Blue, who entered the game with 55 career rushing yards and 77 total yards, nearly reached 100 offensive yards in the game with the Spartans as he used a 50-yard run on fourth down to score his first career touchdown. Blue finished with a team and career-high 93 all-purpose yards as he finished with 81 yards on 11 carries while adding three receptions for 12 yards.
» Braydon Bennett (Greenville, S.C./Southside/Coastal Carolina/Virginia Tech) rushed five times for 20 yards to bring his collegiate career total to over 2,000 yards. The seventh-year player recorded 1,954 yards in five seasons with Coastal Carolina (2020-24) before adding eight yards last year with Virginia Tech. This year, Bennett has rushed for 47 yards to bring his career total to 2,009 yards.
» Harold Mack Jr. set a career high with seven receptions as he finished with 72 yards and one touchdown. His 5-yard scoring grab in the second quarter was Eastern's first score of the game and marked his first of the year and the third of his career.
» For the second consecutive game, Zach Mowchan (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) led the defense in tackles as the linebacker recorded 11 stops, including four solo tackles, and 0.5 TFLs. The reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Week, Mowchan recorded double-digit tackles in back-to-back games for the first time in his career after posting 14 one week prior against Sacramento State. It also marked only the second time in his career he recorded 10+ tackles in multiple games in his career after posting 10 against Bowling Green and 13 against Western Michigan last year.
» Caleb Dobbs picked off a pass off a Juan Salas, Jr., deflection early in the second quarter to set up the Eagles' first touchdown of the game. His second career pick after grabbing one last year at home against Louisiana (Sept. 20, 2025), Dobbs finished the game with two tackles, including one solo stop, and a team-high three pass breakups. The three breakups stood as a single-game career-high while marking the first time in his career he posted multiple deflections in the same game.
» Bryce Llewellyn scored his first collegiate touchdown as the defensive back fell on a loose ball in the end zone late in the third quarter. Llewellyn, who finished with a season-high six tackles in the game, is the first Eagle to recover a fumble for a touchdown since Sept. 21, 2024, when David Carter, Jr., scooped a loose ball and ran 99 yards for the score against visiting St. Francis (Pa.).
» Jason Marshall (Trenton, Mich./Trenton) was second on the team with seven tackles that included three solo stops and 0.5 TFLs. He also led the way with two pass breakups, marking the first time in his career he posted multiple deflections. He entered the game with two total breakups in his career after posting one deflection against Long Island (Sept. 7) last year and one on his interception against Sacramento State last week.

Historical Notes
» With the loss, Eastern fell to 1-1 on the year while San Jose State improved to 1-1.
» Eastern now stands 2-1 all-time against San Jose State after dropping the first regular season game between the two teams. The previous two wins came in bowl games, including the 1987 California Bowl (W, 30-27) and the 2022 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (W, 41-27). Additionally, Eastern is now 4-2 all-time against teams from the state of California and had won three consecutive games against the Golden State with its 28-17 win last week against visiting Sacramento State.
» Makhi Gilbert (Phenix City, Ala./Central/Samford) wore The Zero for the defense against the Spartans, marking the second time he has worn the digit in his EMU career. His first came in Week 4 last year at home against Louisiana, a 34-31 win for the Eagles.
» Joey Chestnut, the world-famous hot dog eating champion and San Jose State alum, was on hand to watch the game. At the end of the first quarter, he served as the emcee of a three-person doughnut eating competition, lending encouragement and advice to the would-be champions.

Up Next

With its run of back-to-back games against California schools behind it, Eastern Michigan will turn its attention to consecutive road games against Big Ten opponents when it travels north to East Lansing, Mich., Saturday, Sept. 12, for a 3:30 p.m. contest against the Spartans of Michigan State University. The Big Ten Network will air the game live on television while Tom Helmer and Rob Rubick will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM), the Varsity Network app, and SiriusXM radio.

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Players Mentioned

Braydon Bennett

Amareon Blue

Caleb Dobbs

Makhi Gilbert

Ronn Hardin

Noah Kim

Bryce Llewellyn

Harold Mack

Jason Marshall

Zach Mowchan

Juan Salas

Team Stats

Kim Noah