Army, (6-2), the nation's leader in time of possession, held the ball for nearly 46 minutes of game time to limit EMU's (4-5, 2-3 MAC) offense to just nine drives on the afternoon. The vast majority of Eastern’s offensive progress -- and all its points -- came after intermission.
After being shut out in the first half, graduate transfer quarterback Tyler Wiegers paced Eastern's pass-heavy offense. He racked up 201 yards through the air, while completing 19-of-29 attempts.
Army's offense was led by quarterback Kevin Hopkins Jr., who tallied 231 of Army's 415 total yards of offense. He was 7-for-8 for 126 yards and two scores through the air to go along with 105 yards on the ground. Hopkins was back in the lineup after missing last week's double-overtime win against Miami (Ohio) with a hip injury.
Hard-running fullback Darnell Woolfolk had a nine-yard touchdown run in the game's final minute to finish with 89 yards on 24 carries.
A slow offensive start kept the Eagles from scoring in the first half, However, Eastern's defense kept Army from pulling away The nation's seventh-best red zone defense held the Black Knights to just three field goals and a touchdown in the first half.
A big stop from juniors Crosby and Ty Eddington held Army on its first offensive series of the matchup to a 23-yard field goal, while Harris' quarterback hurry stopped the Black Knights' touchdown hopes on their second try down the field. Army added an additional field goal and touchdown before the end of the first half to make it 16-0 at the break.
An electrified offense defined the third quarter for the Eagles, as they added two scores within the first six minutes of the period. The defense kicked the half off strong, forcing Army to its first offensive three-and-out series of the day. On the following EMU drive, the offense used the great field position given to them from a bad Army punt for its first touchdown of the game. The Green and White elected to go for two points after the score, converting on receiver Isaac Holder's pass to Wiegers to cut Army's lead in half, 16-8.
After another three-and-out drive by the Black Knights, a 58-yard dart from Wiegers to Banham cut Eastern's deficit to just two points, 16-14. Eastern once again elected to go for two points, but failed to convert.
Army responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive down the length of the gridiron, capped off by a 26-yard catch by Jordan Ashberry, to up its lead to 23-14. EMU's next offensive drive ended with a fumble turnover, and the Black Knights used the miscue to take 6:49 off the clock and add seven points on the board. With 11:26 left in the game, Army led 30-14.
The Eagles made one more scoring drive down the field, capped off by Banham's one-yard rush for a score and added a two-point conversion catch. That moved EMU to within eight at 30-22. However, Army came right back down the field, eating up almost seven minutes of time with a 12-play, 84-yard scoring drive to boost its lead back to 15, 37-22.
The Eagles continue their three-game homestand next Saturday, Nov. 3, taking on in-state rival Central Michigan University in a noon Mid-American Conference bout. The Chippewas and Eagles will be meeting for the 96th time.