The Eagles improved to 5-3 on the year and 2-2 in Mid-American Conference play, while the Falcons fell to 2-6 and 0-4.
Quarterback Ben Bryant led Eastern Michigan's passing attack with 286 yards through the air, tossing two touchdowns without throwing an interception. The senior also contributed one touchdown on the ground.
Freshman running back Samson Evans paced the Eagles rushing attack by accumulating 42 yards over the course of the game, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Fellow underclassman Darius Boone Jr. also added 37 yards and one touchdown on the ground, averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
Junior tight end Gunnar Oakes pulled in four catches for 79 yards and one score. Meanwhile, junior wideout Dylan Drummond made his presence felt in the passing game, recording six receptions for 63 yards and one touchdown. The Eagles also added 56 yards receiving and one touchdown from senior tight end Bryson Cannon in the game.
Junior safety Russell Vaden showed out for the Eastern Michigan defense, collecting one interception. Sophomore Robert Daniel Jr. added four tackles and one recovered fumble and fellow sophomore Jose Ramirez had 1.0 TFL, one sack, and two pass breakups in the win.
The Eagles won the turnover battle, forcing two turnovers while losing the ball one time. Eastern Michigan turning its takeaways into seven points. Eastern Michigan converted on 58.3 percent of third-down attempts on the day.
Defensively, Eastern Michigan held up well against the Bowling Green rushing attack, holding the Falcons to 130 yards on the ground.
Eastern Michigan took care of business in the red zone, scoring five times on five trips inside Bowling Green's 20-yard line, picking up touchdowns on four of those trips.
How It Happened
>> Eastern Michigan put points on the board on eight different occasions. After a BGSU field goal, the Eagles took a 7-3 lead with 14:16 left in the second quarter. Bryant hit Cannon for a 31-yard touchdown reception to finish off a six-play, 80-yard drive.
>> After Bowling Green scored to take the lead, Eastern Michigan got back on top with a touchdown to take control for good at 14-10 with 6:07 left in the second quarter. Bryant carried it for a one-yard touchdown run to end an eight-play, 61-yard drive. The Eagles then pulled away, increasing their advantage by 27 points along the way.
Game Notes
>> Bowling Green's Matt McDonald completed 20-of-35 passes, totaling 223 yards and was picked off once.
>> Eleven different Falcons caught at least one pass. Austin Osborne led the way with five balls for 42 yards.
>> All three BGSU touchdowns came on the ground and were by three different players: Terion Steewart, Nick Mosley and Jaison Patterson. Stewart led the group with eight rushes for 57 yards (7.1 ypc).
>> Darren Anders led the Falcon defense with 13 tackles (6 solo), including one sack.
>> BGSU was 6-of-14 on third down.
>> Eastern Michigan outgained Bowling Green 455-374, including a 325-244 advantage through the air.
>>EMU's Bryant completed 76.9 percent of his passes on the day, going 20-for-26 while averaging 11 yards per attempt. Hecompleted 76.9% (20-of-26) of his passes against the Falcons. That number is a new EMU-career-high for Byrant.
>> Vaden recorded his second interception of the season when he picked off BGSU's quarterback during the Falcon's first possession of the second half.
>> Evans rushed for a season-best 42 yards on eight attempts against the Falcons. His effort also included a season-best 19 yard burst.
>> In addition to his strong game rushing, Evans also showed his passing ability against BGSU. In addition to his 2-for-2 effort in the game (both on deception plays), he was able to record his first-ever passing touchdown when he hit Drummond on a 16-yard strike in the third quarter. In doing so, he became the first non-quarterback to throw for a TD for EMU since Drummond himself did it against Texas State, Sept. 25.