Doyt L. Perry Stadium - Bowling Green, OH
ESPN+
After falling short against defending MAC champ Ball State last week, Eastern Michigan hopes to bounce back with a win at Bowling Green Saturday. A victory would put EMU at .500 in MAC play move the Eagles within one game of bowl eligibility.
Bowling Green, meanwhile, is trying to break a three-game losing streak -- all against MAC opponents. In fact, The last Falcons win in conference play was Nov. 2, 2019 when BGSU defeated Akron, 35-6.
BGSU leads the all-time series with EMU, 25-13-1, who has won the last two contests. EMU took both contests by just three points, winning 28-25 on BGSU’s home turf, Oct. 1, 2016, before securing a 34-31 triumph inside Rynearson Stadium, Nov. 21, 2017.
Here is more on the two teams . . .
EASTERN MICHIGAN (4-3, 1-2 MAC)
>> Eastern Michigan committed two turnovers and played from behind all day while falling to Ball State last week. BSU took an early 14-0 lead and led 31-17 early in the fourth quarter. The Eagles twice pulled within seven points and took over for a final drive with just over two minutes left. That possession lasted just six plays, however, as Ball State's Malcolm Lee intercepted a Ben Bryant pass.
>> Bryant was busy, throwing 48 passes while completing 35 for 331 yards with one TD and two picks. He was sacked three times. With the effort, Bryant became the first EMU passer to amass 30+ completions in a contest since Oct. 19, 2019, when Preston Hutchinson did it against Western Michigan. Additionally, his 72.9 completion percentage (35-of-48) is his single-game high, while his 331 passing yards were his second-most of the season, falling seven yards short of the 338 he threw for at Northern Illinois, Oct. 2.
>> Hassan Beydoun and Dylan Drummond combined for 19 catches, 186 yards and a score. Beydoun leads the team with 47 catches for 493 yards and 1 TD on the season. Drummond has three TDs among 34 receptios for 438 yards.
>> Eastern Michigan netted just 46 yards rushing, with Jawan Hamilton producing 40 yards. Three Eagles TDs came on the ground -- two by Darius Boone, although he netted minus-four yeards on the day.
>> The Eagles are third among MAC teams in scoring (29.3 ppg) and second in scoring defense (22.8 ppg). They are fifth in passing (231.5 ypg) and ninth in rushing (125.3 ypg).
>> The Eagles have played in 38 one-score games since the beginning of the 2016 season, and hold a 16-22 record in those contests. The setbacks have been by an average of just 5.3 points. Overall, 19 of the 38 games have been decided by three-or-less. According to ESPN, since 2018 only one team has recorded more onepossession heartbreaks – Nebraska. The Huskers have 17 losses of the sort, while EMU and North Carolina each have 14 in that span.
>> EMU has forced eight turnovers in 2021, and has scored points off of each (5 touchdowns, 3 field goals). EMU has scored 44 points off those turnovers, once as a direct result of the play (98-yard interception-for-touchdown at Wisconsin), and seven times in its subsequent offensive possession.
>> EMU’s 43.8 net yards per punt ranks first in the MAC and 10th nationally. In addition to that number, EMU’s kick return defense is also top-30 in the country, allowing just 17.88 return yards per game in 2021, which ranks 27th nationally and fifth in the MAC.
>> Each time this season that EMU has failed to score on an opening drive of the game (four times in seven games), it has failed to score at all in the first quarter. That trend continued against Ball State, Oct. 16. On the season, EMU ranks 79th in the FBS in first quarter offensive production at just 4.7 points per game. Conversely, the Green and White are tied with Michigan and Ohio State for the 13thbest fourth quarter offense, pouring in an average of 9.8 points per contest.
>> No team in the Mid-American Conference is more successful on third down than Eastern Michigan. As an offense, Eastern converts 46 percent (42-of-91) of its third down tries. That number ranks 25th in the nation. EMU was 9-of-13 in its most recent contest, against Ball State, Oct. 16. EMU has converted 56 percent of its third-and-short attempts (9-of-16), 68 percent of its thirdand-medium tries (22-of-32), and 25 percent of its third-and-long attempts (11-of-43).
>> Junior linebacker Tariq Speights led the EMU defense with 13 stops against Ball State, Oct. 16. That number is a new career-best for the Valencia, Calif. native, who has now tabbed 10+ tackles in five games with the Green and White during his career. Through seven games, Speights is the team’s leader in total tackles, with 45 (8 solo, 47 assisted). He is tied for second on the team with two pass breakups, and is one of seven players to have at least one sack on the season.
>> The Falcons are still looking for that first MAC win and are anxious to stop a three-game slide. Counting wins is much more fun. For what it's worth, BGSU gets Eastern Michigan on its own turf.
>> After taking an early 7-0 lead last week against MAC-perfect Northern Illinois (3-0 MAC), Bowling Green spent the rest of the day trying to catch up with NIU. The Huskies out-scored BGSU 21-3 in the second period and were up 34-16 with 14:45 left to play. Bowling Green pulled within eight with 6:25 left, however, the Falcons managed just 12 yards on their next drive and could only reach midfield on a final possession.
>> BGSU out-gained the Huskies 396-357 overall.
>> The Falcons have shined in pass defense, topping the MAC by allowing just 147.6 ypg through the air. They surrendered just 38 passing yards to Northern Illinois. However, the Huskies ran for 357 yards.
>> NIU, which logged 59 rushes, averaged 5.4 per carry and Bowling Green did even better with 5.6 ypc, eventually producing 161 rushing yards on 28 trips.
>> Bowling Green QB Matt McDonald ranks second among MAC passers (234.4 ypg) and matched that mark with 235 yards (1 TD) against Northern Illinois. However, he completed just 16 of 41 attempts (39%).
>> McDonald finished as the Falcons leading rusher against NIU, getting 75 yards out of six carries (12.5 ypc). Forty-nine of those came on one play. Taron Keith logged 11 carries for 39 stripes.
>> Jhaylin Embery, Austin Osborne and Tyrone Broden combined for 10 catches and 84 yards.
>> Three Falcon defenders registered double digit tackles : Davon Ferguson (17, 10 solo), Darren Anders (12) and Brock Home (11).
>> Kicker Nate Needham nailed all four field goal tries, including a 49-yard effort. The senior has yet to miss a field goal this year (13-of-13) and is 11-of-12 on PATs. His long for the season is 52 yards. He is the only kicker in the nation still perfect with at least nine makes.
>> Punter Matt Naranjo has 14 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. That is tops in the MAC and tied for No. 12 nationally.
>> The Falcons has four blocked kicks this season - three punts, one field goal.
>> This year’s BGSU team has allowed the second-fewest passing yards (1,033) through the first seven games of a season in records dating back to 2000.
>> CB Davon Ferguson is making his mark after coming to Bowling Green as a transfer from Kansas last spring. Ferguson has 41 solo tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Only two players in the nation have 40+ solo tackles and 8.0+ tackles for loss.
>> Bowling Green has 16.0 sacks through seven games, which is the fourth most sacks through the first seven games of a season in records dating back to 2000.
>> Overall, BGSU has forced at least one turnover in six of seven games this season.