EMU had its own bounce-back victory last week when it edged Ball State 20-16 in Muncie. The Eagles have now won three of theire last four and are 2-2 in conference play. Despite last week's setback, Toledo remains atop the West Division with its 3-1 MAC record.
This is the 50th meeting between the two programs, with UT leading the all-time series 36-13. However, the Eagles prevailed in the most recent meeting 52-49. That Nov. 3, 2021 victory made Eastern Michigan bowl eligible. With both teams currently sitting at 5-3 overall, one of the two will become bowl eligible with a win Saturday.
Here's more on the two teams . . .
TOLEDO ROCKETS (5-3, 3-1 MAC)
~~ UT's three-game winning streak came to an end last Saturday at Buffalo. The Rockets led 20-7 at intermission and were in front 27-10 after three period. Buffalo, however, came to life in the final stanza, running off 24 unanswered points. All three touchdowns were squeezed into a stretch of 5:07 beginning at 13:13.
~~ Toledo contributed to its own demise by losing the turnover battle 6-1. Buffalo picked off a four passes and pounced on two fumbles. The last four Rocket drives ended with interception, downs, interception, interception.
~~ Overall, quarterback DeQuann Finn completed 25 of 47 passes, good for 240 yards with one TD and four interceptions.
~~ Jerjuan Newton led UT receivers with six catches for 54 yards. Five players had at least three receptions.
~~ Jacquez Stuart paced the ground attack with 14 carries for 107 yards. Finn also logged 14 carries, running for 66 yards and two scores.
~~ Maxen Hook and Dyontae Johnson each notched 12 tackles to lead Toledo's defense on the day.
~~ Thomas Cluckey hit all three PATs and connected on both field goal attempts, with a long of 39. Punter Jonathon Batzke averaged 51 yards on three punts. The longest went for 91 yards!
~~ Quinyon Mitchell leads the MAC in pass breakups and is second in interceptions (4).
~~ Toledo leads the league in scoring offense (37.0 ppg) and is third in scoring defense (27.3 ppg).
EASTERN MICHIGAN (5-3, 2-2 MAC)
~~ Like Toledo, EMU lost in its matchup against Buffalo. In fact, that game also ended with the Bulls dominating play late. Eastern Michigan was up 31-30 following a Darius Boone Jr. touchdown run at 10:30 of the third period. However, UB scored 19 straight points to claim the 50-31 victory.
~~ It was EMU rallying late last week as the Eagles erased Ball State's 16-10 lead with 10 fourth quarter points for a 20-16 win.
~~ Eastern Michigan owned a 3-0 advantage in turnovers. The Eagles outgained Ball State 358-292 on the day and controlled the ball for 37:09.
~~ Sophomore Austin Smith completed 20 of 34 passes totaling 197 yards. His top receiver was Hassan Beydoun with 10 catches for 85 yards.
~~ EMU picked up a total of 161 yards on the ground. Smith and Boone led the way with a combined 30 trips totaling 96 yards and one TD.
~~ Joe Sparacio led the Eagles defense with 15 tackles. Quentavius Scandrett and Robert Daniel Jr. each recorded an interception, with the former returning his 34 yards.
~~ Kicker Jesus Gomez connected on two PATs and two field goals, including a long of 55 yards.
~~ One week after failing to get into the red zone (for the first time since 2014), the EMU offense bounced back against Ball State, Oct. 22. The Eagles were a perfect 3-for-3 when getting inside the Cardinal 20-yard line Saturday, bringing their season total to 28-for-29, which equates to 97 percent. That number is the best of any team in the Mid-American Conference and fifth nationally.
~~ EMU ranks sixth (MAC) in scoring (27.4 ppg) and is seventh in scoring defense (30.6 ppg).
~~ Jaylon Jackson tops MAC kick returners with an average of 33.5 yards per return on 11 carries.
~~ A win would lift Eastern Michigan into a tie for first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division standings. Moreover,
it would give EMU a tie break advantage over the Rockets in the event the two programs finished the regular season with the same league record. Although four games still remain in the regular season, Eastern hopes to position itself for a run to the MAC Championship game. EMU is the only conference member to have never made an appearance in the annual event.