Eastern Michigan held a 28-15 lead over the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils with just over 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. However, after allowing a one-yard touchdown run by Keonte Lucas and a 68-yard strike from Aaron Winchester to Tyshaun James, the Eagles found themselves staring at a one point deficit with just 20 seconds remaining. That is until Matthew Sexton made the game-winning play.
Heading into the final week of the non-conference portion of the schedule for the Eastern Michigan football team and the rest of the MAC, both divisions of the conference are tight from top to bottom. None of the 14 teams are undefeated but three programs lead the way with a 2-1 record. Those teams are Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan. The Eagles are fresh off an upset victory over then-undefeated Illinois.
The Eastern Michigan Eagles have a chance to accomplish something that has only been done once in head coach Chris Creighton's tenure with the team, which is starting the season with a 3-1 record. The Eagles will have a chance to do so when they face Central Connecticut State on Saturday Sept. 21 at Rynearson Stadium in the home opener.
Eastern Michigan’s marching band, also known as the “Pride of the Peninsula,” performed at the Detroit Lions season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. At halftime, nearly 200 students took the field to perform Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” Usher’s “DJ Got Us Falling In Love” and Beyoncé‘s “Crazy in Love.”
Former Eastern Michigan football players faced off against one another in the NFL on Sunday, Sept. 15. Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Andrew Wylie played Oakland Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby. These two NFL starters were on the Eagles team in 2015 and 2016.
The Eastern Michigan men’s golf team started its 2019-20 season on Sept. 9 in Huntington West Virginia at the 50th Annual Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational. To open the two-day tournament up, the team, led by head coach Bruce Cunningham, tied the lowest 18-hole round in program history with a nine-under 272. The previous record of 272 was set on Feb. 26, 2018 in the third round of the Loyola Intercollegiate.
Eastern Michigan played Navy Saturday, Sept. 14 at the Convocation Center. Eastern came into this game with a 3-3 record, fresh off of a 3-0 rout of McNeese State to end the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic. Eastern Michigan started the Michigan Challenge with its game against Navy, a three-game event featuring Navy, the University of Michigan and Purdue-Fort Wayne. Navy came into the game 3-4, while losing three of its last four before defeating the Eagles in five sets.
Eastern Michigan men’s basketball head coach Rob Murphy announced 10 new signees to the roster for the season, on Monday, Aug. 26. Four of the signees are incoming freshmen while the remaining six signees are transfers. Shamar Dillard, Marcus Gibbs, Chris James and Luis Pacheco are the four new freshmen.
After defeating Rutgers in 2017 and Purdue in 2018, Eastern Michigan has defeated an opponent from the Big Ten conference for the third consecutive season. The Eagles upset the previously unbeaten Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday by a final score of 34-31. Sophomore kicker Chad Ryland made a 24-yard field goal as time expired to seal the Eastern Michigan victory. Ryland converted on both of his field goal attempts, including a career-high of 52 yards. He also connected on all but one of his extra-point tries.
Playing in just four games as a redshirt freshman, wide receiver Quian Williams of Oklahoma City gained valuable playing experience with the Eagles but did not record any receptions. However, his sophomore season has gotten off to a very promising start. After the first two games of 2019, Williams has found himself in a position where he is one of quarterback Mike Glass III's favorite targets. Williams has already snagged eight passes for 92 total yards and his first career touchdown.
The EMU women’s volleyball team opened up its season against Utah State on Aug. 30. The Eagles got off to a flying start with a 3-2 victory but proceeded to go 2-3 in their next five games, with losses to Southern Utah, Xavier and Louisiana. The wins were against Florida A&M and most recently, McNeese State. Eastern swept McNeese state with scores of 25-11, 25-20 and 26-24.
The Eastern Michigan football program took a tough loss at the hands of the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday, September 7, by a final score of 38-17. The Eagles now set their sights on the Fighting Illini of the University of Illinois, who earned a 31-23 victory against Connecticut a week ago. Despite a season-high 337 passing yards by QB Mike Glass III, the Eagles found the end zone just twice, both coming through the air. Glass also threw his first two interceptions of the season against the Wildcats.
The newest addition to the Eastern Michigan women’s swimming team is Derek Perkins, coming over from the University of Kentucky. Perkins has 16 years of collegiate coaching behind him with eight of those years at Kentucky. The former head coach was Peter Linn, who coached at EMU for 31 years. While Linn was head coach, EMU earned 299 individual MAC Championships, he was MAC men’s swimming coach of the year eight times and MAC women’s swimming coach of the year twice.
Eastern Michigan University’s women’s basketball assistant coach Cassandra Callaway has been promoted to recruiting coordinator, per EMU Athletics. Callaway will be going into her fourth season as an assistant coach alongside Fred Castro. Starting the 2019-20 season, she will have the duties of an assistant coach as well as the recruiting coordinator.
Fred Castro, who is the EMU women’s basketball head coach for the fourth year, released the Eagles’ 2019-20 schedule on Sept. 4. This new schedule opens up play with EMU playing Michigan State in East Lansing on Nov. 5.
The Eastern Michigan men’s basketball 2019-20 schedule was released on Aug. 26. The Eagles will compete in 31 games in the upcoming regular season, excluding the MAC Tournament. Out of the 31 games, 15 games will be held at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti. Much like last season, EMU will also compete against a number of non-conference teams. Three of those matchups will be against teams that competed in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
The Eastern Michigan Eagles fell to the Kentucky Wildcats, 38-17, on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Kroger Field in Lexington. Senior quarterback Mike Glass III had 337 yards in the loss. With the loss, the Eagles fall to 1-1 on the season, while Kentucky stays perfect with a 2-0 record. The Wildcats out-gained Eastern Michigan, 461-386 in total yardage. Arthur Jackson III led the Eagles in receiving with 71 yards on five catches.
Fresh off a 30-23 victory over the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina, the Eastern Michigan Eagles remain on the road for a battle with the Kentucky Wildcats out of the SEC on Saturday, Sept. 7. The University of Kentucky spent a majority of the 2018 college football season in the top 25 of the AP Poll. The Wildcats defeated MAC rival Toledo in its previous game by a score of 38-24. Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson, took the reigns of the offense and completed 19 of 26 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns.
The Eastern Michigan men’s basketball program is just over two months away from the beginning of the 2020 campaign. With the season quickly approaching, questions regarding the current state of the program need to be answered. The Eagles will hope to bounce back from last season with nine new additions to the program.
