The Eastern Michigan Eagles kicked off their 2026 football campaign with a 28-17 opening-night victory against visiting Sacramento State on August 29, 2026. Beyond securing a key victory, Eastern Michigan achieved a historic clean sweep of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Player of the Week awards for Week 0. This sweep highlights an outstanding team performance across the offensive, defensive, and special teams units.
On offense, fifth-year quarterback Noah Kim earned MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors after completing 27-of-38 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns, while adding a rushing score. Kim’s ground score represented the first points of the 2026 season. His 279 passing yards marked his fourth-best performance in 13 games as an Eagle. This game was the third time in his career that he recorded at least two passing scores and one rushing touchdown, the fourth-highest total of such games by an EMU player since 1995. Having arrived at EMU with zero career rushing touchdowns, Kim has now run in seven scores. He has recorded at least one passing and one rushing touchdown in six career games, ranking third in program history since 1995. Nationally, Kim's Week 0 performance left him ranked second in completion percentage (71.1%) and points responsible for (18), while standing fourth in passing yards.
Defensively, fourth-year linebacker Zach Mowchan was named MAC Defensive Player of the Week. The Dillsburg, Pennsylvania native posted a game-high 14 tackles, including seven solo stops and 1.5 tackles for loss. Mowchan's tackling output fell just one stop short of matching his career-best mark of 15 tackles, set against Jacksonville State on September 14, 2024. Under Mowchan's leadership, the revamped Eagles defense stood firm against the Sacramento State Hornets. The defense allowed only 10 offensive points, which included a 40-yard field goal and a touchdown that capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive. In the first half, Mowchan’s unit completely shut down the Hornets' attack, permitting only 34 total offensive yards and holding them to -21 rushing yards. In total, the Eagles allowed just 271 yards of offense to a team that averaged 416.5 last year, while forcing two takeaways.
The special teams unit completed the sweep as fifth-year wide receiver and former walk-on Nick Devereaux was named MAC Special Teams Player of the Week. Handling kick return duties for the first time in his career, Devereaux returned three kicks for 81 yards, including an explosive 40-yard return. He also excelled as a receiver, gaining 73 yards and catching a touchdown. Devereaux accumulated a career-high 154 all-purpose yards, marking only the second time in his career he surpassed 100 all-purpose yards. This performance eclipsed his previous career-best of 121 receiving yards set against Ohio on October 25 last year. Devereaux concluded Week 0 ranked second nationally in combined kick return yards and fourth in all-purpose yards.
These individual honors highlight Eastern Michigan's complete-team readiness as they look ahead to their next matchup against San Jose State on September 4, 2026.
