The Eastern Michigan University football team comes off its bye week with momentum on its side after winning the Michigan Mid-American Conference trophy by defeating Central Michigan and Western Michigan in back-to-back weeks.
The Eagles (5-3, 3-1 MAC) will play the Ball State Cardinals (5-4, 3-2 MAC) for the second game of their three-game home stand. Kickoff is noon Saturday at Rynearson Stadium. The Eagles are 2-point favorites, and the game will be on Channel 7 in Detroit.
EMU is ranked second in the MAC west division, behind Toledo and Northern Illinois, both 4-1. With a win against BSU, the Eagles would move into a tie for first place with Toledo and NIU after the Huskies beat the Rockets on Tuesday night 63-60.
If the Eagles want to keep their 4-0 home record perfect and make themselves eligible for a bowl game, the offense will need to continue doing what has worked so far: run effectively.
EMU is ranked 15th in the nation in rush yards per game, averaging 226.1.
Scoring has been a challenge as the Eagles rank 105th out of 120 teams in the nation in points per game. EMU has had scoring outbursts of 41 points against Howard University on opening day and 35 points against CMU three weeks ago, but the Eagles’ offense has only scored 20 points on one other occasion when it put up 31 points in a victory against Akron.
Ball State yields many points on defense as it is ranked 102nd in the country in points allowed. The Cardinals have allowed 40 or more points on three occasions, including 45 points in a loss to WMU last week and and a 62-6 loss to Oklahoma.
The Eagles’ passing game will need to find a rhythm because, as effective as the rushing offense has been all season, the passing game is essential. As the old saying goes, “You must execute to succeed.” The Eagles will need to do just that because the passing game has been disappointing.
Defensively, the Eagles will need to be prepared for the pass and the run. Ball State is ranked in the middle of the pack in rushing and passing yards per game. The pass rush will, as always, need to be effective because the Cardinals’ quarterback Keith Wenning has a completed 65.2 percent of his passes with 13 touchdown and eight interceptions.
BSU’s biggest offensive weapon is running back Jahwan Edwards, who averages 4.6 yards per carry and has a total of nine rushing touchdowns. Edwards is not much of a receiving threat, however, as he has seven catches for 31 yards.
If the Eagles want a chance to win the MAC, they will first need to do their job and win all of their games. The first step is to defeat Ball State, which was coach Ron English’s first-career victory last season in a 41-38 overtime thriller at Ball State.
