Another slow start lead to an eighth straight defeat for the Eastern Michigan University Eagles, as they fell on the road to Miami University, 28-13, in Oxford, Ohio.
The Eagles (1-9, 0-5) fell behind 21-0 halfway through the second quarter, and were never able to recover, as the Redhawk defense sacked EMU quarterbacks nine times in the game.
“We had penalties and we had turnovers,” said EMU coach Chris Creighton. “We didn’t have a whole lot of energy to even start the game.”
Eastern Michigan quarterback Brogan Roback started the game, but gave way to Reggie Bell in the second quarter, who then played the entire second half.
“Yeah, that was the plan,” said Creighton. “We were going to play both guys, so that didn’t affect us there at all in a negative.”
Miami quarterback Billy Bahl found receiver Jared Murphy for a 33-yard touchdown pass with 10:25 left in the second quarter to open up the 21-0 Redhawk lead.
The only points the Eagles were able to muster in the first half came from a 49-yard field goal from Dylan Mulder.
EMU was able to score a touchdown on its first possession of the second half, as Bell led the offense 75 yards in 2:43 with Darius Jackson capping off the drive with his 13th rushing touchdown of the season, this one from two yards out.
Two possessions later for Miami, the Redhawks were able to extend the lead back to a three score advantage after secondary quarterback Gus Ragland found Murphy for a 12-yard touchdown pass on third down.
The final score of the game for either side turned out to be a record-setting score, as Mulder made a 55-yard field goal, good for longest in school history.
EMU, beyond Mulder, was unable to gain any traction on offense, partially due to the nine sacks yielded by the offensive line that was missing two starters.
“We had some first-time starters,” said Creighton. “It wasn’t just that. Obviously they had a real good defensive plan and we couldn’t anything about it.”
The Eagles return home next week for the final home game of the season and senior day, as they host the University of Massachusetts. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
Game Briefs:
-Darius Jackson, with his two-yard touchdown run today, gives him 14 total touchdowns on the season, 13 rushing and one receiving. Jackson just needs two more touchdowns to break the school record for touchdowns in a season, a record held by both Kerry Keating in 1957 and Ime Akpan in 2002 with 15 in each of those seasons. The Eagles have two games remaining, at home versus Massachusetts and on the road at Central Michigan, giving Jackson enough time to potentially break the school record.
-An 1-9 team, EMU has had one other constant besides Jackson in senior kicker Dylan Mulder. Along with breaking the school-record long with a 55-yard field goal today, Mulder also had a 49-yard kick in the game at Miami, giving him six field goals made this season from beyond 40 yards, along with three from more than 50 yards. Mulder is 10-of-14 on field goals this season.
