Eastern Michigan Eagles drop their first game of the season on the road to Buffalo by a final score of 35-28. After falling behind early in the first half, EMU fought valiantly but inevitably fell. Junior quarterback Mike Glass III stepped up a delivered an impressive performance after not starting the game but his efforts were not enough as the team suffered their first loss of the season.
In the first quarter EMU’s offense found little success. Tyler Wiegers opened the game for the Eagles at quarterback but failed to get the offense going. Buffalo however had no issues on the offensive end of the field as they scored two early touchdowns to take a 14 point lead into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, EMU’s offense came to life. Glass entered the game and things really began to click for the Eagles. His first offensive possession only took two plays for EMU to score as Glass connected with wide receiver Arthur Jackson III for a 76 yard touchdown pass. The 70 yard pass opened the floodgates for both offenses as Buffalo responded with a 70 yard touchdown pass of their own the very next play. The long range scoring didn’t stop from there as Glass delivered another deep strike, this one to team captain Blake Banham, for 75 yards and a touchdown. In three plays and under 45 seconds of gametime, the two offenses combined for over 220 yards and 21 points making the score 21-14 in favor of the Bulls.
The scoring didn’t stop there in the second as each team still had a touchdown left in them. Unlike the prior three possessions, the two teams focused on sustainability to score their next points. Buffalo scored on a six play, 65 yard drive following the Banham touchdown that was capped off by a two yard rush from running back Kevin Marks. EMU took over with two minutes left in the half, more than enough time to get a drive of their own in before heading into halftime. EMU used the entire remaining time in the second quarter to score. The 14 play, 75 yard march down the field was driven primarily on the legs of Glass. With only a second remaining on the game clock, rather than choosing to take a field goal, Head Coach Chris Creighton sent out the offense for the final play. Glass handed the ball off to running back Shaq Vann who crossed the goalline with no time left on the clock. His touchdown ended a 35 point quarter between the two teams and sent EMU into the locker room trailing by a touchdown.
Coming out of the break, both defenses took the field hungry. The third quarter was dominated by defense as neither team managed to secure any points. Wiegers returned for the Eagles and had the team driving midway through the 3rd. Wiegers and Glass swapped reps until Glass fumbled following an 11 yard run deep in Buffalo territory turning the ball over to the Bulls.
In the fourth, the big plays returned for the Bulls. Buffalo scored yet another 75 yard touchdown, this time on a pass from Jackson K.J. Osborn. Osborn scored twice on the day with both touchdowns being from over 70 yards away from the endzone. Eastern’s offense managed to respond but there was little time left. Glass scored on a one yard touchdown run to bring the Eagles within a touchdown but only 40 seconds remained. The team attempted an onside kick but failed to recover. Buffalo ran out the clock, ending the game with a final score of 35-28.
A game full of offensive fireworks failed to end in favor of the Eagles. Following the loss, the team now turns its attention towards San Diego State. For the third week in a row EMU will take to the road for their game. The matchup with San Diego State is EMU’s final non-conference game of the season and takes place on Saturday, September 22nd. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. PST or 10:30 p.m. EST.
