As rain and wind filled ‘The Factory’ inside of Rynearson Stadium, the Eastern Michigan University football team and Kent State University battled in slick conditions for a Mid-American Conference showdown in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Coming into the matchup, the all-time series sat at 19-15 with the Golden Flashes in the lead, but an 8-8 overall record in Ypsilanti was enough motivation for the Eagles to defend home territory as they came out on top, 28-14.
With the win, head coach Chris Creighton has officially tied former head coach Fred Trosko at the number two spot for all-time wins at EMU with 50. Creighton is just one of eight active FBS coaches with 180+ career victories (189 wins).
“I'm in the group right now that's not celebratory. I don’t feel good about today,” Creighton said, “And then my other comment, because it was brought up earlier, it took a long time.”
Things were soaring out of the gate for the Eagles as Kent State attempted an onside kick on the opening kickoff but senior defensive back Kendric Nowling (Chicago, Illinois) came in with a scoop-and-score to give the Eagles an early lead, 7-0, with 14:54 left in the first quarter.
After a back-and-forth defensive battle with Kent State totaling 16:34 time of possession, another score wasn’t seen until 44 seconds left in the second quarter as running back Samson Evans (Crystal Lake, Illinois) took a 19-yard run to the endzone to extend the Eagles’ lead, 14-0, to end the first half of play.
Although EMU held the advantage at halftime, Kent State was outshining them on the offensive side of the ball as they totaled 143 total yards to EMU’s 96 yards.
The Eagles would open up the second half right where they left off before halftime as junior quarterback Austin Smith (Ellenwood, Georgia) found senior wide receiver Tanner Knue (Mason, Ohio) in the back of the endzone for an 18-yard touchdown to extend the EMU lead, 21-0, with 7:02 left in the third quarter.
Kent State would fight back and get themselves on the board with 2:19 left in the third quarter as sophomore quarterback Tommy Ulatowski (Chicago, Illinois) found senior wide receiver Luke Floriea (Mentor, Ohio) for a 14-yard touchdown to cut the deficit, to 21-7.
The Eagles would add to their lead as Evans walked into the end zone for a second time on the day. That touchdown extended EMU’s lead to 28-7, with 9:28 left to play.
The Golden Flashes would answer back quickly after as Ulatowski found Floriea for their second connection of the day to cut the deficit, to 28-14, with 6:08 left to play.
It wasn’t enough from the Golden Flashes’ side as the Eagles held onto win their second consecutive.
The Eagles defense forced three Kent State fumbles on the day. Entering the game, Kent State hadn't lost a fumble yet all year.
“It starts with takeaways there's no question,” Creighton said. “Our defense played really well…we held them in check.”
Although the Eagles walk away with the victory, Kent State outplayed EMU on the offensive end.
The Golden Flashes would total 343 yards of offense to EMU’s 218 yards.
“We do feel good about accomplishing the goal of winning the game,” Creighton said. “Bigger picture we feel as though we can be better than that.”
Next up, the Eastern Michigan University football team will travel to Dekalb, Illinois, for a date with Northern Illinois University on Saturday, Oct. 21. Kickoff for that matchup is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed on ESPN+.
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