Ohio (4-3 overall, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) is coming off a solid win on Homecoming and Senior Day against Northern Illinois. It was a much needed bounce back after a tough loss to Ball State the week prior to the bye week.
With the Bobcats back in the thick of the MAC title race, they will play their last Saturday game until Black Friday this weekend on the road against Eastern Michigan (2-6 overall, 1-3 MAC). The Eagles are usually a very solid team, but this year the program has experienced some tough times, including an early-season loss to FCS Long Island.
Despite the struggles, Ohio will need to take care of business against Eastern Michigan, and with that, let’s take a look at the Eagles.
Head Coach
Eastern Michigan boasts one of the two longest-tenured head coaches in the MAC in Chris Creighton. Only he and Miami head coach Chuck Martin have spent 12 years with their current schools, a testament to their coaching ability, especially in today’s college football world where coaches are getting fired more than ever.
Creighton revived the Eastern Michigan program from the dead, taking a team that had not had a winning season since 1997 to its first winning season and bowl appearance in almost 20 years. Since he took the job in 2013, he has been rock solid, producing teams that are always scrappy and competitive.
Quarterback
Leading the Eagles under center this year is veteran graduate student quarterback Noah Kim. He has spent a lot of time in college football, first redshirting as a freshman at Michigan State in 2020.
He worked his way up the depth chart in East Lansing, earning the starting job for the Spartans in 2023, where he threw for 1,090 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions in six games before getting hurt.
He was at Coastal Carolina last year and didn’t do much, but this year at Eastern Michigan he has been productive, throwing for 1,792 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. Kim has also ran for 113 yards and four touchdowns.
Running Backs
To compliment the passing game, the Eagles have a very solid run game as well, led by graduate student running back Dontae McMillan. The former Weber State back has ran for a very solid 674 yards, averaging 5.8 yards per carry, but he only has two touchdowns on the year.
Backing him up is the senior Tavierre Dunlap, a former national champion with Michigan in 2023. He has been very solid this year since transferring to Eastern Michigan, rushing for 268 yards and three touchdowns.
Wide Receivers
The Eagles passing offense has been very good so far, putting up big numbers through the air with Kim, but the wealth is being spread around very well in Ypsilanti. There are eight players that have over 100 receiving yards on the year, but not one of those players has over 300 yards on the season.
The top dog so far this season is graduate student Nick Devereaux, who has 288 yards and three touchdowns on the year. Sophomore tight end Joshua Long is second in yards with 272 on the year and three touchdowns, while graduate student Terry Lockett Jr. is third with 263 yards and a score.
Defense
The defense is where the Eagles have been losing games this year, as they are 128 out of 134 FBS teams in total defense, and 11th worst in the country in scoring defense, allowing 33.5 points per game.
A defensive back duo of Bryce Llewellyn and Barry Manning lead the way in tackles for Eastern Michigan, combining for 116 tackles and five tackles for loss on the year. Their top linebacker this year is a former Bobcat in junior Andrew Marshall. He has 45 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss on the season.
