Eastern Michigan preview

[tg33emu]

I know that not too many people will be following the Eagles this season, but there is money there to be won either on or against them. Take it for what it's worth. Here is your 2009 EMU football preview:

September 5 - Army
The Ron English era gets kicked off with a bang in front of 22,000 screaming Eagle fans. Eastern gets out to an early 3-0 lead and never looks back.
Final Score: EMU 31 Army 30
1-0

September 12 @ Northwestern
The ghosts of Jeff Genyk past haunt the Eagles in Evanston. Looking for their first 2-0 start in our lifetime, the Eagles fight valiantly but come up just short. Close game until halftime.
Final Score: N'western 45 EMU 20
1-1

September 19 @ Michigan
The battle of Washtenaw County has been one sided forever and the Eagles were looking to change this. With 350 Eagles fans, including the band, making the trip down Washtenaw, the Eagles get thumped. Never a game. Take Michigan and the over in this one. Rich Rod's first chance to run it up on a team and poor EMU gets it on the chin.
Final Score: Michigan 51 EMU 17
1-2

October 3 - Temple
This is one of the games when we were doing parking when we wondered if ANYONE was going to show up. Temple sucks, we suck and not many fans will travel from Philly to Ypsi. The Eagles use this to their advantage as they are used to playing in front of little to no people and keep their perfect home record going.
Final Score: EMU 31 Temple 27
2-2 (1-0)

October 10 @ Central Michigan
For some reason the Eagles show up against the Chippewas whether the game is in Ypsi or Mt. Pleasant. With huge Motor City Bowl implications, the Eagles come out fired up as they are on top of the MAC West since the Charlie Batch era. Mr. Lefevour is still reeling from his pitiful 2008 Motor City Bowl and never gets on track. A couch is burnt on Summit St after the game.
UPSET SPECIAL OF THE YEAR: EMU 37 Central Michigan 34
3-2 (2-0)

October 17 - Kent St
All of the local high schools show up for 'Band Day' to watch this epic battle between EMU and Kent St. I never understood this, but what in the hell is band day? Do they actually make those poor tuba players pay to get in to see this? This is the game that got away. There is always one very winnable game that the Eagles let get away and this is the one. There is also one game a year that someone on the other team sets a stadium record and this is the one for that as well. Kent St QB Joe Blow throws for 475 yds and a Rynearson Stadium record 7 TD in a shootout.
Final Score: Kent St. 56 EMU 40
3-3 (2-1)

October 24 - Ball St
Thank God Nate Davis decided to leave early to begin his AFL2 career or else he might have been able to break the Kent St. QB record for TD passes, but he has moved on. Wearing their pink jerseys for ‘Kick and Dig Pink’ day, the Eagles take no prisoners. Ron English devises a masterful defensive game plan and the Eagles soar. Eagles fans Tom Gallus and Sean Harrington purchase their MAC Championship game tickets on the 50 yd line.
Final Score: EMU 27 Kent St 13
4-3 (3-1)

October 31 @ Arkansas
If only the season ended after seven games. The Razorbacks and former Michigan QB Ryan Mallett put one on the Eagles. But that’s okay, they are still in first in the MAC West.
Final Score: Arkansas 38 EMU 10
4-4 (3-1)

November 5 @ Northern Illinois
No respect for the Huskies in baseball, much love for them in football. Ron English and co. get haunted again, this time by the ghost of ‘the guy from NIU’s baseball team that got the port a potty dumped on his head.’ NIU players decide that there is no way they would let the Eagles win the West and take care of business.
Final Score: Northern Illinois 31 EMU 17
4-5 (3-2)

November 14 – Western Michigan
My house divided and unfortunately I don’t win this in too many events except gymnastics, track and field and baseball. The Bronco fans bring twice as many fans to Rynearson and take over the stadium. The seniors give it their all in their last game at the friendly confines, but come up short, hurting their chances for a MAC West championship.
Final Score: WMU 34 EMU 27
4-6 (3-3)

November 27 @ Toledo
We rarely beat anyone in football, but even more rarely do we give the Rockets a game let alone beat them. In a game where the Eagles come out flat and are down big at the half, the Rockets cruise. MAC West hopes are crushed as are a crappy bowl bid with 6 wins.
Final Score: Toledo 44 EMU 13
4-7 (3-4)

November 27 @ Akron
Last but not least! Why is it that almost every team in the MAC has had a good season in the past ten to fifteen seasons and/or had a game on a Tuesday or Wednesday on ESPN except for the Eagles? With our best players dreaming of the Canadian Football League (have you ever noticed that we do have a couple of high draft picks in the CFL every year) the Zips walk the dog. No fight left. It’s cold and the players want to get on the warm bus.
Final Score: Akron 27 EMU 13
4-8 (3-5)

A five game losing streak to end the season….a season that started with so much promise.

 

[BigdaddyQH]

I do not see them defeating Central Michigan, but they are capableof pulling an upset in the weak MAC, so 4-8 is certainly doable. People at Michigan will be watching, because for some strange reason, a lot of them would rather have had English as their HC than RR.

 

[tg33emu]

I think RR will be better, just needs a little more time. He will be much better this year with a QB that can play in his system. RE is good for EMU though too.

 

[letsgohoosiers]

Are you gonna be at the Army game?

Not sure I like EMU in many games this year. Went to the spring game and the offense was putrid. And considering that was their strength last year, that's saying something.

Temple is a much better team than they get credit for. I think they beat EMU.

 

[fivestarjake]

funny you made a thread on this. i'm actually high on the eagles this year. veteran team with sr backfield and strong off line. should have a much improved defense also. new coaches who step into situations like this tend to fare better than expected. i like the depth at rb/te.

i agree they beat army. they have seen the wishbone 2 of 3 yrs but this time have the summer to prepare. i will be playing these eagles in game 1 but depending on the line will dictate how. i have them as high as -5. but depending on what line vegas offers will dictate how i play them.

 

[fivestarjake]

Are you gonna be at the Army game?

Not sure I like EMU in many games this year. Went to the spring game and the offense was putrid. And considering that was their strength last year, that's saying something.

Temple is a much better team than they get credit for. I think they beat EMU.

maybe the defense will be better than expected???

 

[FairWarning]

As a Western fan, I will be voting for the Hurons (in my book) vs Michigan. EMU staring at a 3-win season.

 

[goblue12]

Beating Army would be a fairly big win for English seeing how EMU is 3-37 OOC vs. FBS teams the past decade or so according to James Howell's database.

Wonder if they can retain the Michigan MAC Cup for the 3rd straight year. That should be the goal this year.

 

[tg33emu]

Thanks for the response. I will be posting the Wisconsin preview tomorrow. I enjoy hearing what you guys think and what you think of my predictions.

 

[tg33emu]

Mr. Fair Warning

I'm hoping you are off on your prediction of 3 wins. If history will hold true, they will get 3 and only three. I'm hoping the new staff can breathe a little life into this program. So close to Detroit, they should be able to get the Michigan/Michigan St/Ohio St leftovers from the city.

 

[BigdaddyQH]

You are talking about Detroit, not Southern California. After Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, how many leftovers can their be? Remember these kids have to be smart enough to get into college. Oh yea, don't forget about Notre Dame either.

 

[mws]

funny you made a thread on this. i'm actually high on the eagles this year. veteran team with sr backfield and strong off line. should have a much improved defense also. new coaches who step into situations like this tend to fare better than expected. i like the depth at rb/te.

i agree they beat army. they have seen the wishbone 2 of 3 yrs but this time have the summer to prepare. i will be playing these eagles in game 1 but depending on the line will dictate how. i have them as high as -5. but depending on what line vegas offers will dictate how i play them.

I agree. I think there will be some early value in this team.
<!-- / message -->

 

[tg33emu]

Big Daddy

I guess you have never been to Detroit. No it may not be Southern California, but there is probably five or six DI potential athletes on every team in the city. I'm not saying that EMU should be able to get a 5 star athlete, but a 2 or 3 star that lives close to home that might put some warm bodies in the stands. EMU had one player on their roster from Detroit last year and they are 25 minutes from city limits. Now being academically eligible is another issue, one that probably does hold a ton of kids back unfortunately. :cripwalk:

 

[letsgohoosiers]

Tough to pick up good recruits because of the competition. Ohio and Michigan alone have 9 MAC schools. So you've got 9 schools competing for whatever leftovers the Big Ten didn't want. Much lower recruit:school ratio than what an SDSU/SJSU/Fresno would face.

Also, EMU has the disadvantage of poor fan support (due to terrible teams). A recruit goes to CMU and they see 20-25000 fans, and a team flashing MAC Championships, Motor City Bowl appearances, and TV appearances. They go to WMU and see a large crowds, bowls, and NFL talent every year.

If they look out of state, there's tons of successful MAC programs elsewhere. Ball State was 12-0 last year. Northern Illinois is a perennial bowl team. Ohio has a "name" coach. Bowling Green has been solid for years. Toledo was fantastic under Amstutz. Even Akron has won a MAC championship.

It's a large uphill battle for English. The division he is in - the MAC West, is so much more difficult than the MAC East. He's essentially starting with nothing - there is no talent on this team. We'll see how he does. I like the QB he got (Dovontae Payne). Also having a proven senior QB in Schmitt to start off your career is a perfect scenario. He's got to win football games.

 

[FairWarning]

You are talking about Detroit, not Southern California. After Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, how many leftovers can their be? Remember these kids have to be smart enough to get into college. Oh yea, don't forget about Notre Dame either.

They get all the undersized kids. I'm sure they can get kids from Toledo and Cleveland area too.

 

[FairWarning]

Tough to pick up good recruits because of the competition. Ohio and Michigan alone have 9 MAC schools. So you've got 9 schools competing for whatever leftovers the Big Ten didn't want. Much lower recruit:school ratio than what an SDSU/SJSU/Fresno would face.

Also, EMU has the disadvantage of poor fan support (due to terrible teams). A recruit goes to CMU and they see 20-25000 fans, and a team flashing MAC Championships, Motor City Bowl appearances, and TV appearances. They go to WMU and see a large crowds, bowls, and NFL talent every year.

If they look out of state, there's tons of successful MAC programs elsewhere. Ball State was 12-0 last year. Northern Illinois is a perennial bowl team. Ohio has a "name" coach. Bowling Green has been solid for years. Toledo was fantastic under Amstutz. Even Akron has won a MAC championship.

It's a large uphill battle for English. The division he is in - the MAC West, is so much more difficult than the MAC East. He's essentially starting with nothing - there is no talent on this team. We'll see how he does. I like the QB he got (Dovontae Payne). Also having a proven senior QB in Schmitt to start off your career is a perfect scenario. He's got to win football games.

Whats tough for EMU is the facilities suck compared to CMU, WMU, and Toledo. Being 8-9 miles away from Ann Arbor also hurts them. They have to schedule their games around the Michigan home games, so many 6:00 starts.

I like English, but it will take him 3-4 years just to boost the talent level. The high school talent pool has swung somewhat to Grand Rapids and the western side of the state. Those kids will go to MSU, CMU, WMU, and Grand Valley St before considering EMU.