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After last night’s game, the MAC only has one undefeated team standing. And it is apparently not the one that a few people expected. It was a pretty close game but what did we learn?
- Buffalo may be the real deal.
Buffalo was able to put 14 points on Eastern Michigan pretty quickly. Eastern Michigan showed some moxie but it could never overcome that deficit. The game stats showed two pretty evenly matched teams but the Bulls were better enough to get the W. Buffalo currently stands at the top with a 3-0 record. They have a quarterback that was 21 for 26 for 325 yards. His main receiver caught 3 touchdowns. They have two very capable backs.
2. There may be a quarterback controversy in Ypsilanti.
Tyler Wiegers started the game for Eastern Michigan last night but he was pulled after a lackluster start. His place was taken by Mike Glass who had a pretty good game. I’m not really a fan of a two quarterback system, but I have a feeling that is what the Eagles will go to.
3. Eastern Michigan’s defense needs some work.
While it was nice that they held Purdue to 19 points, Purdue was still able to run roughshod over the team. Buffalo continued that trend by going over 150 yards. Eastern Michigan still has two inexperienced (but capable) quarterbacks and inexperienced receivers. They will need that defense to keep them in the games.
4. The Eastern Michigan running game needs to get unstuck.
You take out the 69 yards gained by Mike Glass, neither Shaq Vann or Ian Eriksen put up decent rushing numbers. I don’t care how good the passing attack is, you still need the threat of a running game. Maybe they will have that with Mike Glass at quarterback but I kind of hate to see that because I hate to see quarterbacks go down.
5. Penalties can kill.
Last weekend, it was costly penalties by Purdue that kept Eastern Michigan in the game. This weekend, it was costly penalties by Eastern Michigan that stalled their comeback. If Eastern Michigan wanted to take the trip down I-94 to Ford Field, they are going to have to improve on that.
On that note, if there is one thing Eastern Michigan showed last year, you can’t cout them out. I hope this doesn’t lead to a six game losing streak. I hope that they will bounce back against San Diego State.