2019 MAC Football Week 9 Game Preview: Eastern Michigan Eagles at Toledo Rockets

When was the last time Eastern Michigan won a game at the Glass Bowl? Well, back then both the Backstreet Boys and Smash Mouth had hits. Bill Clinton was still President. And the Y2K bug was a big threat.

Yes, it was in 1999 that Eastern Michigan last won in the Glass Bowl.

Eastern Michigan takes their 4-3 record to face off against the Toledo Rockets who have the same record. If you will recall, Eastern Michigan defeated the Rockets in Ypsilanti last season. I think that was the first time that had happened in a while.

This year, both teams look fairly evenly matched. Eastern Michigan is coming off their last minute victory against the Broncos and the Rockets are coming off a loss at the hand of the MAC West leading Ball State Cardinals.

Kenneth Bailey

Normally, I would be writing about Mike Glass III but he may still be injured, so I will write about last week’s hero Preston Hutchinson. He is 34-of-41 for 372 total yards for the season. He has thrown for three touchdowns and ran for one. Most of his stats came in last week’s game against Western Michigan. I would also be writing about the other running backs but Shaq Vann was back in the game against Western and he carried himself pretty well. He came pretty close to having a 100 yard game. I expect to see him lining up in the backfield again because he provides a spark that the Eagle running game needs.

The Eagles face a defense that has given up 27 points per game. The Rocket opponents have averaged 204 yards per game on the ground and 271 yards in the air. Saeed Holt leads the defense in sacks with 3.5 and Kahlil Robinson leads with 3 interceptions. The Toledo defense have intercepted a total of 7 passes. They have also sacked their opponents 13 times. Eastern Michigan has given up 15 sacks.

Kenneth Bailey

Normally, I would mention leading quarterback Mitchell Guadagni but he did not play against the Cardinals. In that role was Bradley Carter who threw 14 for 34 with 137 yards in that game. I would also mention Toledo’s leading rusher of Bryant Koback who has rushed an average of 103 yards per game. Against the Cardinals, that role was filled by Ronnie Jones who rushed for 72 yards in that game. On average the Rockets have scored 27 points per game and that matches the Eagles average.

The Rockets face a defense that has allowed 181 yards per game on the ground and 254 yards per game in the air. That defense has 7 interceptions and 13 sacks. The Rockets have given up 21 sacks. Turan Rush leads the Eagles with 5 sacks and Brody Hoying has 4 tackles for loss wtih 1 interception.

So what does all this mean? The Eastern Michigan secondary has been pretty good so far this year. The defensive line hasn’t been as disruptive as it has been years past but that might change against a team that has given up as many sacks as Toledo has. When I look at how the two teams match up on paper, I think Eastern Michigan may be able to break their streak at the Glass Bowl but it will be close.

Kenneth Bailey