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After playing their first three games on the road (or air in some cases), Eastern Michigan finally gets to have their home opener at Rynearson Stadium.
This year is kind of a special year, as Rynearson Stadium, AKA The Factory, turns 50 this year. Eastern Michigan also gets to unveil the new championship center during their home opener, and I hear that it is pretty nice.
After recording their third victory in three years against a Big Ten team, Eastern Michigan gets to face off against an FCS opponent in the form of the Central Connecticut Blue Devils. This is the first time the two teams have met on the football field.
Eastern Michigan has scored an average of 27 points per game so far. Mike Glass III has been the guy at QB1, and he has been pretty solid by going 77 for 111 with 280 yards per game. He has connected for eight touchdowns and thrown only two picks. The Eagles rushing game has averaged 105 yards per game but much of that came last week against Illinois.
I’m hoping that their offensive line can open some holes against the Blue Devils this weekend. I expect that Eastern Michigan is going to split running duties between Jarius Grissom and Shaq Vann. Mike Glass has been pretty generous in distributing the ball. So far his top three targets have been Arthur Jackson, Mathew Sexton and Dylan Drummond. I don’t see why that will be much different this weekend.
They face off against a defense that has give up 90 yards on the ground and 232 yards in the air. Their only opponents have been from the FCS though. The Blue Devils have seven picks so far on the season, showing off aggressive ballhawking skills, but only five sacks. I don’t expect the Blue Devils defense to give Eastern Michigan too much fuss.
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On offense, the Blue Devils average 281 yards on the ground and only 153 yards in the air. Their offense is led by Aaron Winchester who is 36 for 60 with 153 yards per game. He has thrown four touchdowns and two picks. Their leading rusher who is not Aaron Winchester is Keonte Lucas with 83 yards per game. Winchester’s favorite target is Tyshaun James. They are coached by Ryan McCarthy who is in his first season.
I think this would have been a better warmup game for the Eagles and for the most part, I don’t see them having too much trouble with the Blue Devils. Now that I’ve said that, the game will probably be much closer than I would like. We’ll see, though.