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The Eastern Michigan Eagles picked up their first win of the season against the Wyoming Cowboys in dominant fashion, 45-29. Believe it or not, this also happened to be the first time EMU picked up a non-conference win on the road since 1988.
Without team captain Reggie Bell playing quarterback after suffering a jaw injury last week against Old Dominion, junior Brogan Roback got the nod to start his first game of the season and certainly did not disappoint. He and running back Shaq Vann were the statistical highlights for the Eagles' performance.
Roback completed 17 of his 24 attempted passes, spreading the ball extremely well, for 330 yards and three touchdowns. Seven Eagles caught passes, five of them with three receptions, Cody Tuttle with two and freshman Sam Browning with one three-yard score. His other touchdown passes were to Eddie Daugherty (105 yards) and Darius Jackson.
Shaq Vann and Darius Jackson basically split carries for EMU with 16 and 17 carries respectively, but the redshirt freshman had a 74-yard touchdown run to account for most of his 129 rushing yards on the day. Vann also had 15-yard run in the first quarter to cap off a quick 3-play, 75-yard drive and Jackson had a short touchdown run in the second quarter, where EMU put up 24 points.
Wyoming opened up the second half with a quick 3-play drive capped off with Bryan Hill's 65-yard touchdown run with a two-point conversion to bring the lead to 38-22, a two-score game, but the Eagles responded on the very next play with Eddie Daugherty breaking free from a defender on a short pass-turned long gain for a 64-yard strike.
The Cowboys had to roll out their second-string quarterback Josh Allen to begin the game, but had to leave early with a shoulder injury. Nick Smith stepped in and went 3-for-13 through the air with a pickup of... zero yards.
Brian Hill carried the rock 21 times for 242 yards, leading the Wyoming rushing attack as they picked up 430 yards on the ground as a team on 58 carries. They haven't had a 400+ rushing yard day since 1988, which is nothing more than a really awkward coincidence.