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The Eastern Michigan Eagles (1-1) return back home after a big road win over the Wyoming Cowboys today. Their opponent? MAC West foe Ball State Cardinals (1-1), who is coming off of a big road loss of their own, albiet against a talented, ranked Texas A&M team.
The last time the two met up was in the closing weeks of last season where Ball State took the 45-30 victory at Scheumann Stadium. We've discussed throughout the week that the Cardinals are fairly difficult to evaluate having only played two games so far (opened the season up with a win over VMI) but have shown some difficulties on defense and now we're not too sure which quarterback will be starting for the Cardinals either.
Lots of reasons to expect another high-scoring shootout in this game, and should be an exciting way to start MAC play.
Quick Info:
Game time: Kickoff for this game is set to start at 3 p.m.
Location: The two will meet up at Rynearson Stadium (aka The Factory) in Ypsilanti, Michigan, the Eagles' home facility.
TV: This game will not be aired on television, sadly.
Radio: To listen, 89.1 WEMU will have the play-by-play for the EMU-sided fans. Ball State fans can listen to 104.1 WLBC by clicking here.
Stream: To watch the game online, you can watch it on the ESPN3 stream.
Players to Watch:
Dustin Creel (WR- EMU)- Creel is in his senior season as an Eagle and is already off to a pretty good start. Six catches for 100 yards for two scores through two games and has shown that he can be a viable receiving threat.
Anthony Zappone (LB- EMU)- Stopping the run is going to be extremely important for the Eagles defense. Well, making plays behind the line of scrimmage in general. We all know about what Great Ibe can do, but Zappone's play at middle linebacker could help set the tone on this side of the ball.
Riley Neal (QB- Ball State)- He might not start, but he'll get some playing time. He completed 11 passes for 116 yards against the Aggies in his debut, wouldn't be shocked if he were more involved in the offense against EMU.
Joshua Posley (DE- Ball State)- The defensive end already has 13 tackles with good ability to get pressure on the quarterback with a sack and two quarterback hurries. If he's lining up on EMU's left side of the line, it'll be a good battle between he and Cole Gardner.