Get ready, because here come the defending MAC champions. Eastern Michigan may be off to a promising start (4-1 overall, 1-0 MAC) and well-rested off of a bye week, but Miami (1-4, 0-1 MAC) aims for a midseason turnaround.
Miami’s current record might not scare anybody, yet the luster still shines with that crew. Even with key players on offense, defense, and special teams all gone from last year’s team, Miami was still picked by coaches and media to be the league favorite. Miami hasn’t exactly passed the sniff test so far this season, but it’d be a rookie mistake to doubt a well-coached team group led by a sixth-year quarterback. Brett Gabbert was on the sideline when Miami won the MAC title last season, however, I remember the time when Gabbert was on the field as a true freshman and beat Central Michigan for the championship in 2019.
If Miami wants to show that it’s able to repeat as MAC champs, this would be a good week to do so.
If the Eagles want to have that feeling of being on cloud nine and prove that it’s capable of making its dream come true by playing for a MAC championship in December, then this is simply the kind of October Saturday that they’ll have to figure out how to win.
Thankfully for the home side, the Eagles are well-rested and prepared for the matchup. EMU’s already off to a 2-0 start on Maxx Crosby Field at Rynearson Stadium, and a 1-0 start to the MAC slate with a 52-33 win at Kent State is nothing to feel bad about. EMU had its bye week and got to watch Miami’s 30-20 road loss to Toledo to open up MAC play 1-1 over the weekend.
EMU has the home field and bye-week advantages, but maybe those so-called factors are just my imagination.
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Preparing for Miami
FIRST BIG MAC TEST FOR EMU, AND A FIRST FOR MIAMI’S QUARTERBACK
Eastern’s strength of schedule, ranked 126th nationally, has not been very overwhelming to this point. UMass, Jacksonville State, and Kent State have a combined record of 3-13 this season while FCS-level St. Francis reached 2-3 over the weekend with a win. Washington, 4-2 after a win over #10 Michigan, has certainly been EMU’s most difficult opponent to this point.
While Miami’s short-season resume (SOS rank #33) hasn’t been a masterpiece (Ranked 107 in SP+, 97 in FPI, 104th in net points per drive), Miami’s no stranger to having slow starts in September before Martin’s teams ascend through October and November.
“They're picked to win the league for a reason,” Creighton said during Monday’s press availability. “Very, very well coached. They always play a full football game, you gotta play ‘em for 60 minutes. They're always, always in it. They're smart, you know, they know how to play complimentary football.”
Creighton and Martin were each hired to their respective posts within three days of each other and have played each other four times so far. Martin’s RedHawks took the first two (28-13 in 2015 and 28-15 in 2016), then Creighton took the second two (24-24 in 2017 and 13-12 in 2021). EMU’s two most-recent wins snapped a 9-game losing streak in the series that dated back to 1994 (Miami leads 19-6 all-time).
The last time Miami came to Ypsilanti, EMU ran away with a 13-12 victory in 2021. Other than Bryson Cannon’s TD, the game was ultimately decided by the game’s two kickers. One later became a 4th round draft pick (EMU’s Chad Ryland), and the other (Miami, now Alabama’s, Graham Nicholson) became the MAC’s first-ever Lou Groza Award winner as the country’s #1 kicker.
But some word from the wise: don’t look back and assume there ought to be a repeat of that sort of game this weekend.
Gabbert wasn’t on the field for that game either. Sidelined to an injury suffered the week before, the quarterback missed the EMU game as AJ Mayer played at QB for the RedHawks. Last year against Toledo, Gabbert suffered another injury — this time a broken leg that came with a recovery timeline of 12-16 months. It could have very easily been Gabbert’s final game, but the two-time Third Team All-MAC recipient decided to battle his way back to the field faster than any of the timelines had laid out for him. He played his next game just 315 days later.
Gabbert’s comeback is one of the MAC’s more inspiring seasons coming into the year, though that doesn’t change that his team probably still wants a little bit more out of him. Or at least start with throwing up fewer turnovers. In 2021 Gabbert led the league with 26 touchdown passes, but this year he’s leading the MAC with 7 interceptions and has more picks thrown than TDs (5). Gnarly injury history or not, that’s not the kind of ratio anybody wants to see out of their sixth-year quarterback.
This year, Gabbert has been a 55.1% passer (98/178) for 1,162 yards, and has moved backwards as a rusher with -24 rushing yards on 30 recorded attempts. On a raw yards-per-play average, Miami’s offense has slid from its 5.69 average last year (72nd nationally) to 5.0 this season (113th, same as EMU).
“I think their offense runs through him, which is a huge credit to him and to the staff,” Creighton said of Gabbert Monday. “When you have a quarterback who you know has the pen in his hand last it can it can make it, you know, very difficult. So we've got our work it out for us.”
TOUGH DEFENSE NOT MIAMI’S BEST
If there's any guarantee about a Miami RedHawk football team coached by Chuck Martin, it's that they're not going to shy away from some contact. It's no secret that Martin's teams are based on playing tough and stingy defense, and this year’s unit should be no different.
That’s not to say Miami’s defense isn’t vulnerable, the team does have a 1-4 record after all. By SP+, Miami currently has the country’s 129th-ranked offense and 58th-ranked defense. By BCFToys.com, Miami’s defense ranks 61st in efficiency, 77th in defensive drive success rate, and 92nd in defensive available yards percentage. Making plays in the backfield hasn’t been up to par for Miami either; the defense’s TFL rate of 5.72% is 126th in the nation, a noticeable dip from last year’s production (7.93%, 89th).
In the turnover-takeaway department, the defense has seven takeaways (five fumbles, 2 interceptions) and is -1 in the ratio as a team with the offense’s eight giveaways.
While Miami’s defense isn’t as scary as some of its recent, pervious versions, the RedHawks still have a chance to show improvements against an EMU offense that’s still searching for its own improvements.
REDHAWKS TO WATCH
WR Cade McDonald — McDonald was the #2 receiver on the team last year behind Gage Larvadain, but now he’s leading his room with 29 catches for 382 yards and a touchdown this year.
WR Reggie Virgil — Virgil is Miami’s #3 receiver on the team, but at 6’4” and with so many missed throws from Gabbert in the last game, I expect this receiver to get schemed into some big play opportunities this week.
DE Brian Ugwu — Ugwu was a Second Team All-MAC defender last year, and he’s going to have to be a force again if Miami wants to improve on its pressure numbers. Ugwu’s off to a hot start with 7 TFL (1 sack) this year on 28 tackles.
LB Matthew Salopek — Of course, Salopek is going to have his number circled after he won the MAC’s Defensive Player of the Year award last season. He’s Miami’s leading tackler once again this season, currently with 45 (2 for loss).
HALFTIME PERFORMANCE: THE TEMPTATIONS
I don’t usually talk about specials or promotions and try to just focus on the football in my previews, but this week deserves a small exception. It’s not everyday that a Motown group performs at the halftime of a college football game, so I’m pretty excited to see The Temptations team up with EMU’s band for some entertainment.
Jawan Jackson, the group’s newest member, is an EMU graduate (2011). Of the group’s five singers, Otis Williams is the only O.G. from the group. Actually, before The Temptations were a thing, he was the frontman for the short-lived Otis and The Distants.
Anyways, everybody knows The Temptations. The band is an empire Detroit likes to hang its hat on, and the timing of this might be a little too perfect with the kind of Octobers the Lions and Tigers are both having.
(*Note: The Tigers are up 2-1 in the best-of-3 ALDS vs. Cleveland; if they win today, they’ll advance to the next round and will have a few days off until then. If they lose this evening, then the Tigers will have a decisive Game 5 on Saturday at 4:38 p.m.)
Seriously, how often does your ticket for a MAC football game get to double-up as a mini-concert for one of the most iconic groups that’s been powering on since the 1960s?
Luke Murphy’s rise
Re-tooling Eastern Michigan’s linebacker room, which was led by two studs with way over 100 tackles apiece last year, meant that it was going to try and test its four incoming transfers to the position. Against his former team, Luke Murphy came away with a pair of turnovers that helped define the Kent State game.
The linebacker has made just two starts for this defense, but Murphy, in just 119 snaps played this year (14th on defense), is third on the team with 22 tackles made (1.5 TFL). He also had an interception and fumble recovery against Kent State, which EMU’s offense quickly turned into 14 points.
Could Murphy’s recent rise lead to him staying on the field against more MAC competition this year? His versatility lets him play with more coverage responsibilities as a second-level defender, and Creighton said that he’s practicing like the kind of player that was missed through the graduations of Joe Sparacio and Chase Kline.
“When our strength staff gives us our readouts from practice and whatnot, (Murphy is) always at the top in terms of his expending his energy, putting his feet in the ground and change the direction. He's just kind of wired in that way… He's full-go.
“He's learning quickly. You know, he started out not with us, but as a safety, and I think he's becoming more and more and more and more comfortable as a linebacker. He can run, he's a really good athlete, and so his skillset fits perfectly in what we need at that position.”
Necessary hands out wide
If EMU was going to have success on offense this year, its receivers were going to have to be proven outlets for Cole Snyder to throw the football. The offensive line has been a work-in-progress, so the offense has relied on its new quarterback to get the ball out to his new receivers who are finally getting their starting shots on the FBS stage.
Oran Singleton, and Akron and junior college transfer, quickly won the #2 jersey honor before the season, and is EMU’s hottest target with 31 grabs for 311 yards and 2 touchdowns. Terry Lockett Jr., in his second season as a transfer from Michigan State, had an 8-catch day against Kent State to move the ball 75 yards and is the team’s #2 leading receiver for the year (22 catches, 230 yards). After Lockett, first-year transfer Markus Allen (Wisconsin + junior college) has 12 catches for 158 yards for the year. While Zyell Griffin, from UNLV, hasn’t made a start yet, he was the recipient of an 89-yard touchdown reception (tied a school record) to have 144 yards on 5 catches this season.
And don’t forget about tight end Max Reese, who broke out with a 2-touchdown performance against Jacksonville State.
“(Lockett) knows what he's doing, and he's really emerging, and his best football is still ahead of him,” said Creighton. “Love his progression, and is off to a really good start. And then Markus is new, although we recruited him out of high school, so we've known of him for a really long time. He's also off to a great start, and just a bigger, physical body too. You try to want all types, so he's been very effective. And then, you know, Zyell has played a lot for us as well. And so we feel as though our receiver crew is certainly not a one-man show.”
Sure, there’s still some room to grow, but these receivers and tight ends have been reliable for Cole Snyder (2 drops in 126 targets, per PFF) while their new quarterback has proven to be reliable for them (0 interceptions in his last 229 pass attempts). EMU’s improved offense started by mixing a new, yet experienced, QB with a deeper and more top-heavy receiver room than it showed last year, and those improvements have shown on the scoreboard.
Will these receivers keep having success against Miami’s defense though?
The RedHawks’ defense is tied for second in the MAC with 6.6 yards per pass attempt thrown against it and has only allowed five scores to go over their heads. Miami’s pressure numbers, again, haven’t been great so far, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be ready to try to change that tone against EMU’s growing O-line.
By the numbers
3 blocked kicks
EMU is one of two schools in America with at least 3 kick blocks (2 punts, 1 PAT kick) while having no kicks or punts of their own be blocked this season. EMU is one of eight schools with at least 3 blocks; Florida State leads the nation with 4.
On 3rd & _ for EMU
One area where EMU will want to show remarkable improvement is its third down efficiency on offense. Right now, EMU’s converting at a middling 37.84% (28/74) while Miami’s defense has shown less luck defensively, allowing teams to cross at a 43.28% clip (29/67). I could be convinced that these are the downs that’ll define Saturday’s action.
On 4th & _ for Miami
Miami is one of two teams in the country to not convert on a fourth down offensively. Both at 0-for-3 on the season are Miami and Iowa — not the kind of company you want to be tied with in any offensive category, generally speaking. Will Miami get to have some luck at EMU on that front? The Eagles are tied for 12th nationally on defensive fourth downs as opponents are 3 of 11 in conversion tries.
It’s been 19 years
An EMU win would give the team a 2-0 start in MAC play, something that has not happened since 2005.
& it’s been 35 years
Not only would a Miami win give EMU its best MAC start in two decades, but turning a 4-1 overall record into 5-1 would also be the team’s best look since 1989.