EMU Shoots For First Back-To-Back Bowl Win
EMU Shoots For First Back-To-Back Bowl Win
In what will end up being a true road game for the Eagles, tomorrow's 68 Ventures Bowl features both EMU and South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama.
Tomorrow, Eastern Michigan will play just one last football game, and we’re onto next season. Naturally, it’s so easy to get caught up in what’s going to happen next, but don’t forget to relax and actually enjoy a bowl game while it’s still in front of you.
Honestly, with the transfer portal too, I can understand if it feels a little defeating to check online to see that a lot of teams get to “celebrate” a bowl trip without some of their best player who helped make this moment happen. This bowl game — the 68 Ventures Bowl in South Alabama’s house (featuring the Jaguars as the visiting team) — is as volatile as any, and both teams are feeling its effects.
The quality of these games sometimes suffers, too. Finding good football in these bowl matchups isn’t easy, and it’s so clear to see why that might be, especially if you’re a fan who’s been along for the season’s entire ride.
For first-time viewers of either EMU (6-6 overall, 4-4 MAC) or South Alabama (6-6, 4-4 Sun Belt), they may not get the full picture for their first impressions of these teams.
The math says what the math says. There are tons of distractions and reasons for teams to not give it their all in bow games, but since when has a Chris Creighton-led EMU come into a bowl game uninspired?
Finding excitement in bowl games, I find, is very unique to each team’s situation. EMU has a long history of never going to, let alone winning, bowl games, and now this team is on its sixth bowl trip in the last eight years, and last year’s bowl in Boise, Idaho featured EMU’s first postseason victory in 35 years.
Now? EMU is aiming to have its first back-to-back bowl win ever (2-4 all-time).
Speaking of ever, South Alabama has never ever won a bowl game. The Jaguars have only been playing football since 2009 so there’s not any longstanding history helping this team, but it’s 0-3 in its bowl games and Wommack has led South Alabama to a New Orleans Bowl trip last year an lost 44-23 to Western Kentucky.
Now, with the benefit of having this game at Hancock Whitney Stadium, this is a true home game for the Jaguars and another road test for the Eagles. South Alabama is 4-2 at home this year, EMU is 1-5 in away games.
EMU’s QB situation
EMU’s offense was not one for consistency this year, and now this team’s without its starting quarterback. Austin Smith, whose college career began with a win at Arizona State after then-starter Taylor Powell went down with injury, then his redshirt-freshman season wrapped up when he came down with a leg injury of his own during midweek MACtion. Named the starter for the 2023 season, Smith didn’t have the progress as forecasted or hoped for. The morning after the bowl game announcements (and EMU team banquet), Smith entered the transfer portal with a career 240 of 418 passing (57.4%) for 2,565 yards (6.1 Y/A), 15 TD, 11 INT, and 389 rushing yards with 4 scores on the ground.
Instead of #4 behind center, expect to see a mix of #3 and #8 out there
Ike Udengwu III., the junior college transfer who played a little bit already this season in the Jacksonville State and Western Michigan games, but was less than impressive in those outings (13/28 passing, 100 yards, 2 INT, 5 rush yards). At Jax State, Udengwu came in to split playing time with Smith when the offense struggled to put any points on the board. Udengwu started the WMU game as Smith missed a week of practice to injury, but exited after he had his eye poked.
Cam McCoy (0/1 passing, -10 rush yards) also played in the Jax State and WMU games, but his playing time has been much more limited.
The quarterback play hasn’t been a strength for this offense this season, and now it’s up to sub-50% passers to try and prove that EMU can be better than its 6-6 record advertises.
But this is EMU. Let’s not rule out #22
Samson Evans was a back-to-back state-title-winning quarterback as a high schooler, and he’s already been taking snaps out of the Wildcat package for this offense. Why not let the school’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns (41) take a few snaps?
Plus, South Alabama’s going to have to respect RB’s ability to throw the pill a little bit, too. Obviously, Evans hasn’t practiced throwing the ball every day since his HS senior season in 2017, but even for EMU Evans is a perfect 6/6 through the air for 74 yards and 5 TD thrown.
Defensive holes
As the offense struggled, the defense was at least tasked with keeping games in arms’ length time after time. EMU’s defense finished the year 53rd overall in defensive SP+, but 130th (out of 133 teams) in offensive SP+.
Unfortunately in this era of bowl seasons, the transfer portal only works to hurt teams playing in bowl games. Players, generally, hit the portal to get out of town, but nobody gets to play for their new teams right away. Which, for guys like DE Mikah Coleman who get to try their hand in a bigger league (Cincinnati-Big XII), it’s cool to see that they have those opportunities, but that also means teams like EMU have to play in bowl games without their season’s sack leader. DT Alex Merritt, who had 24 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss, is in the portal right now searching for a home too.
A slightly more-traditional reason for skipping bowl games – to prepare for the NFL Draft – is also a factor here. EMU’s team captain and leading tackler LB Chase Kline has opted-out of the bowl game. Clearly, he’s going to be missed when South Alabama’s offense takes the field and senior E.J. Williams will fill-in for his final game with the program.
While EMU will be without three key contributors to its front seven, its secondary should at least remain unchanged for the bowl game.
This will be the final EMU game for…
… WR Hamze El-Zayat, a Fordham HS graduate (Dearborn) who stood out at Fordham who came to EMU last season just to suffer an arm injury that kept him from playing all of 2022. El-Zayat had a pair of 50-yard touchdown receptions at home and a special teams score as well, and finished the regular season with 25 catches for 370 yards.
… WR Tanner Knue, who got to wear the #2 jersey in honor of Demarius Reed coming into the season, is EMU’s leading receiver this year with 50 catches for 479 yards and 3 TD.
… RB Samson Evans, EMU’s all-time rushing scores leader after he spent his first two years out of high school with Iowa.
… CB Kempton Shine, a 4-year starter for EMU’s defensive secondary who recorded 27 pass breakups and nine interceptions over his career.
… LB Joe Sparacio, a second-year transfer from Boston College who logged 220 total tackles (100 solo, 12.5 for loss, 3.5 sacks) for the Eagles.
… RT Brian Dooley, EMU’s all-time leader in games played (61) and started (59), will be one of the rare players to have 60 career starts made over his college career. Dooley, of course, has received a lot of national praise for his decision to give Zack Conti his scholarship.
… RT Brian Dooley, EMU’s all-time leader in games played (61) and started (59), will be one of the rare players to have 60 career starts made over his college career. Dooley, of course, has received a lot of national praise for his decision to give Zack Conti his scholarship.
… DB Korey Hernandez, who went from Arkansas to JUCO before he arrived at EMU in 2019.
… S Londyn Craft, who also spent time in the SEC before he spent a graduate transfers season with EMU.
… LB Elijah Williams, a senior who didn’t play a ton, but filled-in nicely for Joe Sparacio when he came out early in this season’s game at Northern Illinois.
… LS Steve Bird, a Phil Steele First Team All-MAC long snapper, played in every game since 2020.
… LB Luke Cameron, who spent one season with Army before transferring over to EMU in 2019 when his younger brother, Noah, walked-on as a freshman wide receiver for the team.
… OL Dan Sunderman, a multi-year all-conference at the Division II ranks before he came to EMU for a graduate transfer, Sunderman appeared in eight games this season.
… OL Dimitri Douglas, a Michigan State transfer from Saline, played in 28 games (8 starts) since he joined EMU in 2020.
… DT Adrian Gonzalez, who came up to America from León, Guanajuato, Mexico in 2021, has played in 20 games over the last two seasons and recorded 17 total tackles, 1.5 for loss.
… and DE Mikey Haney and S T.J. Peavy, who both missed the majority of the season this year with injuries, will be watching this game from the sidelines for one last time.
Final notes
Both head coaches have a friendly relationship baked into this game. Creighton hired Tom Allen in 2007 at Wabash College, and Allen would later hire Kane Wommack at Indiana to lead their defense. Creighton and Wommack have never worked together on a team, but those connections have kept the two coaches close.
South Alabama players out(?):
RB La’Damian Webb out with a turf toe injury. For as many defensive players EMU will be without, dodging a 1,000-yard rusher for this game should bring a sigh of relief.
QB Carter Bradley, formerly of Toledo, is battling a knee injury and Wommack has said that he plans on “using multiple quarterbacks” against Eastern.
WR Caullin Lacy, who has 64 catches for 812 yards and 6 TD on the year, has already transferred to Louisville
South Alabama players in(?):
Honestly, most everybody else seems to be sticking around. 247sports’ transfer portal tracker only has three outgoing Jaguars listed.
You don’t have to look too far down the stats totals to see who stands out on defense. DE Quentin Wilfawn is the team’s leader in tackles (81), tackles for loss (15), and sacks (6.5), with a couple of fumbles caused.
