2016 Early Preview: Eastern Michigan

We continue our trip down the 2016 schedule as we now take a look at Eastern Michigan on September 17, which will be taken place in Charlotte. This will be an interesting matchup between these two programs, both of which are hoping to make improvement from the past season.

Eastern Michigan

2015 Record: 1-11 (0-8 Mac-West)

2015 Stats:

Total Offense: 380 ypg

Rushing Yards Per Game: 158 ypg

Passing Yards Per Game: 222 ypg

Defense PPG: 42.1 ppg

Returning Starters: 8 Off/ 8 Def

Previous Meeting:

This is the first time these two teams have met.

2016 Preview

Eastern Michigan went 1-11 last year and really struggled stopping any opponent defensively, giving up 42.1 points per game. But they are hoping to build back to what they were back in 2011, when they were bowl eligible.

Offense:

Brogran Roback returns for them, after throwing for 2,304 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Shaq Vann will be the only running back in the backfield, getting a bigger role than last year (100 rushes for 627 yards and five touchdowns). Eddie Daugherty returns as their leading receiver with 557 but have several other play makers like Cody Tuttle and Sam Browning.

Defense:

The Eagles lose their top player in Great Ibe, who recorded 131 tackles and 9 tackles for loss last season. However, they return Jason Beck (80 tackles), Anthony Brown (6.5 TFL), Derric Williams (6.5 TFL), and several others. However, they will need help on the defensive line, as they gave up on average 317 yards per game on the ground last season. It wasn’t much better through the air, as opponents averaged 203 ypg as well.

Extra:

Eastern Michigan is 1-59 since the 90’s on the road vs. non-conference opponents, with their first win coming against Wyoming last year.