OXFORD, OH. - It likely won’t come easy, but either Eastern Michigan or Miami will post a win Saturday, and the “W” will be a big deal for players, coaches and fans of the winning school.
And for the losing squad?
The search for a friendly scoreboard continues.
Granted, Saturday’s EMU-MU matchup in may be flying well below the radar of many MAC fans. But it looms large for the two squads involved. Each school is coming off a rather miserable season.
A rebuilding Eastern Michigan team went winless under new Head Coach Ron English in 2009. Miami, also rebuilding under new head coach Michael Haywood and staff, managed to hold on for just one win – at home, over Toledo – during a brutal schedule last year. Young talent for both teams was thrown into the battle in 2009, and they paid the price.
Though still young, each squad appears to have made strides. Eastern Michigan’s bid for a win in Week 1 fell just short Saturday as Army pulled out a 31-29 win on Jared Hassin’s touchdown run with 38 seconds left in the contest.
Miami, meanwhile, demonstrated a tenacious defense and moved the ball enough to kick four field goals in a 34-12 road loss to Florida. It was a much closer game than the final score might suggest. The RedHawks swarming “D” limited Florida to 41 yards of offense through three quarters.
“I thought our defense played really hard and competed. We’re a much faster and more physical defense than we were last year,” Haywood said. “When you look at the tape, there are consistently eight to 11 hats around the football, so it shows a great level of pursuit. Our guys are being dangerous and relentless, and that style continued throughout the entire game.”
A couple big plays in the final stanza pushed it to 212 total yards. The Gators got 99 of that total on the ground, with junior Jeffery Demps providing 72 of the yards on one run late in the contest. Another run went for 41 yards.
The running game is likely to be a very important element this Saturday as EMU figures to again give running back Dwayne Priest plenty of carries. The 5-8, 192-pound senior earned MAC West Offensive Player of the Week honors with 26 carries for 142 yards and two touchdowns against Army.
Sophomore quarterback Alex Gillett also proved to be a running threat as he added another 126 yards on 18 rushes (7.0 ypc). Between them, Priest and Gillett accounted for 268 of the Eagles 285 rushing yards.
Unfortunately for EMU in a tight ballgame, the duo also accounted for 268 of the Eagles 316 yards of total offense. Gillett was just 4-of-9 with one TD and one interception through the air.
Eastern Michigan also had three fumbles, losing possession twice.
Turnovers are no stranger to Miami. In fact, they have at times appeared to be a Miami staple. After finishing last in turnover differential last year, the RedHawks committed four versus Florida. All four came off the throwing hand of redshirt sophomore Zac Dysert.
In some ways, the RedHawks and Eagles are reverse images. EMU runs well but can struggle in the passing game. Miami can move the ball through the air (208 yards against UF) but has yet to establish a running game. The RedHawks finished last (MAC) in rushing with 70.1 ypg. (2.9 ypc) last year and gained a mere eight net yards rushing Saturday.
Whether or not running back Thomas Merriweather, whose status for this week is uncertain, could have helped the RedHawks must remain largely speculation. The senior had two carries for minus-two yards and two receptions for plus-18 yards before he was ejected during the first half.
Merriweather’s personal foul penalty also pointed to another area of concern for Haywood. The RedHawks were flagged nine times for 91 yards in Gainesville, and it would have been more had Merriweather’s penalty not occurred on the MU two-yard line. Equally bad as the number of penalties was the timing. Armand Robinson’s penalty at the Florida one-yard stripe pushed the RedHawks out of a chance to go for six points on fourth down. Instead, MU settled for another field goal.
Could the game come down to a kick? Well, with two teams playing their hearts out for a win, it’s certainly possible. Back in a 2005 meeting with Miami, Eastern Michigan mounted a comeback that pulled the Eagles to within one point at 24-23 with 13 seconds remaining. However, problems with the snap/hold led to place-kicker Andrew Wellock’s kick bouncing off the right upright, and Miami prevailed.
EMU did not try a field goal against Army, but the Eagles misfired on one of four PATs Saturday.
Miami’s Trevor Cook, on the other hand, nailed four field goals to earn MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week honors. But the RedHawks can ill-afford to trade potential touchdowns for penalties.
Eastern Michigan, meanwhile, has yet to commit a penalty in 2010.The Eagles managed to play four quarters without incurring a single penalty against Army.
“Eastern Michigan is playing a lot more physical than they did last year. They’re doing a lot of different things,” Haywood said. “Eastern does a nice job of running the football. The quarterback rushed for a hundred yards and the tailback rushed for a hundred yards plus, so we’re going to have to do a good job stopping the run and protect against the pass, as well.”
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