Eagles, Golden Flashes Looking To Rebound
The Eagles will try and put the CMU loss behind them.
By Kevin Pool
kpool@themacdaily.com
YPSILANTI — Last week was ugly for both Eastern Michigan and Kent State.
The Eagles (0-5, 0-2 MAC) went to Mount Pleasant winning three out of four against the Chippewas, only to suffer a lopsided 56-8 defeat. The Golden Flashes (2-4, 1-1) looked to have their third win of the year in hand against Bowling Green, leading by five, with five seconds left. But, the Falcons were the ones that walked away with a 36-35 victory.
Both teams were also picked apart by the pass. Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour threw for 318 yards and scored six of the Chippewas’ eight TD’s. Tyler Sheehan threw for a school record 505 yards, 278 of those went to Freddie Barnes, who caught 22 passes, which is just one shy of the FBS record and two short of the NCAA record set by some guy named Jerry Rice in 1983.
Despite those passing woes, the Eagles did show some improvement, somewhere. At least that’s what EMU coach Ron English said.
“The score might not show it, but we actually improved in some areas,” English said.
Kent State is trying to look past its last-second loss to BGSU.
For Kent State coach Doug Martin, can his crew avoid a hangover from last week?
“We’re not finishing games,” he said, “Can we emotionally get over what we just went through? We can’t let that game beat us twice.”
One of the biggest concerns for the Eagles offensively was developing a rhythm. English tried to mix and match QB’s Kyle McMahon and Alex Gillett throughout the game, settling on Gillett in the second half. McMahon finished with 76 yards on eight completions while Gillett had 51 yards passing and 38 more on the ground.
For the second week in a row the Eagles workhorse running back Dwayne Priest was limited in yards with just 21 on eight carries. His replacement wasn’t Terrence Blevins, but Corey Welch, who ran well in his limited time with 12 carries for 81 yards and the Eagles lone TD.
The Golden Flashes coach has been impressed with his young quarterback Spencer Keith, who’s thrown for 728 yards and five touchdowns in five games, with his best game coming against Big 12 foe Iowa State. In that game he threw for 255 and two TDs.
“We probably need to be a little more wide open with him, he’s proved he can handle that,” Martin said.
Part of the reason the Golden Flashes have been hesitant to unleash Keith is their success on the ground. In relief of stud running back Eugene Jarvis, who was lost to injury earlier in the year, the Golden Flashes have rushed for 632 yards, led by Jacquise Terry who has accounted for 293 of them.
“They’ve got good speed so they’ll present a challenge. They attack the perimeter of the defense,” English said. “We want to get numbers to the ball.”
Another thing that’s presented a problem for the Eagles is home attendance a stat they rank dead last in. EMU will get a chance to improve that stat and its record when it hosts Kent State at Ryneason Stadium at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
kpool@themacdaily.com
YPSILANTI — Last week was ugly for both Eastern Michigan and Kent State.
The Eagles (0-5, 0-2 MAC) went to Mount Pleasant winning three out of four against the Chippewas, only to suffer a lopsided 56-8 defeat. The Golden Flashes (2-4, 1-1) looked to have their third win of the year in hand against Bowling Green, leading by five, with five seconds left. But, the Falcons were the ones that walked away with a 36-35 victory.
Both teams were also picked apart by the pass. Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour threw for 318 yards and scored six of the Chippewas’ eight TD’s. Tyler Sheehan threw for a school record 505 yards, 278 of those went to Freddie Barnes, who caught 22 passes, which is just one shy of the FBS record and two short of the NCAA record set by some guy named Jerry Rice in 1983.
Despite those passing woes, the Eagles did show some improvement, somewhere. At least that’s what EMU coach Ron English said.
“The score might not show it, but we actually improved in some areas,” English said.
Kent State is trying to look past its last-second loss to BGSU.
For Kent State coach Doug Martin, can his crew avoid a hangover from last week?
“We’re not finishing games,” he said, “Can we emotionally get over what we just went through? We can’t let that game beat us twice.”
One of the biggest concerns for the Eagles offensively was developing a rhythm. English tried to mix and match QB’s Kyle McMahon and Alex Gillett throughout the game, settling on Gillett in the second half. McMahon finished with 76 yards on eight completions while Gillett had 51 yards passing and 38 more on the ground.
For the second week in a row the Eagles workhorse running back Dwayne Priest was limited in yards with just 21 on eight carries. His replacement wasn’t Terrence Blevins, but Corey Welch, who ran well in his limited time with 12 carries for 81 yards and the Eagles lone TD.
The Golden Flashes coach has been impressed with his young quarterback Spencer Keith, who’s thrown for 728 yards and five touchdowns in five games, with his best game coming against Big 12 foe Iowa State. In that game he threw for 255 and two TDs.
“We probably need to be a little more wide open with him, he’s proved he can handle that,” Martin said.
Part of the reason the Golden Flashes have been hesitant to unleash Keith is their success on the ground. In relief of stud running back Eugene Jarvis, who was lost to injury earlier in the year, the Golden Flashes have rushed for 632 yards, led by Jacquise Terry who has accounted for 293 of them.
“They’ve got good speed so they’ll present a challenge. They attack the perimeter of the defense,” English said. “We want to get numbers to the ball.”
Another thing that’s presented a problem for the Eagles is home attendance a stat they rank dead last in. EMU will get a chance to improve that stat and its record when it hosts Kent State at Ryneason Stadium at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
