Eastern Michigan Preview (Game Six)

[catdaddyp]

QB:

Noah Kim is playing well in what is presumably his final season. The former Michigan State and Coastal Carolina transfer started his collegiate career in 2020. Kim has thrown for 1,187 yards and 8 touchdowns against 3 interceptions while completing nearly 63% of his passes. Kim is excellent when his isn’t pressured, completing almost 69% of his passes, compared to just 38% when pressured.

 

RB:

EMU will utilize three different backs depending on the situation, with sophomore Amareon Blue and seniors Joey Mattord and Braydon Bennett all seeing significant playing time. Blue has been the main man as of late, rushing for 309 yards and 3 touchdowns on 60 attempts. 

 

WR:

Senior Benson Prosper and sophomore Harold Mack have become the focal points following the injury to All-MAC receiver Nick Devereaux. The duo has combined for 47 receptions for 525 yards and 3 touchdowns. If Devereaux returns, he’ll make the passing game even more dangerous.

 

TE:

All-MAC selection Joshua Long and senior Tanner Lemaster handle most of the snaps at tight end. Unlike most tight ends, Long is a legitimate threat in the passing game, as he already has 22 receptions on the year.

 

OL: 

The offensive line has been pretty good in pass protection, giving up only 8 sacks on 205 attempts. However, they have been inconsistent when it comes to run blocking.

LT - Tyler Brumfield (6’6 305) (Sr.)

LG - Guzzy Kayed (6’3 316) (Jr.) - Transfer from St. Francis

C - Nicholas Gallegos (6’3 294) (Gr.)

RG - Dennis Strey (6’7 312) (Gr.)

RT - Elijha Payne (6’6 315) (Sr.) - Transfer from Delaware State

 

 

DL:

Sophomore Quincey Byas and seniors Carter Evans and Ronn Hardin are the main edge threats. The trio has combined for 4.5 sacks. Seniors Peyton Christian, Makhi Gilbert, Joseph Oluwayemi handle the majority of snaps on the interior.

 

LB:

Junior Elgin McDuffey and senior Zach Mowchan are the starters at linebacker. Mowchan leads the team with 50 total tackles, while McDuffey has amassed 23 total tackles.

 

DB:

Junior Caleb Dobbs starts at one corner with JUCO transfer Rayquan Adkins on the opposite side. All-MAC defensive back Bryce Llewellyn is the starting nickleback. Seniors Juan Salas and Davion Williams fill out the safety spots.

 

ST:

Junior Rudy Kessinger has made 5 of 8 field goals and 16 of 17 extra points. Junior Daniel Hull is averaging 43 yards a punt with a long of 60 yards.

 

 

Keys on Offense:

Stay on the field and ride Gant and Patrick as much as possible. Limiting EMU’s opportunities will be important. Their offense can be inconsistent, but they did enough to put away a seemingly improved UMASS squad, and no Zip fan wants to see our secondary on the field against a pass heavy offense any longer than necessary.

 

Keys on Defense:

Find a way to get off the field. The “bend but don’t break” philosophy has been completely broken the past two games and needs to be corrected. Things can’t get worse from here, so the only two ways to go are to either improve or continue to make the same mistakes.

 

Final Thoughts:

Nothing about this matchup screams win for this Akron squad. However, I’m sticking with my preseason prediction of an Akron win. EMU is on their second consecutive road game and coming off a high of beating a UMASS squad that seemed to be pretty good. This is a prime let down spot for EMU, and the Zips are due for a rebound game.

 

Edited Sunday at 08:50 PM by catdaddyp

[exit322]

Great writeup as always.

 

EMU by 20.  Akron isn't winning another game this year with how it's looking right now.

Edited Sunday at 11:07 PM by exit322

[kreed5120]

So their strength is our main weakness? This should be a fun game. Only hope is CB returns and Akron can match EMU score for score.

 

Teams have clearly figured out Roggow. He's no longer having the same success that he had earlier in the season during mop up duty.

Edited Sunday at 11:10 PM by kreed5120

[exit322]

Sac State is angry now that "we paid you all this money and you didn't even put Akron on our schedule?!"

[ZippyRulz]

7 hours ago, exit322 said:

Great writeup as always.

 

EMU by 20.  Akron isn't winning another game this year with how it's looking right now.

 

Especially if CB has Alex Adams Syndrome.

[exit322]

6 hours ago, ZippyRulz said:

 

Especially if CB has Alex Adams Syndrome.

Until he learns how to slide, I don't think we can safely call him a multi-week starter.

[clarkwgriswold]

So much excitement rolling into Homecoming week.

[Blue & Gold]

8 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

So much excitement rolling into Homecoming week.

 

[exit322]

32 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

So much excitement rolling into Homecoming week.

 

Losing 45-17 to a bad CMU team will do that.

[Ham]

9 minutes ago, exit322 said:

 

Losing 45-17 to a bad CMU team will do that.

 

 

Too early to tell.  Wonder Team U Mass stumbled.  let's judge the teams in a couple months.  I still have a player's mentality.  Looking in the rear view mirror too much is a killer(successes or failures).  Focus on getting better today and your next opponent.  If Eastern looks in that mirror too much thinking about tomorrow, they could be in for a surprise Saturday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kreed5120]

12 minutes ago, Ham said:

 

 

Too early to tell.  Wonder Team U Mass stumbled.  let's judge the teams in a couple months.  I still have a player's mentality.  Looking in the rear view mirror too much is a killer(successes or failures).  Focus on getting better today and your next opponent.  If Eastern looks in that mirror too much thinking about tomorrow, they could be in for a surprise Saturday.

 

The MAC outside of 3-4 teams have all looked very bad. Even then none of those 3-4 teams are remotely in discussion to get the G6 bid.

 

Given there aren't really anymore OOC games to measure ourselves against external competition, MAC play is mainly just about determining who is the tallest midget.

[exit322]

3 hours ago, Ham said:

Too early to tell.  Wonder Team U Mass stumbled.  let's judge the teams in a couple months.  I still have a player's mentality.  Looking in the rear view mirror too much is a killer(successes or failures).  Focus on getting better today and your next opponent.  If Eastern looks in that mirror too much thinking about tomorrow, they could be in for a surprise Saturday.

 

Given they're certainly the team most like Akron in terms of "wow there's no one here," at least they'll feel somewhat at home in the cavern (even if the turf is green).  While that 45-17 result may be "too early" in Joe's 14-39 tenure, it's going to limit excitement anyways.

Edited 7 hours ago by exit322

[ZippyRulz]

4 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

So much excitement rolling into Homecoming week.

 

Should be good tailgating. 3:30 start and 74 degrees. I say we put Broughton in with a green shirt on and see if they fall for it.