EMU Prepares for Senior Day Clash With UMass

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team will finish out the 2015 home campaign by hosting the Minutemen of the University of Massachusetts Saturday, Nov. 14, at Rynearson Stadium. The cross-divisional contest, in which EMU will honor its 10 seniors before the game, is set to begin at 3:04 p.m.
   The Eagles enter the Mid-American Conference West Division contest with a 1-9 (0-6 MAC) record following a 28-13 road setback at Miami University, Nov. 7. Meanwhile, the Minutemen are 1-8 (0-5 MAC) after being tripped up at home by The University of Akron, 17-13, Nov. 7.
   ESPN3 will broadcast the game with Dan Gutowsky providing the play-by-play and Dustin Fox serving as the analyst. The contest will once again hit the airwaves of WEMU (89.1 FM) with Matt Shepard and Rob Rubick calling the action on the field.

JACKSON'S MARCH TOWARDS 1,000 YARDS RUSHING: Senior running back Darius jackson needs 51 yards rushing to become the 15th EMU player to run for 1,500 yards in a career. The Sparta, Ill. product also needs just 59 yards on the ground to reach 1,000 yards in a season. Bronson Hill was the last EMU running back to reach the grand total, when he rumbled for 1,101 yards in 2013.

MORE LEG THAN A ROCKETTE: Against Miami, Nov. 7, senior kicker Dylan Mulder booted a pair of field goals, the second of which was a school-record 55-yarder. EMU's previous long was 52 yards set on six previous occasions, including a 52 yard make by Mulder in the season-opener against Old Dominion, Sept. 5. Overall, the boot is tied for the 11th longest in MAC history and the longest since Ball State's Scott Secor drilled a 55-yarder as time expired at Central Michigan last year. Mulder's make is also sixth longest field goal made in the country this season.

MOVING UP THE CHARTS: With 14 touchdowns this season, senior running back Darius Jackson continues to march up the EMU single-season touchdown rankings. The Sparta, Ill. native ranks third and is within one of equaling the all-time mark of 15 held by Kerry Keating (1957) and Ime Akpan (2002).
   Since the 1987 campaign, only nine EMU student-athletes have recorded 10 or more touchdowns in a particular season. Of those players, all but one (Eric Deslauriers - 2004) have been running backs.

ONE OF THE TOP BACKS IN THE MAC: Senior running back Darius Jackson has been one of the best backs in both the MAC and the country this season. He ranks second in the MAC in rushing this season with 941 yards on the ground, good for 94.1 yards a game. This ranks 27th in the country. Jackson has also totaled 84 points on the season. That is fourth in the MAC and 51st in the nation. Additionally, 13 of his 14 touchdowns have been rushing touchdowns, which is second in the MAC and 10th in the country.

ALL-MAC WORTHY: With just a couple weeks remaining in the regular season it is worth noting the individual accomplishments that should land several EMU players on the postseason all-conference teams.
   Austin Barnes - Barnes has become a weapon in the field position battle, as he leads the MAC and is 25th nationally in punting average at 43.8. A total of 13 of his punts (38 percent) have been downed inside the 20-yard line with just one going into the endzone for a touchback. He also boomed a season-best 58 yard punt at Miami, Nov. 7, with punting seven other tries more than 50 yards.
   Great Ibe - Ibe has become a tackling machine since arriving on the Ypsilanti campus, as he leads the MAC in tackles while ranking second nationally in wrapups with 102. He is also second in the league in solo stops. He is just three tackles away from becoming just the 15th player in school history with 300 in a career.
   Darius Jackson - Jackson certainly made an impact in his only season as the team's starting tailback. He ranks among the MAC leaders in rushing touchdowns (2nd - 13), rushing yards (2nd - 941), rushing yards per game (3rd - 94.1), scoring (4th - 8.4), all purpose yards (6th - 113.1) and yards per carry (5th - 5.29). The Sparta, Ill. native has accounted for 42.4 percent of EMU's scoring this season while being a part of 28.4 percent of all the offensive play calls.
   Dylan Mulder - Mulder has been one of the most accurate kickers in program history, making 70.8 percent of his field goal attempts (34-of-48) and 93.3 percent of his point-after-touchdown tries (98-for-108). He is the only kicker in school-history to make three-or-more field goals from 50-or-longer in the same season, pushing it through from 51, 52 and 55 during in 2015 campaign.

RED HOT IN THE RED ZONE: Eastern Michigan has been one of the most efficient teams in the red-zone through 10 games this season, scoring on 26-of-31 (84 percent) attempts, which is good for fifth in the MAC and 66th in the country. 23 of those scores have been touchdowns for the Green and White.

MANUFACTURING SOME OFFENSE: The 2015 EMU offense is shaping up to be one of the most potent in the history of the program. Through 10 games, EMU has tallied a total of 3,925 total yards and 33 touchdowns.
    Given that pace, the squad would finish the season with 4,710 yards and 40 scores, which would both rank in the top three all-time. EMU's high-water mark for total offense is 5,010 yards set during the 2008 campaign, while the 1995 club led by Charlie Batch racked up 48 TDs.
    Through the opening 10 contests of 2015, the Eagles have already compiled more touchdowns than they did in 12 seasons dating back to 1998.

SENIOR SNAPSHOTS: Saturday's game is the final Rynearson Stadium appearance for 10 Eastern Michigan University seniors. Below is a quick snapshot of each of those seniors.

#3 - Dustin Creel: A team captain, wide receiver Dustin Creel has appeared in 44 games for the Green and White, recording 114 catches for 1,378 yards and 10 touchdowns. For his career, the Industry, Pa. native ranks eighth in receptions, ninth in touchdown catches and 11th in receiving yardage His best season came in 2012 where he tallied a career-high 593 yards receiving on 46 catches to go along with five touchdowns.

#6 - Darius Jackson: A team captain, running back Darius Jackson has played in 41 contests splitting time between running back and wide receiver. He has totaled 1,935 all purpose yards (1,449 rushing, 364 receiving, 122 kick return) and 19 touchdowns. His 19th scores are tied for 12th most in program history and he still has a chance to set the single-season mark with 14 TDs with still two games to play in the 2015 campaign.

#8 - Kris Strange: Wide receiver Kris Strange has appeared in 36 games for the Green and White after playing his first two seasons as a defensive back before making the switch to the offensive side of the ball. A native of Pickerington, Ohio, he has grabbed 39 balls for a total of 440 yards and three touchdowns in his career. This season has been his most productive, with a personal-best 25 catches for 251 yards, which is fourth most on the squad

#10 - Great Ibe: A team captain, linebacker Kelechukwu Great Ibe has been a consistent fixture in the middle of the EMU defense since transferring in from Concordia University and sitting out the 2012 season. He has posted back-to-back 100+ tackle seasons, and currently is second nationally in wrapups. In 33 career games played, the Philadelphia, Pa. product has 17 contests with 10-or-more stops. Ibe is just three tackles away from becoming just the 15th player in school history with 300 in a career.

#15 - Clay Dawson: Defensive lineman Clay Dawson has appeared in 16 games throughout this career at EMU. After transferring from Phoenix College, Dawson has recorded 45 tackles this year. He leads the team in sacks (5.0) while ranking second in tackles-for-loss (8.0). His best contest came at nationally-ranks LSU when he came up with a pair of sacks and forced a fumble to setup a short EMU scoring drive.

#29 - Jalen Williams: Defensive back Jalen Williams has played in 33 games in his EMU career. He has tallied 50 tackles (27 solo, 23 assist) to go along with a pass deflection and a tackle-for-loss in a backup role. Last season, Williams earned a pair of starts including notching a career-best 11 total tackles against Ball State University.

#31 - Ray Tillman: Defensive back Ray Tillman has started 14 of his 28 career games played. A native of Auburn Hills, Mich. Tillman has totaled 79 tackles (55 solo, 24 assist) to go along with three tackles-for-loss and six pass deflections.

#38 - Dylan Mulder: Kicker Dylan Mulder has been one of the most accurate kickers in program history, making 70.8 percent of his field goal attempts (34-of-48) and 93.3 percent of his point-after-touchdown tries (98-for-108). He is the only kicker in school-history to make three-or-more field goals from 50-or-longer in the same season, pushing it through from 51, 52 and 55 during in 2015 campaign.

#51- Darian Miles: Offensive lineman Darian Miles played in two games during his EMU career with both of them coming in 2015.

#99 - Arron Pipkins: Defensive lineman Arron Pipkins has seen action in 18 contests throughout his career for the Green and White. A product of Maple Heights, Ohio, Pipkins has made 24 tackles as an Eagle, including a career-high six tackles during the 2013 campaign against Ohio University.

FINAL CONFERENCE TILT AGAINST UMASS: After meeting for the first time in 2014, the Eagles and Minutemen will play for the second and final time Saturday, Nov. 14 as Mid-American Conference foes. The University of Massachusetts is departing the league at the conclusion of season after it joined the MAC in April 2011. All of UMass' other major sports compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
   UMass posted a 36-14 victory last season, Oct. 18, 2014, at Gillette Stadium. Reginald Bell completed 10-of-21 for 147 yards and two touchdowns, while adding another 40 yards on the ground. Bell tossed touchdown passes of 32 and 34 yards to Tyreese Russell and Bronson Hill, respectively. Kris Strange was Bell's favorite target as the duo recorded four pass-and-catch combinations for 38 yards, all personal bests for Strange. Darius Jackson paced the Eastern rushing attack with three carries for 64 yards, including a career-long 47-yard run, as the Eagles totaled 280 yards of offense.
    On the defensive side of the ball, Willie Creear recovered a fumble and intercepted the second pass of his career while also reaching double digits in tackles with 12, a personal best. Great Ibe led all Eagles by making a career-high 21 tackles, as the EMU defense forced three turnovers on the afternoon.

HOG MOLLY CONSISTENCY: Before the Miami game, Nov. 7, Eastern Michigan ran out the same starting five offensive lineman through the first nine games of the season. Cole Gardner at left tackle, Jake Hurcombe at left guard, Matt Thornton at center, Darien Terrell at right guard and Andrew Wylie at right tackle. It should come as no surprise then that the first game when the lineup was changed due to injuries, the EMU line yielded nine sacks against MU. Before that game, the line had only allowed 12 sacks in nine games.

IRON MEN: Seniors Dustin Creel and Dylan Mulder are wrapping up spectacular careers on Senior Day against UMass, Nov. 14. Both players find themselves at the top of the all-time games played list with 44 games played in their respective careers. If they play in the final two games of the season, they will finish tied for ninth with 46 games played for EMU.

LATE BYE WEEK: The Eagles do not have an open date on the schedule until Nov. 21, meaning they play the first 11 weeks of the 2015 schedule. Eastern Michigan is one of 12 teams in the country who will play at least 11 games in a row before enjoying a bye week in 2015.

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Players Mentioned

Austin Barnes

Reginald Bell

Willie Creear

Dustin Creel

Clay Dawson

Cole Gardner

Bronson Hill

Jake Hurcombe

Great Ibe

Darius Jackson

Darian Miles

Dylan Mulder

Arron Pipkins

Tyreese Russell

Kris Strange

Darien Terrell

Matt Thornton

Ray Tillman

Jalen Williams

Andrew Wylie

Eastern Michigan Athletics