Football Opens 2016 Campaign Friday Versus MVSU

Football vs. Mississippi Valley State
Date	Friday, Sept. 2 \| 6 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| "The Factory" at Rynearson Stadium (30,200)
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Press Conference Video \| Teleconference Audio.
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	WEMU (89.1 FM) \| TuneIn Radio
Twitter	@EMUFB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.2282

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team kicks off its 125th season on the gridiron Friday, Sept. 2, against Mississippi Valley State University inside Rynearson Stadium. Kickoff at "The Factory" is slated for 6 p.m. The contest will be shown on ESPN3 while WEMU (89.1 FM) will provide audio coverage of the game with Matt Shepard and Rob Rubick calling action on the field.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE DELTA DEVILS: Eastern Michigan has never faced Mississippi Valley State previously on the football field. EMU is a perfect 1-0 against teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) after escaping Alabama State University, 14-7, back in 2011.

EAGLES VERSUS THE FCS: The Eagles have posted a 10-4 record against Football Championship Subdivision opponents since the 2001 campaign. EMU has won six of the last seven contests against FCS schools, most recently a 31-28 decision over Morgan State University, Aug. 30, 2014.

KICKING OFF THE SEASON AT HOME: EMU is 73-45-5 (.614) all-time in its home opener. Furthermore, the Eagles are 40-17-1 (.698) when opening the season at home. Friday night's MVSU game marks the ninth time in the last 13 years that the Eagles have opened the season at home in Rynearson Stadium.

2016 SEASON: This is the 125th year for the EMU football team. The first year of intercollegiate football in Ypsilanti was 1891, when the team posted an 0-2 record. EMU has fielded a team every year since 1891 with one exception, when the 1944 season was canceled because of World War II.

O'CONNOR BACK IN THE MIX: Senior defensive lineman Pat O'Connor returns after missing all of last year with a shoulder injury. Selected a captain for the third consecutive season, the Chicago, Ill. native joins former quarterback Andy Schmitt (2007-09) as the only players in the team's history to be selected a team captain in three straight seasons.
   In 2014, O'Connor was EMU's first defensive player since 2007 to make the All-MAC First Team. He led the conference with 7.5 sacks, six solo and three assists, and had 64 tackles with 14 for a loss. He finished in the top-50 sack leaders in the country, and became only the second player in EMU history to lead the MAC in sacks (Troy Campbell; 1998).

2016 CAPTAINS: Eastern Michigan University's football team announced its team captains for the 2016 campaign. Providing leadership for the squad will be seniors Mike Brown, Cole Gardner, Pat O'Connor, along with redshirt sophomore Shaq Vann.
   Brown, Gardner, and Vann earn the honor for the first time, while O'Connor received the distinction for the third consecutive season. O'Connor joins former quarterback Andy Schmitt (2007-09) as the only players in the football team's 125-year history to be selected a team captain in three straight seasons.

EXPERIENCED OFFENSIVE LINE: Entering the 2016 season, Eastern Michigan's offensive line is the fifth-most experienced unit in the country according to Phil Steele. The Eagles have 123 career starts among its returners, including redshirt seniors Andrew Wylie (33), Darien Terrell (26), Jake Hurcombe (25), Cole Gardner (19), and Matt Thornton (16), as well as redshirt sophomores Ka'John Armstrong and Jeremy Hickey, who both have two career starts.

WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE: EMU has a wealth of experience back for the 2016 season, as the Eagles return seven starters on both offense and defense, as well as three specialists.

YOUNG EAGLES: Despite the experience returning for the Eagles in terms of starts, EMU is still a young team with only 18 seniors on the 2016 roster. This marks the 25th fewest seniors in the FBS this season. Only two of EMU's opponents have fewer seniors than Eastern, Missouri and Bowling Green, while Wyoming has just as many with 18.

NEW DEFENSIVE SCHEME: EMU hired a new defensive coordinator in Neal Neathery this past offseason. With him comes a new defensive scheme for the Eagles in the form of a 4-2-5 defense. With that defense last season for UT-San Antonio, Neathery's defense ranked 31st nationally in interceptions with 14 while posting the 37th-best redzone defense with 12 stops from inside the 20-yard line. His defense forced 22 turnovers (8 fumbles/14 INTs) and allowed only 168.9 rushing yards per game in 2015, including holding two opponents to less than 100 yards.

PORTER GETS THE NOD FOR MVSU START: While he might be putting the EMU uniform on for the first time as the starting quarterback, junior Todd Porter will not be making his first start under center in an FBS game. Porter spent his freshman season in 2013 as a Hilltopper at Western Kentucky University. He started the lone game in which he appeared in as a "true" freshman, against Morgan State, going 5-for-10 with one interception and 76 yards, including a 56-yard completion. After playing sparingly as a freshman, he redshirted as a sophomore and then left school in December of 2014.
   The quarterback then took a long and winding road back to the Division I ranks. That included a season last fall at Garden City (Kansas) junior college, where he had to compete with nine other quarterbacks in the fall. Porter still wound up starting the final three games and playing in the last four. Overall, Porter appeared in seven games for the Broncbusters. He was the second leading passer and leading rusher in the 2015 season, finishing with 1,218 passing yards and 286 rushing yards. He threw for 10 touchdowns and rushed for six more.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK: Two EMU seniors are close to topping the all-time list for defensive categories in the EMU record book. Pat O'Connor is 6.5 sacks away from being EMU's all-time sack leader (since 1998), while DaQuan Pace is just four pass breakups away from topping the charts at that category (since 1998).

TOP GPA IN THE MAC: EMU had three of its teams recognized for its conference-leading success in the classroom. The EMU football, women's soccer, and men's golf programs each led the Mid-American Conference in team grade point average in their respective sports for the 2015-16 academic year.

41st FOR THE MAC: The 2016 season marks the 41st year that the Eagles have been a part of the Mid-American Conference football championship race. EMU was admitted into the league in 1971, but a complete league schedule was not available until the 1976 season.

MADE IN MICHIGAN: The 2016 EMU squad boasts 37 players that hail from the Great Lakes State, 21 more than the next closest state.

BARNES LOOKS TO BOOM: Redshirt junior Austin Barnes looks to build on his record-setting 2015 campaign after he had one of the finest seasons in program history punting the ball. He finished the season with a 43.6 yards-per-punt average, tying the program record set in 1980. The Illinois native recorded nine punts of 50-or-more yards and pinned opponents inside their own 20 on a career-best 15 occasions, while only allowing one touchback. His 43.6 yard punting average ranked him second in the conference in 2015.

LUNCH WITH COACH: The next coach's luncheons is Wednesday, Sept. 21, at noon. The luncheons will be held at Washtenaw Golf Club located at 2955 Packard Road in Ypsilanti. Cost to attend each luncheon is $15 and includes a buffet and beverages. For more information or to register, please call 734.487.1050 or visit EMUEagles.com/Luncheon.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles hit the road the next two weekends for games at the University of Missouri, Sept. 10, and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Sept. 17.
   EMU will next clock in at "The Factory" Friday, Sept. 23, in a nationally-televised affair against the University of Wyoming. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available at EMUEagles.com/tickets or by calling 734.487.2282.

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Players Mentioned

Ka’John Armstrong

Austin Barnes

Mike Brown

Cole Gardner

Jeremy Hickey

Jake Hurcombe

Pat O'Connor

DaQuan Pace

Todd Porter

Darien Terrell

Matt Thornton

Shaq Vann

Andrew Wylie

Eastern Michigan Athletics