Eastern Drops Road Contest at Kentucky

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (EMUEagles.com) – Noah Kim threw for a career-high 330 yards while accounting for two touchdowns, but it was not enough as the Eastern Michigan University football team dropped a 48-23 decision at the University of Kentucky Saturday, Sept. 13, inside Kroger Field. The loss dropped the Eagles to 0-3 while the Wildcats improved to 2-1.

How It Happened
The Wildcats forced the Eagles into their first turnover of the season by intercepting Kim (Centreville, Va./Westfield/Michigan State/Coastal Carolina) before the UK offense scored its first of two consecutive touchdowns for a 14-0 lead. The Eagles ended the scoring run as Rudy Kessinger (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) connected on a then-career-long 38-yard field goal to make it a 14-3 score at the end of the first.

Early in the second, the hosts added another touchdown for a 21-3 lead before Kessinger hit from 37 yards to make it a 21-6 game. UK responded with a touchdown with 1:55 to play in the half for a 28-6 lead. Still, the Eagles responded by marching 75 yards in three plays as Kim connected with Terry Lockett Jr. (St. Paul, Minn./Minnehaha Academy/Michigan State) on a 64-yard touchdown pass with 1:36 to play. After forcing the hosts to punt, EMU covered 30 yards on seven plays and sent Kessinger onto the field where he drilled a career-long 50-yard field goal with three seconds in the half to send the teams to the locker room with UK up, 28-16.

The Wildcats added to their lead with a field goal early in the third quarter (31-16) before a fake punt by the Eagles didn't garner enough yards for a first down deep in their own territory. UK scored on its next possession to extend its lead to 38-16 before the Eagle defense stood tall on a goal-line stand to force a field goal that put the Wildcats in front, 41-16 early in the fourth. The hosts added their final score of the game with 4:46, but the Eagles would not go quietly, as they marched 75 yards over 12 plays with Kim rushing for a five-yard score – the first rushing touchdown of his collegiate career – with 58 seconds remaining for the 48-23 final.

Game Notes
» Noah Kim had a career game as he finished with 330 yards passing on 25-of-42 passing with one touchdown and one interception while adding 19 yards rushing and one score on nine carries. With his arm, Kim surpassed his previous career high of 292 yards against Richmond (Sept. 9, 2023) while playing for Michigan State with his 25 completions tying his career-best recorded at Iowa (Sept. 30, 2023).
» For the first time in his career, Noah Kim rushed for a touchdown as he scampered five yards for the score late in the game. The score marked the first time in his career that he recorded one passing and one rushing touchdown in the same game. His passing score marked his third consecutive game with at least one touchdown thrown, the longest streak of his career.
» Noah Kim spread the ball around once again as 10 different players recorded at least one reception, tying for the season high set at Texas State, Aug. 30, in the season opener. Joshua Long (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola/El Camino CC) and Jamarien Wheeler (Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn/Iowa Central) tied for the lead with four receptions. At the same time, Terry Lockett Jr. tallied a team-high 90 yards.
» Joshua Long entered the game with five catches for 63 yards in his first two games with Eagles, including bests of three catches at Texas State while posting 32 yards and a long of 19 against Long Island. At Kentucky, Long finished with career-bests in receptions (four), yards (45), and longest reception (25).
» Donate McMillan (Seattle, Wash./Chief Sealth/Weber State) tied his career high in receptions with three for 22 yards while also rushing 13 times for 83 yards to finish with 105 total yards in the game. It marked the second time this year he has amassed 100+ all-purpose yards after securing 113 yards at Texas State with 78 rushing yards and 35 receiving.
» Donate McMillan's 83 yards on the ground pushed his career total to 1,989 yards, leaving him 11 away from 2,000 for his career. McMillan has rushed for 209 yards this year and 338 yards during his time with the Eagles after collecting 1,651 yards with Weber State (2020-22).
» Tavierre Dunlap (Del Valle, Texas/Del Valle/Michigan) finished with one reception for 39 yards to go along with 15 yards on the ground. The passing yards are the most he has had in one game and on one reception in his career after pulling in one pass for five yards with Michigan at home against UConn, Sept. 17, 2022.
» Rudy Kessinger finished the game 3-of-4 in field goal attempts as he connected on his first three attempts before missing a 55-yard attempt in the fourth quarter. His first make came from 38 yards in the first quarter, which stood as a new career high (was 37 at Texas State) before resetting the mark to 50 yards in the second quarter. His 50-yarder is the first for an EMU kicker since Jesus Gomez connected on two at Washington, Sept. 7, 2024, with makes of 57 and 50.
» Tanner Lemaster (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington/Kentucky), who played two seasons at Kentucky, returned to his former school and pulled in two catches for 16 yards. His first catch came in the second quarter and went for 13 yards and a first down.
» Two Eagles earned their first starts with the program as Owen Snively (Fremont, N.H./Tilton/Colorado State) earned a start on the offensive line and Donmiel Rogers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woodds) started in the defensive backfield. The start for Snively is his first with the Eagles and the seventh of his career after earning six with Colorado State in 2022 while Rogers, a freshman, earned his first start in his third career collegiate game. With their starts, they are the 10thand 11th players, respectively, to earn their first starts at Eastern Michigan this year.
» The Eagles were flagged for seven penalties in the game, bringing their season total to 12 through three games, which ranks as the second-fewest under Chris Creighton and the third-best since 1999 behind the seven calls in 2010 (0 vs. Army, 2 at Miami, and 5 vs. Central Michigan).

Historical Notes
» The Eagles fell to 0-3 this year with their loss while the Wildcats improved to 2-1 (0-1 SEC).
» Eastern fell to 0-3 in its all-time series with Kentucky. All three games have been played in Lexington with UK previously winning in 2019 (38-17) and 2017 (24-20).

Up Next
Eastern Michigan returns home to 'The Factory' at Rynearson Stadium Saturday, Sept. 20, as the Eagles and the Ragin' Cajuns of the University of Louisiana will meet for a Homecoming contest in Ypsilanti. The game is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. and will air live on ESPN+. Tom Helmer (play-by-play), Rob Rubick (analyst), Elena Davis (sideline), and Greg Steiner (halftime show) will have the call live on WEMU (89.1 FM) and The Varsity Network app.

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Team Stats

Noah Kim

Terry Lockett Jr.

Players Mentioned

Tavierre Dunlap

Rudy Kessinger

Noah Kim

Tanner Lemaster

Terry Lockett Jr.

Joshua Long

Donmiel Rogers

Owen Snively

Jamarien Wheeler

Players Mentioned

Tavierre Dunlap

Rudy Kessinger

Noah Kim

Tanner Lemaster

Terry Lockett Jr.

Joshua Long

Donmiel Rogers

Owen Snively

Jamarien Wheeler

Eastern Michigan Athletics