SB Nation - Latarrius Thomas

2011 MAC Football Postseason Awards Cheatsheet

Matt Sussman — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:00:25 -0000

And that's another MAC football regular season in the Scrolls of Imperial Honor.

Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish is your winner of the Vern Smith, as well as the Offensive POY. Hard to argue each of these. His play has equaled last year and was needed even more so with the loss of Chad Spann.

Here's a bit of a surprise: Drew Nowak of Western Michigan won Defensive Player of the Year. He was tied for first in the conference with 8.5 sacks ... but I have to think Khalil Mack deserved this honor.

Eastern Michigan's Ron English won Coach of the Year. A no-doubt choice, and if there was voting tabulation this ought to have been unanimous, although Frank Solich, Dave Doeren, Steve Addazio and Pete Lembo all had excellent years.

The Special Teams POY is OHIO's accurate kicker Matt Weller. I guess Eric Page can't win 'em all (although he picked up three first-team nods). Although ... for some reason he wins Special Teams POY and is only second-team All-MAC as a placekicker.

Bowling Green running back Anthon Samuel took the Freshman of the Year award. There have been several deserving freshmen this year, most of them running backs. It could've been him or Akron's Jawon Chisholm.

Below the jump is the cheatsheet.

School	First Team (3 pts/selection)	Second Team (2 pts/selection)	Third Team (1 pt/selection)	Total Points
Northern Illinois	QB Chandler Harnish C Scott Wedige OL Trevor Olson PK Mathew Sims	WR Perez Ashford RB Jasmin Hopkins DT Sean Progar DB Jimmie Ward	WR Nathan Palmer	21
Toledo	OL Mike VanDerMeulen WR Eric Page DB Desmond Marrow PR Eric Page KR Eric Page	C Zac Kerin RB Adonis Thomas	DL T.J. Fatinikun	20
Temple	OL Pat Boyle TE Evan Rodriguez RB Bernard Pierce DL Adrian Robinson	OLB Tahir Whitehead P Brandon McManus	OL Wayne Tribue RB Matt Brown DL Morkeith Brown DB Kevin Kroboth	20
OHIO	OL: Joe Flading	OL Eric Herman WR LaVon Brazill PK Matt Weller ILB Noah Keller DL Tremayne Scott DB Travis Carrie	QB Tyler Tettleton OL A.J. Strum DB Donte Harden KR Donte Harden	19
Ball State	OLB Aaron Morris DB Sean Baker	OL Jordan Hansel WR Briggs Orsbon ILB Travis Freeman DL Nate Ollie PR Jamill Smith	P Scott Kovanda	17
Bowling Green	WR Kamar Jorden ILB Dwayne Woods DL Chris Jones P Brian Schmiedebusch	PR BooBoo Gates	C Ben Bojicic	15
Western Michigan	WR Jordan White DL Drew Nowak	QB Alex Carder DB Johnnie Simon	OL: Dann O'Neill WR Chleb Ravenell PK John Potter DL Freddie Bishop	14
Miami	WR Nick Harwell DB Dayonne Nunley	OL Brandon Brooks	OLB Jerrell Wedge ILB Ryan Kennedy DL Austin Brown	11
Kent State	DL Roosevelt Nix	OL Brian Winters OLB C.J. Malauulu DB Josh Pleasant	ILB Luke Batton DB Luke Wollet	11
Buffalo	RB Branden Oliver OLB Khalil Mack	WR Marcus Rivers	PR Terrell Jackson	9
Central Michigan	DB Jahleel Addae	TE David Blackburn	OL Eric Fisher WR Titus Davis WR Cody Wilson	8
Eastern Michigan	None	DL Brad Ohrman	TE Garrett Hoskins OLB Justin Cudworth DB Latarrius Thomas DB Marlon Pollard	6
Akron	ILB Brian Wagner	None	None	3

So NIU earned the most "points" of all, and they had the most wins. Sensible, isn't it?

Let's try another metric I just made up: All-MAC points per team win. A higher number should tend to mean a higher proportionate amount of awards based on team performance. Could be individual success. Maybe a lower score indicates team bias, lack of player recognition or better overall team play.
NIU: 2.33 (21 to 9)
Temple: 2.50 (20 to 8)
Toledo: 2.50 (20 to 8)
OHIO: 2.11 (19 to 9)
Ball State 2.83 (17 to 6)
BGSU: 3.00 (15 to 5)
WMU: 2.00 (14 to 7)
Miami: 2.75 (11 to 4)
Kent State: 2.20 (11 to 5)
Buffalo: 3.00 (9 to 3)
CMU: 2.66 (8 to 3)
EMU: 1.00 (6 to 6)
Akron: 3.00 (3 to 1)

Eastern Michigan Isn't "For Real" Yet, But They're Getting There

Matt Sussman — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:27:16 -0000

The butt of the joke in MAC football over the last 20 years has been Eastern Michigan. The crux of their agony has been centered around the two undeniable numbers: win-loss record and attendance. Who's going to drop money on a perpetually bad football team? That's not faith; that's foolhardiness. You might as well throw your money away on a loincloth for the Ypsilanti Water Tower. A day after it's draped over it, it'll be stolen.

AnnArbor.com declared that EMU is "for real." The joke may not be over — you can't wipe away decades of futility with one decent season — but the success can begin now.

It begins with playing in front of a small crowd, getting a goal line stand, and winning against a big rival. The announced attendance was 6,772. This is a typical "announced" attendance for EMU: they'll count all the tickets bought by companies that were perhaps distributed but not used. In this case, from the reports I've seen this was probably very close to the amount of souls in Rynearson. It's still a pitiful crowd by college football standards and by MAC standards. It's a start. They went home happy. And when they do that, they're liable to return for another game.

A 5-3 record is a godsend for this struggling program. Five wins is more than their last three seasons combined. It's their highest win total since 1995, when they went 6-5. They're even getting projected to go to a bowl. Their last bowl was 1987, which was also their last (and only) MAC Championship.

So they're not "there" yet. They were lambasted by Toledo a week ago, need to play at NIU and must hope for a couple of Rockets losses so EMU can slide by that tiebreaker. I don't see that happening. But I do see them winning as many as seven or possibly eight games this year. They host Ball State; that won't be an easy one. Next after that is Buffalo, who they should handle. Then comes Kent State, the worst offense in FBS.

This is ridiculous. Seven wins for Eastern Michigan. Ron English wins coach of the freaking universe if that happens. EMU winning seasons only occur in video game dynasties. But with this bizarre easy schedule, it's also very possible.

They scheduled two FCS opponents, and beatable ones: Alabama State and Howard. Their MAC schedule lacked some tough games: no Temple and no Ohio, and they got the MAC West cellar carnival of Akron, Buffalo and Kent State.

The WMU game remains their biggest win since that 56-52 shootout against Central Michigan in 2008. Granted, since then there haven't been many to pick. Any win has been huge for them.

What's been more impressive is who has done it for them. We expect some type of breakout offensive player, and we looked to Alex Gillett a couple years ago, thinking he'd be the guy. And he's been okay. But he's not much of a passer and even as a rushing threat he's third, maybe fourth, behind Dominique Sherrer, Javonti Greene and Dominique White. Garrett Hoskins is the team's leading receiver with 223 yards and 15 catches. That's ... not much.

I think the real story here is the defense. Last year they gave up 43.9 points per game ... just in the MAC alone. This year they're down to a lean 24.5 in the conference. Comeback senior Latarrius Thomas, surprising linebacker Justin Cudworth and leading tackler Willie Williams have been just a few of the names who've come up big time. Throw in defensive tackles Andy Mulumba and Brad Ohrman and English has turned around this defense ridiculously quickly. It's almost as if he used to be a defensive coordinator.

Good on the Eagles. I think anyone who isn't playing them on a given week would love nothing more than to see them succeed. It's been a purely nihilistic football experience during the Internet age, both in their record and in their bleachers. We've kept saying that it can only get better, but here's our first sign in some time.

2011 MAC Football Preview: Eastern Michigan Eagles

cmadler — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:30:31 -0000

Now that summer is winding down, football season winds up. While NFLers were negotiating, college programs have been practicing and filing down their depth charts in preparation for Labor Day weekend when the season begins. The weather outside is heating up and that must mean it's time for us to begin previewing the MAC, one team at a time...

Located seven miles east of Ann Arbor and generally deep in the shadows of the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University has a long, but often ignored, tradition of athletic success in almost every sport except football. Actually, the school does have a tradition of football success too, you just have to dig through old records to find it...

Last season: It took a year-and-a-half, but Ron English finally got his first win as a head coach, in a come-from-behind overtime thriller at Ball State. They managed a second win at Buffalo, for a 2-10 record, which was a 2-game improvement over 2009.

Returning players: Two key defenders were approved for medical hardship waivers for 2010, allowing them to return for 2011. Nate Paopao was an outstanding linebacker at Palomar Junior College (CA) in 2007 and 2008 and played 10 games for EMU in 2009, but his 2010 season ended two games in due to injury. Latarrius Thomas was highly touted out of high school, and had a great freshman year at Louisville before being sidelined with injuries. He followed Ron English to EMU, and after sitting out the requisite season, he started the first two games at free safety before suffering another season-ending injury. This team needs all the help they can get on defense, and having two experienced athletes in the backfield can only help.

On offense, the Eagles return a bunch of familiar names, starting, of course, with junior quarterback Alex Gillett. It's hard to believe, but at this time last year EMU had a legitimate quarterback controversy, and we didn't learn until the last minute that Gillett would be starting ahead of Devontae Payne. Ron English has no such issue to contend with this summer; Gillett never relinquished the starting position, and Devontae Payne disappeared from the team just before the final game. With four returners (Buche, Sorgatz, Watman, and Neal) who totalled 39 starts last year, the offensive line should give Gillett plenty of time to distribute the ball, and three of the top four receivers (K. Thomas, Hoskins, and Scott) will also be back. At running back, Gillett and Dwayne Priest accounted for most of the production, and while Priest is gone, seniors Corey Welch and Dominique Sherrer and sophomore Javonti Greene should provide EMU with plenty of ground production.

New faces: For the first time in several years, the Eagles have no noteworthy changes (none at all that I'm aware of) on the coaching staff, which the players will probably appreciate. There also won't be many new faces on the offense, which showed improvement on and off last year, and figures to take a big step forward this year.

On the defense, people are expecting a lot from Marlon Pollard, a highly-touted recruit who landed offers from Nebraska, Notre Dame, Stanford, and Washington before choosing UCLA and then transferring to EMU. In addition to playing in the secondary, he may also take some punt returns. English has also brought in a whole bunch of junior college transfers to try to strengthen the linebacking corps, which is needed, because the run defense has been atrocious the last two years.

Games to circle: Three games on this schedule really get me excited: September 17 at Michigan, November 5 against Ball State, and November 12 against Buffalo.

As for the first, I know it's not going to happen -- even if the Wolverines have a let-down after hosting Notre Dame in Michigan Stadium's first night game ever -- but that's the game most EMU fans privately fantasize about someday winning. Buffalo is the only FBS team against which EMU has an active winning streak -- in fact, EMU is 4-0 all-time against the Bulls -- and by blogger fiat last year, this is now a rivalry game for the Ontario Sandwich Trophy! Ball State is EMU's chance to start another such streak, plus it's Ball State; there's just something about them...

Elsewhere on the schedule, it would be really nice to pay Central Michigan back for the painful losses they've inflicted on the Eagles the last two years.

The last game that I like is the last game, November 25 at Northern Illinois, and the key word there is "at". The Friday after Thanksgiving is not a particularly good day for a game to begin with, Rynearson Stadium gets mighty cold in late November, and last year's 71-3 debacle left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I'm glad to have an excuse to watch this one from my couch.

This was the crowd when Northern Illinois came to EMU in 2010.

Did you know: In 1990-91, when EMU dropped the "Hurons" as the mascot, the two runners-up were "Green Hornets" and "Express".

Lloyd W. Olds, a 1916 graduate of Michigan State Normal College (now EMU), founder of EMU's intramural program, and EMU track coach for 22 years, came up with the concept of the striped referee's shirt. While an undergraduate in 1914, Olds refereed high school basketball games. He later said "The referee often looked very much like a player, so the lads often threw the ball to me or bounced it off my head. So I had a knitting concern make up a special shirt for me. The shirt had broad black and white stripes. I took plenty of ribbing when I first appeared in it, but the idea caught on among both basketball and football officials."

Also, you might have heard of our water tower?

Prediction

Realistically I'm expecting 5-7, though 6-6 wouldn't surprise me. Either would be the winningest season in 16 years. Note that I used the word "winningest", not "best". EMU has never (?) scheduled two FCS/I-AA teams in a season before. Personally, I treat FCS games like vacated seasons -- wins don't count but losses do -- and since the other two non-conference games are at Michigan and at Penn State, the core of this prediction is 3 or 4 MAC wins. The schedule is also in the Eagles' favor, with their cross-division games coming against Akron, Buffalo, and Kent State, who totalled six MAC wins last year, while they avoid the stronger programs of Miami, OHIO (TM), and Temple. Against the West Division, games against Toledo and Northern Illinois -- probably unwinnable under the best of circumstances anyway -- are on the road; Ball State and Western Michigan, both of whom EMU played hard-fought road games against last year, come to Ypsilanti, and the change of venue might be enough to turn last year's OT win and fourth-quarter loss into two wins. The optimist says that 8-4 might be attainable, while the pessimist says that even with the easy schedule, the Eagles will ways to lose and finish 3-9.

The Bull Run Inquisition: Eagle Totem

Tim Riordan — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 23:33:27 -0000

Its that time again, time to shake off an awful performance. After the past few week I sometimes wonder if I was only doing this when the program was on the upswing. I mean you don't see EMU blogs out there..

What the what! There *is* an EMU Blog out there! Carter Adler's "Eagle Totem" is a solid site which covers all things Eagles. He has quickly found his place among MAC Blogger by speaking truth to power about everything right and wrong with Eastern Michigan Athletics.

Now normally I'd hate to take a long suffering fan into the torture chamber but with the implosion of Buffalo football this season I have to take my shots where I can get them so Carter was subjected to the Following Torture:

Watching every minute of the 2009 EMU season.

He hardly blinked! being an EMU fan had hardened him to the sufferings of his team. He was now callous to sloppy play. It was pretty apparent to break someone this trained in the way of pain was not going to break with simple gridiron humiliation. I knew then Iwas going to have to up my game. So I went to my ace in the hole for EMU fans.

Being Forced to wear Michigan Gear over CMU underware while on a date with a girl from WMU.

During the third course, right around the eighth time his date said "Coach Cubit says this is the year" he could take no more. Broken, Bitter, and looking rather dapper in Wolverine Blue he confessed the following.

Bull Run: EMU has had a deceptively good season (for EMU). Close games to open against Army and Miami (two bowl teams), Hanging with the Cavs for half the game, and knocking down Ball State. The Buffalo game this week is a tossup. As a guy who follows the program are you seeing a corner being turned under Ron English?

Yes, though it's going slower than I had expected. My pre-season expectation for 2010 was 2-4 wins. The Eagles do still have a shot to get into that range on Saturday, but it's definitely not gone the way I'd hoped. Partly because English felt that it was necessary to "clean house" in the offseason -- 25 non-graduating players did not return from the 2009 team, partly due to players who didn't contribute as expected (Priest has struggled with an injury all season, slowing him down when he does play, Latarrius Thomas has lost most of the year to an injury, Ben Axon transferred out to a JUCO due to personal problems, etc.).

Bull Run: A follow up on Question number one: If you do see things turning around what kind of a time table do you see for EMU to become a six win team? If you don't see that turnaround what, in your opinion, needs to happen for the Eagles to start the long march to freedom.

I'm looking at 3-5 wins in 2011. In 2012, Gillett will be a senior, and EMU should have two good junior running backs in Javonti Greene and Mike Marrow. Kinsman Thomas will be a senior wide receiver, and Donald Scott will be a junior. Garrett Hoskins will be a senior tight end. Jay Karutz, the punter, will be a junior. My point is that a tremendous amount of our offensive production from this year will still be around two years from now. We've also got a fairly young o-line and d-line, with a bunch of young backups, so by 2012, EMU should be solid in the trenches as well, and the Eagles should finish above .500 for the first time in nearly two decades.

Bull Run: I have not seen an EMU game in several weeks what I saw early this season was Gillett running around like a wild man? Is he getting consistent help yet.

Gillett is still running around like a wild man (accounting for 2,201 yards of offense and 18 touchdowns), and he is getting help, but it's not consistent. One week it will be Dwayne Priest, another week it will be Corey Welch, another week it will be Javonti Greene (out of nowhere!). Part of that has to do with injuries. Part of it has to do with unimaginative and just plain predictable play-calling. Looking ahead to next year, I think Welch will be relegated to a backup role for his senior season, and Greene and Mike Marrow will get the starts and the bulk of the carries -- at least the ones Gillett doesn't keep for himself!

Bull Run: Lets assume you were the Buffalo Offensive Coordinator, you are averaging 11 points a game and have just lost the closest thing to a serviceable QB you have had since week one. How do you attack EMU's defense?

Take a lesson from Woody Hayes -- "only three things can happen when you pass, and two of them are bad". Don't pass the ball. Don't think about passing. Don't even think about thinking about...well, you get the idea. You may not have a great running back, but I bet you've got several ball carriers who are good enough to average at least 3 or 4 yards per carry against the Eagles' weak run defense. Toss in an occasional reverse or double reverse, but mostly, just run it up the middle. In other words, a "crunching, frontal assault of muscle against muscle, bone upon bone, will against will."

Bull Run: Watching Buffalo fall back into the sub-basement of the MAC can make one wonder if teams like UB and EMU are doomed to be the speed bump teams of their division. Program- and institution-wise why is this, or is this not, true?

I can't really speak for Buffalo, but I've spent a fair amount of time and space writing about why EMU has an institutional problem with football: the University of Michigan "kill zone", the death spiral, the school's name, the game day experience, recruiting, and why football is very different from basketball in this regard. The biggest problems at EMU that I haven't yet written about are the generic nickname "Eagles" and the historic role of the administration in bringing EMU to this point. I've got a huge amount to say on those topics, so I'm saving them for next summer. For now, let's just say that EMU is not "doomed" -- decades of bad administrative decisions have put the school in this position.

Bull Run: Is this going to be an evenly matched entertaining game or is this going to be world class ugly on both sidelines?

I'm guessing a little bit ugly, but a lot of entertaining.

How did our 2010 Opponents do this week?

Tim Riordan — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 01:26:01 -0000

The Game of the week was NIU introducing the Rockets to the back of the woodshed (and getting the Toledo Monkey off their back) but Bowling Green and Miami had the pick of the week. That game also had pretty big implications as the RedHawks are now at six wins with a path to seven.

Beyond getting beaten by Ball State (and losing our starting QB in the process) the only other things of note were UCF scuttling their odds of being ranked and UConn making the big east seem even more average then before, perhaps assuring that no Big East team will escape the regular season ranked.

Opponent	Sagarin	W	L	Conf	W	L	Last
Rhode Island	151	4	5	CAA	3	4	L: 15 - 6 Richmond
Baylor	34	7	4	Big12	4	3	L: 42 - 30 T. Tech
UCF	50	7	3	CUSA	5	1	L: 31 - 21 S. Miss
Connecticut	72	5	4	BigEast	2	2	W: 30 - 28 Pitt
Bowling Green	148	2	8	MAC	1	5	L: 24 -21 Miami
N. Illinois	56	8	2	MAC	6	0	W: 65 - 30 Toledo
Temple	55	8	2	MAC	5	1	Bye
Miami (OH)	108	6	4	MAC	5	1	W: 24 - 21 BGSU
Ohio	88	7	3	MAC	5	1	Bye
Ball State	162	3	7	MAC	2	4	W: 20 - 3 Buffalo
E. Michigan	186	1	9	MAC	1	5	L 30 - 45 WMU
Akron	214	0	10	MAC	0	6	Bye
Total	110	58	61	0.487	37	31	0.544
Lost to	78	51	29	0.638	29	7	0.806
Defeated	150	6	13	0.316	5	10	0.333
Upcoming	200	1	19	0.050	3	14	0.176

Final - 11.13.2010	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhode Island	0	6	0	0	42
Richmond	3	0	0	12	30

Richmond survives Rhode Island, 15-6, on Senior Day | University of Richmond Collegian — University of Richmond News

The Richmond defense kept the Spiders’ playoff hopes alive as the Spiders defeated Colonial Athletic Association foe, the University of Rhode Island Rams, 15-6 in a key conference matchup on Saturday Nov. 13. The defense, led by senior linebackers Eric McBride and Patrick Weldon, who combined for 31 tackles and three interceptions, forced Rhode Island quarterback Steve Probst to throw four interceptions and a fumble.

Final - 11.13.2010	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas A&M Aggies	7	14	14	7	42
Baylor Bears	17	13	0	0	30

Complete Coverage >

Thee Bears.com - BAYLOR Football, Basketball and all other sports blog
1st half: Explosion Robert Griffin bursts up the middle for a 71 yard touchdown reminding everyone, even the Baylor faithful, that RG III still knows speed. Jay Finely is pissed that Griffin already has more rushing yards than him and decides to bust a 69 yard touchdown himself-sorry Jay, two yards shorter than Bobby. Baylor is up 30-21 at the half with absolutely no signs that this Aggie team will slow down our explosive offense- Imodium AD perhaps? Wrong explosion.

2nd half: Implosion 7 points were left off the board, that’s a punt return by Kalief Muhammad for a touchdown and an extra point. (Really it’s 10, but I had to find some way to include Kalief’s name). In big games, you simply cannot have this happen, especially when it involves an extra point and a straight away 27 yard FG. Momentum is a funny thing in sports, and whether you want to believe it or not, that missed FG to start the 2nd half by Jones took the wind out of the green and gold sails. We looked deflated after that, both offense and defense. It’s a giant burden on an offense when they know they HAVE to score TD’s to win the game. A team plays slightly different when they lose faith in not only their defense, but their kicker as well.

Final - 11.13.2010	1	2	3	4	Total
Southern Miss. Golden Eagles	3	14	7	7	31
Central Florida Knights	14	0	0	7	21

Complete Coverage >

Watch UCF coach George O’Leary talk about the Knights’ loss to Southern Miss – Knights Notepad – Orlando Sentinel

UCF coach George O’Leary said he was disappointed with the Knights’ performance during their 31-21 loss to Southern Miss Saturday. "I thought from an effort and enthusiasm standpoint, we have to play a lot harder than that against teams like this," O’Leary said. "I give Southern Miss credit. They made plays and we didn’t make plays."

Final - 11.11.2010	1	2	3	4	Total
Pittsburgh Panthers	7	0	14	7	28
Connecticut Huskies	7	3	10	10	30

Complete Coverage >

Randy Edsall is a happy man: UConn 30, Pitt 28 - The UConn Blog

You know, I think it's best we just gloss over all the negatives surrounding the UConn football team and just, for a couple days at least, enjoy the ride. Formula 2007 is back in full force, as UConn is coming up with unbelievably timely turnovers and special teams play to pull wins out of nowhere. (That formula is so-named based on the 2007 team, which was +14 in turnover margin and returned nine kicks or picks for touchdowns and finished 9-4 overall, despite being outgained by an average of four yards per game by its 13 opponents.)

But the other story behind the Huskies' 30-28 victory over Pitt last night was that UConn's offensive line put in a tremendous effort again the Big East's best defensive line, setting up Jordan Todman for 220+ yards. (This just in: Jordan Todman is awesome.) The O-line has been wildly disappointing in 2010, but not last night. You can't count on lucky breaks to go your way every week, but if UConn can dominate the line of scrimmage, they'll have a chance to bet anyone left on their schedule.

Final - 11.10.2010	1	2	3	4	Total
Miami (Ohio) RedHawks	7	7	7	3	24
Bowling Green Falcons	0	7	0	14	21

Complete Coverage >

FalconBlog--Triumphs and Trials in the BGSU Falcon Nation: All is Right With the Universe...

If BG had a season with a bunch of losses on the last play of the game, and one of them wasn't to Miami, we would lose trust in the stability of the universe. We'd be convinced that it was the end of days, that dogs would soon sleep with cats, the world would spin in an opposite direction, that the heavens would open up and it would rain plague and pestilence on us.

Final - 11.9.2010	1	2	3	4	Total
Toledo Rockets	0	0	23	7	30
Northern Illinois Huskies	7	21	28	9	65

Complete Coverage >

Northern Illinois Football is BACK - Red And Black Attack

The team that I saw out there last night in Huskie Stadium was the team I envisioned seeing Northern Illinois become one day. It took a really long time, but the Huskies are finally over that enormous hump. Judging from what fans have witnessed this season, there is nothing that will stand in the way of the Huskies winning the MAC Championship this year. 3+ years writing this blog and my dreams have started to come true.

People want to compare this season to 2004, but it makes a lot more sense to compare it to the 2002 season. Let's face it, the students today have no recollection of how good we were earlier in the past decade.We haven't even had a bowl win since 2004, nary a MAC Championship appearance since 2005. The 2002 season set a base for the 2003 season where we went 10-2 and beat two ranked teams.

Final - 11.13.2010	1	2	3	4	Total
Eastern Michigan Eagles	7	14	3	6	30
Western Michigan Broncos	14	10	7	14	45

Complete Coverage >

Western Michigan 45, EMU 30 recap " Eagle Totem

Three of the five suspended EMU players returned and started. Priest netted 89 yards on 27 carries (3.3 yards per carry) but failed to get into the end zone. Burke only had one catch, but he took it 40 yards for a touchdown shortly before halftime. Steve Brown started at linebacker, but registered just a single tackle for the game. Latarrius Thomas has been injured and, after starting the first two games, hasn’t played since. I’m not totally clear on medical redshirt rules, but, even though he’s redshirted previously, I believe it may be possible for him to get a sixth year of eligibility — but only if he doesn’t play any more games this year — so one way or the other, I don’t really expect to see him back on the field this fall.

Analysis of the Enemy: Eastern Michigan Eagles

Tyler T. — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:00:30 -0000

Analysis of the Enemy: EMU

What: Eastern Michigan Eagles @ the Ohio State University Buckeyes

When: Saturday, September 25th; 3:30 p.m. EST.

Where: Along the Olentangy

Television: ABC in market; ESPN out of market

Weather Forecast: High- 75 degrees; Low- 57 degrees; 20% chance of precipitation

Yes, they're a real team; and yes, they do play football. But barely. To say the Eastern Michigan Eagles football program has struggled recently is to say that the Pope is Catholic. Sure, it's truthful, but it does not accurately describe the situation.

Year	Record	Points For	Points Against	Differential
2009	0 -- 12	197	459	-262
2008	3 -- 9	309	427	-116
2007	4 -- 8	290	374	-84

This is a program that has had such trouble attracting people to their home games that they periodically bus local high school students to and from the games, just to avoid dipping below the NCAA attendance threshold. In other words, they are the antithesis to the Ohio State program.

For an explanation of the statistics used, see here.

Category	Total Offense	Total Defense	Offensive F.E.I.	Defensive F.E.I.	Team F.E.I.	Team S&P+	FPA
Value	278.6	426.9	-0.295	0.623	-0.234	147.8	0.475
Rank	116	106	100	118	115	119	91

2009's EMU team was depressingly bad. Near last in every category measurable, their adjusted output actually has them worse than their raw data.

Second year head coach Ron English has a project on his hands. The former Michigan defensive coordinator is an able coach, but it will take more than that to turn around this moribund program. With little financial support from the administration, a limited recruiting base, and tough competition in the MAC, he's going to need a miracle. So let's take a look at what Ron English is working with.

The following charts all use 2010 statistics.

Quarterback(s)

Player	Starts	Completions	Attempts	Comp. %	Yards	Y/A	Interception %	Rushes	Y/R
Alex Gillet	5 to 9	34	59	57.60%	350	5.9	5%	39	4.41
Devontae Payne	0	14	27	51.90%	148	5.5	3.70%	1	2

Wisely, English has decided to go with the youth movement at quarterback for the long-term benefit of the program. Gillet, a sophomore, gained experience by taking over as the starter midway through last season, and has opened up this year as top dog. It was difficult ascertaining exactly how many starts he's had, but it fits somewhere in that range.

Statistically, there's not much to speak of because of the smaller sample size, but what is there fits with last year's numbers. His accuracy is not atrocious but also not great, and his yards per attempt is very low. Part of this is no doubt a function of the lack of talent on the offense.

Filling out the position, redshirt freshman Devontae Payne is gaining experience in a limited role. He's not a runner at all, so the EMU staff is not using a combination between the passer and athlete- they are just hoping that one of the quarterbacks takes over permanently. Payne is a local guy, playing his high school football at Cleveland South. It should be a thrill for him to play in the Horseshoe.

Offensive Line + Heavy Personnel

Category	Sacks Allowed	Sack Rate	TFLs Allowed	N.P.P.
Value	3	3.40%	16	9.40%
Rank	27th (Tied)	N/A	61st (Tied)	N/A

All things considered, it could be a lot worse. There is definite improvement over last season, and the line did power EMU to an impressive 285 yards rushing against Army in week one. With four senior starters, this is probably EMU's best offensive position. Sophomore left guard Andrew Sorgatz is the sole underclassmen starter on the line.

Tight ends are a prominent feature of their offense, with three tight ends notching multiple catches in the first three weeks. Seniors Ben Thayer and Josh LeDuc round out the unit with sophomore Kyle DeMaster.

Skill Positions

Player	Rushes	Yards	Y/R	TDs
Dwayne Priest	50	199	3.98	3
Corey Welch	11	24	2.18	1

Eastern Michigan had success running the ball in its first game, but not so much in its second and third. That has dragged down the statistics for both primary backs. Priest, clearly, is the Eagles go to guy here, though.

Player	Receptions	Yards	Y/R	TDs
Kinsman Thomas	6	197	32.83	2
Donald Scott	3	72	24	1
Tyrone Burke	7	56	8	0
Trey Hunter	6	43	7.17	0

Some hope! Kinsman Thomas, the 6''2, 205 lb. sophomore wide receiver, is a legitimate MAC athlete. He is their big play guy, even though they have trouble involving him games. Three of his career touchdown passes have been for more than 40 yards, so look for them to try to get the ball to him early and often.

Front Seven

Averaging 273 lbs., the Eagles' defensive line is undersized but improving. English's strength and conditioning program has the team gaining mass, but as it is with the team in general, it's a long-term effort. Ohio State's offensive line will be able to push these guys around for much of the day. Look for a big rushing game from Brandon Saine, Boom Herron, Jordan Hall, and Jaamal Berry.

Linebackers Neal Howey, Marcus English, and Nate Paopao are all seniors. If not anything else, they've been through a lot at EMU, and it's unlikely they'll fold under pressure. It's also unlikely that they'll make a meaningful impact on Saturday.

Defensive Backs

Three seniors man the defensive back spots, with junior cornerback Marcell Rose being a junior. Rose, along with corner Arrington Harris, are both sub 5''10 corners. Expect them to struggle with Ohio State's receivers, especially DeVier Posey.

Ryan Downard and Latarrius Thomas are the starting safeties. Eastern Michigan likes work an extra safety into the box for run support often, so expect strong safety Downard to fill that role.

Special Teams

I almost considered skipping the special teams section, but what kind of message would that have sent?

Player	Punt Returns	AVG Return	TDs	Kick Returns	AVG Return	TDs
Ryan Downard	1	-1	0	N/A	N/A	N/A
Corey Welch	N/A	N/A	N/A	11	21.45	0
Kelip Goodwin	N/A	N/A	N/A	3	18.33	0
Brandon Pratt	N/A	N/A	N/A	3	16.67	0
Donald Scott	N/A	N/A	N/A	1	17	0

If the Bucks struggle in special teams coverage this week, they really, really need to reevaluate what they're doing. This EMU team is as bad a return unit as I've seen in a long time. Also, let it sink in for a minute that they've only forced one punt the entire year. 3 games, 1 punt. Bad.

On the bright side, freshman Jay Karutz has averaged 44.8 yards per punt. He's a true diamond in the rough.

Overview

Let's call this what it is: a mauling in the making. Last time I looked, Vegas has the line at 42.5, and even that may not be high enough. Last week Ohio State faced, at least, an average MAC team. This week, they are facing the MAC team that other MAC teams look forward to playing. The best thing for Ohio State to do is to jump out to an early, insurmountable lead (3 points will probably suffice), and then use the rest of the game to work on things and get young players some game experience.

And this may not be a popular opinion, but if I'm Jim Tressel, I deliberately give my special teams units a chance to work on improving in a game environment. A live hitting situation, as opposed to most special teams practices, may just be what the doctor ordered. Punting on 4th downs when you know you could get the needed yards may be the better long-term strategy.

Note

There will be no scheme breakdown this week. Eastern Michigan is on television so infrequently that video of their football program is harder to come by than class in a Bobcat costume.

On Friday, I will post some fun trivia in a FanShot, but if you must know more about EMU's scheme, know this:

Ron English is a Cover 3 disciple. He loves, loves running it, but he lacks the personnel to run anything effectively right now. As such, I expect one of two things: A.) He recognizes that he cannot win against Ohio State, so he runs Cover 3 and works on his base defense the entire game. Even if it will lead to more points for OSU, it will provide practice for his team. B.) He vainly tries competing with Ohio State by running a 2 deep shell (both safeties in back half of field), which limits the damage but not the outcome. Ron English has shown a dedication to building long-term at EMU, and I expect option A because of it. Take Ohio State laying the points, and Go Bucks!

Bozich misses the mark

Mike Rutherford — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:39:00 -0000

Undoubtedly, the best thing that could have happened for Bobby Petrino's Louisville legacy was the sudden and complete collapse of the program that has taken place since his departure. Even those who were secretly hoping his flight to ATL would never make it there are now casting him as the tragic hero whose genius couldn't be fully understood until he was replaced by someone inept.

While I'm fully aware of all the tremendous things Petrino did for this program I also haven't forgotten his inability to beat ranked teams on the road, his freezing up in games when adversity struck and, of course, the way in which his coaching career here ended. Like your high school sports career, time and the stresses of life that come with it have made Petrino's tenure at U of L far more glorious in drunken conversations with friends than it ever was in reality.

With that said, I have serious issues with Rick Bozich's column this morning, which places a heavy dose of the blame for the state of the program on Petrino's final recruiting class. Dr. Bo notes that just three members of that recruiting class will be starting for the Cards on Saturday, while UK boasts eight starters from Rich Brooks' class of '06.

It sounds like a solid point, except that it completely fails to address the numerous players from that class who either transferred, quit or saw their careers end because of injuries after Petrino left.

Among that group: Anthony Allen (Louisville's all-time leader in single game rushing yardage who will be starting tonight for Georgia Tech), Latarrius Thomas (a true freshman starter on the Orange Bowl team who was widely praised for his character and chose to follow Ron English to Eastern Michigan) and Peanut Whitehead (the most highly touted defensive recruit to ever sign with the program).

According to Scout.com, Petrino's final class was the 26th best in the country (still the program's highest ranking, I believe) while Kentucky's was 34th. The other major recruiting service, Rivals.com, also had the Cards' class ahead of the Cats' (34th and 36th).

I like Bozich a lot, but this was not a well thought out column.

UPDATE: Eric Crawford also tackles the topic on his blog.

In addition to the players mentioned above, Crawford lists Aundre Henderson (quit the sport), Jeremy Baker (dismissed), Tyler Wimsatt (dismissed) and Kareem Crowell (now at Arkansas) as members of that class who didn't pan out under Kragthorpe.

Louisville 38, Kansas State 29

Mike Rutherford — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:28:13 -0000

We'll move quickly since this game is already five days old and Larry Taylor Depreciation Week appears to be in full swing.

This is as excited as I've been about Louisville football since the first offensive drive/play of last year's Murray State game. If the last two weeks have proven anything it's that the effort level is going to be there week in and week out, and that there is a decided dedication to improving the execution. After the Kentucky debacle, this is all any of us could have hoped for.

It would still take something resembling a miracle for this team to have a legit crack at the BCS once mid-November rolls around, but honestly, what team in the Big East terrifies you right now? What team in the Big East do you know beyond the shadow of a doubt would have beaten the Cardinals last Wednesday?

If Connecticut is toppled on Friday then we're all allowed to at least entertain crazy thoughts for a couple of weeks, and that's something to get excited about.

I'm not driving it, but I'm officially on the Vic Anderson bandwagon.

All spring and summer we heard about Vic's speed, but what's been amazing to me is how many times we've seen him lower the boom on potential tacklers in the first three games. It's safe to say that the kid can leg press more than I can.

Another fine, fine game from Hunter Cantwell, but now he has to prove he can do it against a 4-3 defense stacked with talented linebackers. Hunter's been able to sit back and pick apart 3-4 sets for the past two weeks, but Lutrus, Wilson and company aren't going to allow him that luxury Friday night. Robert Vaughn and Darius Butler are also two of the better defensive backs the Cards will see from here on out. Overall, this will be a fantastic test of just how far this offense has come since Kentucky.

Doug Beaumont: when this is all over, let's go somewhere warm and sandy together.

Josh Chichester is still very much a work in progress, which means we're going to have to take the good with the bad for the foreseeable future. The great news is that the good has far outshone the bad to this point.

Even though I think the time for the Tim Dougherty placekicking era to commence is upon us, it's pretty obvious that Chris Philpott is still in possession of a stronger leg and I'd like to see him remain the man on kickoffs.

I love deferring after winning the coin toss, and I hope it becomes a trend. Delayed gratification is the shit.

One of the most positive things I saw on Wednesday was Latarrius Thomas and Bobby Buchanan kneeling next to Richard Raglin when he went down with the wrist injury in the second half. It was just one of those little things that last season was so devoid of.

Speaking of Buchanan, I love the way he's stepped up and embraced the leadership role in his senior season. Even though he's had his fair share of bad moments over the course of his college career, and even though he and Thomas were again the main culprits on Kansas State's four biggest offensive plays, it's impossible not to root extra hard for someone who cares about his team and his program as much as No. 34 does.

Major props need to be hurled in the direction of Greg Tomczyk and Josh Byrom, who made it possible for thousands of fans to have no idea that George Bussey and Mark Wetterer were out with injuries.

Whatever wasn't clicking with Woodny Turenne a year ago certainly seems to have been rectified. Good things happen when you're talented and in the place you're supposed to be.

Let's go ahead and up the amount of practice time devoted to special teams by about eight hours this week.

I think it's safe to say that Bilal Powell is still at his best when he's forced to improvise, a fact which is a bit more discouraging than it was when he was a true freshman. Still, I remain bullish on his potential and think he needs to see at least ten touches a game for this team to have the best chance to reach its ceiling.

The crowd was tremendous for the first three quarters of the game, but it was sort of depressing to see so many empty seats as the Cards closed things out. On the other hand, you can't schedule a Wednesday night game and then be upset when people with families and 8-5 jobs choose not to stay at the stadium until 11:45. It's just the way it is.

Even though it came at the expense of my favorite team, it did bring me at least a little bit of pleasure to watch someone three inches shorter and 25 pounds lighter than myself tear it up in a major college football game.

Black jerseys > red jerseys

Zack Stoudt jersey > Art Carmody jersey

Art Carmody > any other football player to ever put on pads

Raise your hand if you wish the fake dive, pitch to Vic had been put in the playbook a month ago.

Being friends with Brock Bolen and Joe Tronzo is basically a free pass to look at or talk to anyone however you want on Saturday nights.

The inconsistent Mo Mitchell of yesteryear appears to have graduated a year early. Mitchell has been playing inspired football since the first snap of the Kentucky game, and has become the force off the edge that the defense lacked in '07.

No one on the team talks more than L.D. Scott. Focusing on him for a couple of plays every game is hilarious.

It was great to see Daniel Covington flying around the field and bringing the lumber on multiple plays, especially since it appears the secondary is going to be without Richard Raglin for at least a couple of games.

Dan - of having his U of L hat thrown on the ground by a girl outside a bar in Charlotte fame - called the Kansas State fake punt and was justified moments after his dad and I ripped the prediction for a solid 15 seconds. For the record, it was an awful call and we should had the up man who took the snap behind the line.

I'm going to go ahead and give the Card Chronicle seal of approval to the Jeff Brohm moving back upstairs decision.

I really, really want to win on Friday just so the seeds of insanely irrational objectivity can be planted.

Larry Taylor sucks.