Three weeks. We are three weeks into the college football season and already we have seen the highs and lows that we have been missing for the last eight months. From upsets to blowouts, miracles to expected so far this season has given the fans exactly what they wanted.
But for the Eastern Michigan football team and its fans three weeks has felt like a lifetime. With a 1-2 record the Eagles stumbled back to Ypsilanti with their beaks tucked beneath their wings after a 35-7 loss to Michigan State after allowing the Spartans to score 21 points unanswered in the second half.
While the team stands with a losing record, their one win was the most important of the three that they have already played. That one game, came against Mid-American Conference foe Sacramento State meaning that Eastern will enter the second quarter of their season with a 1-0 conference record, keeping them in the hunt for that elusive MAC championship appearance as well as a bowl game appearance.
Noah Kim and the Eastern Michigan offense averaged 379 yards and 24 points per game, unfortunately, the defense gave up over 400 yards and almost 30 points per game. The defense was definitely in question coming into the 2026 season with Eagles head coach Chris Creighton promoting two defensive assistants to take on the defensive coordinator role as a pair. The Co-coordinators were tasked with creating a completely new defensive scheme and implementing it into a veteran heavy defensive unit before the start of the 2026 season.
We won’t know for sure how big the effect and impact these changes will have for the team until the end of the season but for now we will grade the team on its first three appearances of the season.
Game 1: Eastern Michigan vs Sacramento State 1-0
Result: Eagles win 28-17
Grade: B
In the first game of the season the 2026 Eastern Michigan football team looked completely different from the team last seen losing a 31-21 home game against state rival Western Michigan in 2025.
The Eagles took on the newest MAC members in Sacramento State and found successes from start to finish. The new and improved Eastern Michigan team led by returning quarterback Noah Kim kept the Hornets off balance the entire night.
Kim was the star of the show, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another, while Braydon Bennett added another. The Eagles offense earned a total of 348 yards with 279 of those yards coming through the air, but stalled out multiple times during the game having to punt the ball away six different times. While head coach Chris Creighton was happy with the win and success of the passing game he recognized the need for offensive continuity and consistency in the run game.
On the other side of the ball the new and improved defense kept the Sacramento State offense at bay holding them to just 268 yards of total offense, causing two turnovers in the form of an interception and a fumble while also forcing the Hornets to punt the football seven times on the night.
Led by senior linebacker Zach Mowchan, who had 14 tackles during the game the Eagles relied heavily on their defense asking them to step up repeatedly in late game situations when the offense stalled during the third and fourth quarter.
The highlight of the game came late in the fourth quarter with Sacramento State driving the ball deep into Eastern Michigan’s territory before safety Jason Marshall appeared out of thin air to pick off the Hornets quarterback, securing the victory for EMU.
We gave the Eagles a B grade due to the success on both offense and defense but the inability to find consistency on the offensive side of the ball lowers the teams overall score. Earning a B is not anything to scoff at, we liked what we saw, but we need to see more of it for this team to find continued success. Onto the next.
Game 2: Eastern Michigan vs San Jose State 1-1
Result: Eagles lose 27-21
Grade: C-
In a game where Eastern Michigan could’ve easily pulled away they found every way to do the exact opposite. Every good thing that we had seen the offense do in their first game was nowhere to be found in this one. Noah Kim was the biggest contributor, throwing 43 passes while only completing 23 of them for 174 yards, meaning he only averaged four yards per throw, in comparison the NCAA average for that statistic is around eight yards per throw.
The struggles by Kim were magnified due to the defense’s struggles defending the pass and the run. After the game the statistics clearly outlined just how outmatched the Eagles were the entire game. Both quarterbacks threw an interception but Kim only threw for one touchdown pass; in comparison the San Jose State quarterback threw for 316 yards, doubling Noah Kim’s total, while also adding three touchdowns.
The Eagles and Spartans had similar success on the ground, both gaining over a hundred yards but the passing game was the clear difference.
There are two highlights of the game. The first came just at the end of the first half with San Jose State driving the ball down the field in an attempt to kick a field goal before time expired. Eastern had stopped San Jose State at the Eagles 44 yard line with one second left, keeping them out of field goal range, forcing a hail mary instead of field goal.
However, during the previous play players from both teams had gotten mixed up into a shoving match and Eastern Michigan’s Marvell Eggleston was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty giving the Spartans an extra 15 yards, getting them into field goal position.
The kick attempt looked to be short but would float in the air just long enough to hit the crossbar of the uprights and bounce through, giving San Jose State the halftime lead 10-7.
Another highlight was a streaking Ronn Hardin coming around the San Jose State offensive line to hit the quarterback and force a fumble, which was recovered in the end zone by Bryce Llewellyn for an Eastern Michigan touchdown, which gave the Eagles back their lead.
Unfortunately, that would be the Eagles final score of the game and the Spartans never looked back, scoring ten straight points and earning the away win in Ypsilanti.
We give Eastern Michigan a C- grade because of the poor performances on both sides of the ball. Eastern’s offense and Noah Kim must get back on track if this team wants to accomplish its goals because the defense can only hold opponents out of the end zone for so long.
