It’s MACTION, Baby

The Eastern Michigan Eagles opened their season against Sacramento State on Saturday, Aug. 29, in Week 0 of the college football season.

The game came with several milestones. It marked the start of Eastern Michigan’s 135th football season, and a victory would give the Eagles their 500th win. It was also Sacramento State’s first MAC game as a member of the conference and its first game as an FBS program, as well as the first game under head coach Alonzo Carter.

Crosby Field also featured a first, as the new University Bank logos were displayed on opposite 25-yard lines. University Bank is the first corporate partner to feature its logo on the gray turf in conjunction with Eastern Michigan Athletics.

First Quarter

The Eagles got off to a sloppy start with some miscommunication on the kickoff return, forcing them to begin at their own 9-yard line. A false start on the team’s first snap from scrimmage added another mistake, but it was quickly erased by a 15-yard catch and run by Joshua Long to move the sticks.

Two short passes and a dropped throw forced the Eagles to punt.

The Eagles would not be without the ball for long, as defensive captains Zach Mowchan, a fourth-year linebacker, and Bryce Llewellyn, a fifth-year defensive back, quickly subdued the Hornets’ offense and forced them to punt it back to Eastern.

Both offenses felt the first-game jitters during the opening quarter as both defenses were allowed to fly around the field.

The first quarter became a punting war, with the teams combining for eight punts before the quarter’s final drive finally saw the Eagles gain some momentum.

With three minutes left in the first quarter, the Eagle running game found a sliver of space, forcing the Hornets’ defense to respect the run. That allowed Noah Kim to hit a striding Benson Prosper for a 25-yard pass that pushed the Eagles across midfield for the first time all game.

Second Quarter

A 10-yard grab by Nick Devereaux on third down kept the drive alive before another 25-yard gain by Prosper brought the Eagles down to the 6-yard line.

Two plays later, Kim took it himself for a 5-yard touchdown run.

Eagles kicker Rudy Kessinger made the extra point, and the scoreless first quarter was quickly erased 40 seconds into the second.

7-0 Eagles

The Eagles quickly forced another Hornets punt but could not find any rhythm of their own and were forced to punt again.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, the punt was blocked, and the Hornets recovered at the Eagles’ 28-yard line, giving Sacramento State excellent field position and forcing the Eagle defense back onto the field with its back against the wall.

A fantastic stand by the Eagles’ defense prevented the Hornets from reaching the red zone, as Sacramento State gained only 6 yards over six plays. The Hornets were forced to kick a 40-yard field goal, scoring their first points of the game and their first points as an FBS program.

7-3 Eagles

Shortly after a 15-yard kickoff return by Devereaux, sophomore running back Amareon Blue introduced himself to Eagle Nation with runs of 18 and 6 yards on back-to-back plays.

Rolling to his right, Kim then threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Kozy Isaac, giving Eastern its first passing touchdown of the season.

14-3 Eagles

The Eagles’ defensive line made life miserable for the Sacramento State offense as Quincy Byas forced a Sacramento State fumble in the backfield. Marvell Eggleston recovered the ball 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, giving the Eagle offense another possession at the Hornets’ 15-yard line.

Because Byas forced the fumble, he earned the right to wear the MACcoon turnover chain as the Eagles continued the defensive tradition that began last season.

The Eagles needed only three plays for Virginia Tech transfer running back Braydon Bennett to take it in for a 7-yard score. Kessinger nailed the extra point, extending the Eagle lead to 18.

21-3 Eagles

On the ensuing possession, the Hornets were once again forced to punt the ball away, but a Sacramento State defensive lineman managed to swipe the ball out of Kim’s hands. A Hornets defensive lineman then took it 29 yards for a scoop-and-score with 48 seconds left in the second quarter.

21-10 Eagles

With 48 seconds remaining in the half, the Eagle offense needed to quickly get down the field for another score. A 40-yard kickoff return by Devereaux gave the Eagles excellent field position to do so.

Eastern quickly moved down the field but elected to attempt a 28-yard field goal on second down with six seconds remaining. The kick went wide right, giving the Hornets a reprieve from the offensive domination they had faced as both teams headed to the locker rooms.

21-10 Eagles

Eastern Michigan outgained Sacramento State by 226 yards, while the Eagle defense allowed just 34 yards during the half. The Hornets rushed for minus-21 yards and passed for 55.

Eastern dominated in nearly every statistical category but left the first half with more to be desired. The Eagles had proved they had the ability to completely dominate a team both mentally and physically. Now, they just had to finish the job.

Third Quarter

The start of the second half was just as sluggish as the first, with both teams forced to punt on their opening possessions.

Sacramento State’s offense gained confidence on its second possession of the game as it controlled the ball for much of the third quarter, eating up almost 10 minutes of game clock during its two drives.

The possession was the best the Hornets’ offense had put together up to that point but stalled at the Eagles’ 39-yard line after Sacramento State went for it on fourth-and-5.

The Eagles then took the ball just 5 yards before the clock expired in the third quarter.

21-10 Eagles

Fourth Quarter

After a scoreless third quarter, the Eagles made quick work of their first opportunity in the fourth, with Kim finding his favorite touchdown target, Devereaux, in the end zone for a 31-yard score.

The touchdown was Kim’s second passing touchdown of the night, to go along with the rushing touchdown he scored at the beginning of the second quarter. Kessinger made another extra point, pushing the lead back to 18.

28-10 Eagles

A 37-yard run by the Hornets got them into Eastern territory, and another 6-yard run allowed Sacramento State to continue the drive.

On the very next play, a 14-yard screen pass got the Hornets down to the half-yard line before Sacramento State punched the ball in for its first offensive touchdown of its FBS and MAC era.

The PAT was good, cutting the Eagles’ lead back down to 11 with just over eight minutes left in the game.

28-17 Eagles

After the touchdown, the Hornets’ defense stepped up and forced the Eagles to punt with 6½ minutes left in the game.

Eastern managed to get the Hornets to third down, but a 20-yard pass play allowed Sacramento State to reset the downs.

The drive continued until fifth-year senior Jason Marshall, the free-roaming safety, shut the door on any potential comeback with an interception.

After making the play, Marshall quickly stepped out of bounds in front of the Hornets’ bench, refusing to put the ball in harm’s way but making sure his presence was felt.

The Eagles ran the ball three straight times, forcing Sacramento State to burn its final two timeouts before the official two-minute timeout.

A failed attempt to draw the Hornets offside on fourth-and-2 forced the Eagles to punt the ball back to Sacramento State and play defense with just two minutes left in the game.

However, what better way to end a MAC game than with a little bit of MACtion magic?

During the punt, the Hornets made the mistake of running into the punter for a 5-yard penalty. The Eagles needed only 2 of those 5 yards, but the penalty allowed them to extend the drive with a new set of downs and kneel the ball to end the game.

After three straight kneeldowns by Kim, the Eagles emerged victorious with a 1-0 record both on the season and in MAC play, winning 28-17.

After the Game

After the game, Eagles head coach Chris Creighton shared his thoughts on the team’s 500th win.

“What a cool way to be connected with Eastern Michigan for over a hundred years. The Normalites, the Hurons and the Eagles are all a part of winning 500 times, and it’s awesome,” he said.

Creighton also talked about how poised the Eagle offensive line was despite having four starting transfers and only one player who had been on the team the previous season.

“That’s a spot we really got hit in the transfer portal in January, and we’re really excited about the guys that came in in January and a few that came in June,” he said. “They’re really good people and really good fits for our culture, and they’re really good football players. This summer, they did a really good job of bonding as a group. Excited to watch the film with them, and the way that they are wired, they will be here early, wanting to be coached and wanting to get better ... and we’ll go get better,” Creighton added.

On the offensive side, Nick Devereaux sports the No. 2 jersey, known as “The Deuce,” which is culturally significant to the Eastern Michigan football program. He spoke about what it meant to him to wear the number.

“It definitely means a lot, and it meant a lot today that I was able to have, in my eyes, a decent game wearing ‘The Deuce.’ A lot of my mentors that I grew up playing at Eastern with wore it, meaning Tanner Knue. He’s one of the people I modeled my game after. Just seeing that all the people that I wanted to be like and learn from had it, and I finally get to wear it, is definitely something I worked really hard for, to honor D Reed and put my heart into every single game and practice. That’s exactly what ‘The Deuce’ stands for.”

The Eagles delivered a statement that will be noticed by the rest of the teams in the MAC, as well as the other teams on their schedule. This team is going to make opponents earn it every step of the way, forcing them to defend the Eagles through the air and on the ground while Eastern’s defense pressures and hits them at every opportunity.

With one game in the books, the Eastern Michigan Eagles will turn their attention to a Friday night matchup against San Jose State on Sept. 4. The Eagles will look to go 2-0 at home before heading on the road to take on Michigan State and Wisconsin in back-to-back weeks.

This is only Game 1 of the Eagles’ season, and fans and players alike are optimistic about what is to come. As the team likes to say, you wouldn’t survive a quarter in Ypsilanti, so why would Sacramento State ever think it had a chance?