Playing without star wideout Nick Devereaux, Eastern Michigan leans on Benson Prosper's 109-yard day to lock down their second win of the season.
Ypsilanti, Mich. - After limping home from back-to-back losses to Big Ten opponents, the Eastern Michigan Eagles returned to Rynearson Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 26, for their final nonconference game before beginning Mid-American Conference play.
The Eagles entered “The Factory” ready to take on their second opponent of the season they had never faced before, the Lindenwood Lions, an FCS team.
After two disappointing performances from quarterback Noah Kim, he and the rest of the Eagles were looking to get back on track against Lindenwood and build momentum before conference play.
Eastern Michigan was without star wide receiver Nick Devereaux, meaning the rest of the offense would have to step up in place of “The Deuce.”
Fortunately for the Eagles, the offense responded.
Eastern Michigan started fast in the first quarter, with the defense forcing three consecutive punts while the offense scored two straight touchdowns. Ameron Blue opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run before Kim connected with Benson Prosper for a 24-yard touchdown pass.
The second touchdown marked the first time this season Eastern Michigan had scored on back-to-back offensive drives.
However, after a strong opening quarter, the Eagles struggled to maintain the same level of offensive production in the second. Eastern Michigan found little success on the ground, while the defense continued to spend significant time on the field.
The Eagles added more points when Rudy Kessinger connected on a career-long 51-yard field goal, sending the kick through the uprights in the north end zone.
Safety Davion Williams was ejected in the second quarter for targeting, further depleting an already thin Eastern Michigan secondary.
Rayquan Adkins, the wearer of “The Zero,” was also forced to leave the game with an injury in the second quarter. Adkins quickly returned to the sideline to cheer on his teammates.
Wide receiver Dalin Wilkins also left the game after taking a hard hit on a pass from Kim that put him between two Lindenwood defenders.
The highlight of the first half came at the end of the second quarter, when the Eagles' offense executed a two-minute drill that began at the Eastern Michigan 19-yard line.
Eastern Michigan drove to the Lindenwood 24-yard line before Kim appeared to throw an interception. Tight end Joshua Long, however, ripped the ball away from the Lindenwood defender, causing it to fall to the turf and resulting in an incompletion.
The play gave the Eagles another opportunity to score, and Kessinger converted a 42-yard field goal with 50 seconds remaining in the half.
Eastern Michigan entered halftime with a 19-0 lead, outgaining Lindenwood 223-65. While the Eagles struggled to establish the run, the passing game produced 179 yards and a touchdown.
Eastern Michigan opened the second half with the ball and emphasized a physical running game, repeatedly attacking the middle of the Lindenwood defense.
The Eagles gained 31 yards on the ground and 42 through the air before the drive stalled because of an ineligible receiver downfield penalty.
Eastern Michigan attempted a 48-yard field goal, but Kessinger's kick bounced off the left upright, ending the drive without points.
While the offense looked strong on its opening drive of the second half, the defense struggled to slow down Lindenwood on the ensuing possession.
The Lions drove to the Eastern Michigan 32-yard line using a combination of runs and passes, while a roughing-the-passer penalty helped extend the drive.
Lindenwood settled for a 42-yard field goal, putting its first points on the board and cutting the Eagles' lead to 19-3.
Eastern Michigan's second drive of the half followed a similar script. The Eagles marched down the field and reached the Lindenwood 10-yard line before once again settling for a field goal.
This time, Kessinger converted the 28-yard attempt to extend the Eagles' lead.
The fourth quarter was relatively quiet as both teams used significant amounts of clock while moving the ball down the field.
Eastern Michigan's defense eventually forced a turnover on downs, giving the offense another opportunity to put the game away.
The Eagles calmly marched down the field with a mixture of runs and passes before Kim found a streaking Harold Mack for a 19-yard touchdown. It was Mack's second touchdown of the season.
The touchdown extended Eastern Michigan's lead to 29-3 with five minutes remaining, effectively putting the game out of reach.
Lindenwood continued to fight, driving down the field and using nearly the entire five minutes remaining on the clock. The Lions reached the Eastern Michigan 3-yard line but failed to find the end zone as time expired.
With the clock at zero, the Eagles secured their second win of the season and gained some momentum heading into the next portion of their schedule.
Eastern Michigan will travel to Massachusetts to take on the UMass Minutemen in its next game.
After the win, head coach Chris Creighton was pleased to see his team respond but emphasized that there is still work to do.
“It's just good to see guys, you know, smiling in the locker room. It was good for, I think, everybody to get a chance to smile and like, we played good. You know, we want to play great. And so we're going to watch the film and we're going to celebrate the things that we did well and positively reinforce those,” Creighton said. “And I think we're also going to see that we didn't take the ball away, and that we didn't finish drives with touchdowns. So I think there'll be a lot to take away from this game. It was a timely game. It was a good game, but, you know, we're not burning down any buildings today.”
Creighton also discussed Kessinger's performance and his career-long 51-yard field goal.
“Rudy has not had a bunch of opportunities, right, and got one blocked and missed and all that. And I mean, you just can't tell. I mean, he just knows who he is. He's appropriately super confident. And I didn't even know it's 51 yards,” Creighton said. “I mean, we gave him a shoutout in the locker room about his longest, but I didn't know what the yardage was. I just know we know a line that we feel comfortable with him kicking it. So I'm not surprised. And it was a beautiful day, right? And the sky was blue and the wind was very little and it was warm, but yeah, got him rolling, which is awesome.”
The Eagles will now turn their attention to Mid-American Conference play, with their goals of reaching a bowl game, competing for the Michigan MAC Trophy and contending for a MAC championship still ahead of them.
First up is a trip to Massachusetts to face the UMass Minutemen. After that, Eastern Michigan will return to Rynearson Stadium to face its rival Toledo during homecoming weekend.
