It appears the Eastern Michigan University football team has come down with short- and long-term memory loss. The short-term part is clearer to the passive sports fan's eyes. For example, the fact that since the 2012 season the Eagles have surrendered 50 or more points SIXTEEN TIMES. That's a season and a half of severe scoreboard wear over the last four.
The long-term part is that they seem to have forgotten that they are the one of the very few FBS college football programs without a bowl invite since the Reagan era. Since their mid-1990s Charlie Batch heyday the Eagles have only reached bowl eligibility exactly once–a 6-6 season in 2011 that is seen as the pinnacle of recent EMU football history the way a three-story office building is seen as the pinnacle of Mount Clemens. It took them four seasons to win another six games.
Then came 2016.
Coach Chris Creighton has instilled an attitude of... well he's instilled something. EMU is riding a three-game winning streak–the football program is quite familiar with streaks but none associated with winning–and at 4-2, found themselves on the road to Athens facing MAC-East leading Ohio. Big underdogs. This is the type of game they don't, haven't and won't win. Yet.
On a beautiful fall football Saturday, EMU quarterback Brogan Roback decided to reassert himself with his team. Returning to campus in August as the starter, Roback was suspended for the first two games of the season for an undisclosed violation of team rules. After his replacement Todd Porter went down after a strong hit to the shoulder in EMU's victory at Bowling Green two weeks earlier, Roback regained the position of quarterback. Saturday he regained the vacated position of leader.
Breaking up a tight 3-3 battle at halftime, the redshirt junior from two hours northeast in Maumee threw for three touchdowns and set a career record with 347 yards on a 29-for-39 passing day. The separation point came with just over 11 minutes to play and the Eagles holding a shaky 13-10 lead. Roback dropped and lofted a soft spiral midway along the left edge of the end zone. Split end Sergio Bailey II reached over Bobcat cornerback Jalen Fox, who was fixing to grab the team's tenth interception of the year, and ruined his day with a picturesque snatch-and-grab to push EMU's lead to 10.
The dagger came with Roback's final touchdown throw. Up 20-17 with 3:47 left and facing a third down on Ohio's 11 yard line, the Bobcats called a blitz but Roback didn't flinch. Instead he delivered a bullet to Antoine Porter running an inside slant at the 5. Porter spun, dug, clawed and ultimately towed three Ohio defenders into the end zone. It was a sheer thing of beauty, watching a team of underdogs, laughing stocks in their own conference, travel to Athens, Ohio, a city in which they had only ever won once in program history, and break the will of the hometown favorites.
What could have been the script of so many good efforts over the years–a fourth-down field goal and a six-point lead that set the stage for [insert opponent here]'s last second win, was instead an insurmountable double digit distance. After a quick drive for three points to put them a score away, Chris Creighton's offense evaporated the last three minutes of the game with a spirit-swallowing rushing attack.
The seconds ticked down to zero, and we stepped back from the game itself to notice what happened. The Eagles did the unthinkable. They took down the Bobcats 27-20. It was Eastern's first victory over Ohio this millenium. Their first three-game road winning streak IN. A. HALF. CENTURY.
Most impressive of all was that they are now 5-2–their best start since the Internet was made available to the public–and now stand a game away from their first postseason bowl invite in nearly 30 years. Back when Eagles were known as Hurons. Other than that, you know, not that big a deal.
The Eagles are for reals. It's time we stop, watch that sound. Everybody look what's going 'round.
