2023 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team

Last updated

2023 Eastern Michigan Eagles football
Eastern Michigan Eagles logo.svg
Conference Mid-American Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record6–7 (4–4 MAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Piatkowski (1st season)
Offensive scheme Multiple
Defensive coordinatorBen Needham (1st season)
Base defense 4–2–5
Home stadium Rynearson Stadium
Seasons
  2022
2024  
2023 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
Miami (OH) xy$  7 1   11 3  
Ohio  6 2   10 3  
Bowling Green  5 3   7 6  
Buffalo  3 5   3 9  
Akron  1 7   2 10  
Kent State  0 8   1 11  
West Division
Toledo xy  8 0   11 3  
Northern Illinois  5 3   7 6  
Eastern Michigan  4 4   6 7  
Central Michigan  3 5   5 7  
Ball State  3 5   4 8  
Western Michigan  3 5   4 8  
Championship: Miami (OH) 23, Toledo 14
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • y Championship game participant

The 2023 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team represented Eastern Michigan University during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Eagles were led by tenth-year head coach Chris Creighton and played their home games at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan. They competed as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). [1] [2] They finished the regular season 6–6 and 4–4 in conference play. [3] They would end the season losing 10–59 to South Alabama in the 68 Ventures Bowl. [4]

Contents

The Eastern Michigan Eagles football team drew an average home attendance of 16,882 in 2023. [5]

Preseason

Preseason awards

Preseason coaches poll

On July 20, the MAC announced the preseason coaches poll. Eastern Michigan was picked to finish second in the West Division. [6]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 1 6:30 p.m. Howard * ESPN+ W 33–23 18,065
September 9 7:30 p.m. at Minnesota * BTN L 6–25 48,101
September 16 2:00 p.m. UMass *
  • Rynearson Stadium
  • Ypsilanti, MI
ESPN+ W 19–17 16,138
September 23 5:00 p.m. at Jacksonville State * ESPN+ L 0–21 20,966
September 30 1:30 p.m. at Central Michigan ESPN+ L 23–2628,323
October 7 3:30 p.m. Ball State Dagger-14-plain.png
  • Rynearson Stadium
  • Ypsilanti, MI
ESPN+ W 24–1018,696
October 14 12:00 p.m. Kent State
  • Rynearson Stadium
  • Ypsilanti, MI
CBSSN W 28–1418,443
October 21 3:30 p.m. at Northern Illinois ESPN+ L 13–20 9,458
October 28 1:00 p.m. Western Michigan
ESPN+ L 21–4516,297
November 8 7:30 p.m. at Toledo ESPN2 L 23–49 17,842
November 14 7:00 p.m. Akron
  • Rynearson Stadium
  • Ypsilanti, MI
CBSSN W 30–27 2OT 13,664
November 21 7:30 p.m. at Buffalo ESPN2 W 24–11 11,243
December 23 7:00 p.m. at South Alabama ESPN L 10–59 20,926
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[7] [8] [9]

Game summaries

South Alabama (68 Ventures Bowl)

Eastern Michigan Eagles (6–6) vs. South Alabama Jaguars (6–6) (68 Ventures Bowl)
Quarter1234Total
Jaguars172121059
Eagles030710

at Hancock Whitney StadiumMobile, Alabama

  • Date: December 23, 2023
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind: 4 mph (6.4 km/h) SE
  • Game attendance: 20,926
  • Referee: Cal McNeill
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst), and Alyssa Lang (sideline)
  • Box score
Game information
First Quarter
  • (10:50) USA – Diego Guajardo 46 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 55 yards, 4:10; South Alabama 3–0)
  • (7:37) USA – DJ Thomas-Jones 3 yard pass from Desmond Trotter, Diego Guajardo kick (Drive: 5 plays, 63 yards, 2:19; South Alabama 10–0)
  • (3:30) USA – Jamaal Pritchett 5 yard pass from Gio Lopez, Diego Guajardo kick (Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards, 2:38; South Alabama 17–0)
Second Quarter
  • (14:50) EMU – Jesus Gomez 49 yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 4 yards, 1:10; South Alabama 17–3)
  • (10:15) USA – Kentrel Bullock 17 yard run, Diego Guajardo kick (Drive: 8 plays, 62 yards, 4:35; South Alabama 24–3)
  • (8:07) USA – DJ Thomas-Jones 20 yard pass from Gio Lopez, Diego Guajardo kick (Drive: 4 plays, 37 yards, 1:54; South Alabama 31–3)
  • (1:39) USA – Jamaal Pritchett 42 yard pass from Gio Lopez, Diego Guajardo kick (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 1:06; South Alabama 38–3)
Third Quarter
  • (11:07) USA – Desmond Trotter 3 yard run, Diego Guajardo kick (Drive: 5 plays, 34 yards, 2:05; South Alabama 45–3)
  • (7:50) USA – Gio Lopez 27 yard run, Diego Guajardo kick (Drive: 3 plays, 43 yards, 0:55; South Alabama 52–3)
  • (2:07) USA – PJ Martin 6 yard run, Diego Guajardo kick (Drive: 8 plays, 74 yards, 3:31; South Alabama 59–3)
Fourth Quarter
  • (0:58) EMU – Cam'Ron McCoy 10 yard run, Jesus Gomez kick (Drive: 13 plays, 70 yards, 7:27; South Alabama 59–10)

Following the game, an altercation took place on-field between the teams prior to the trophy presentation, initiated by an Eastern Michigan player sucker punching a South Alabama player while the South Alabama marching band and team were singing the school's alma mater . [10] [11] Eastern Michigan's athletic director apologized the next day, stating (in part) "We strongly condemn the actions of some of the student-athletes". [12]

StatisticsUSAEMU
First downs2910
Total yards627150
Rushing yards32077
Passing yards30773
Passing: comp–att–int23–36–112–30–2
Time of possession30:5329:07
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
South AlabamaPassing Gio Lopez 14/19, 192 yards, 3 TD
RushingGio Lopez7 carries, 88 yards, TD
Receiving Jamaal Pritchett 8 receptions, 127 yards, 2 TD
Eastern MichiganPassingCam'Ron McCoy12/27, 73 yards, 2 INT
RushingCam'Ron McCoy13 carries, 73 yards, TD
ReceivingTerry Lockett Jr.2 receptions, 29 yards

Post Season Awards

References

  1. "Rynearson Stadium". Eastern Michigan Athletics.
  2. "Chris Creighton". Sports Reference.
  3. "MAC College Football Standings - 2023". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  4. "South Alabama stays home to face Eastern Michigan in 68 Ventures Bowl". usatotday.com. AP. December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  5. "2023 FBS Attendance Trends". D1.ticker. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  6. "MAC football preseason poll: Toledo picked to win conference championship; BGSU tabbed to finish fourth in MAC East". wtol.com. WTOL 11. July 20, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  7. "2023 Eastern Michigan Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  8. "Eastern Michigan Eagles Schedule 2023". ESPN.
  9. "2023 Football Schedule".
  10. Salerno, Cameron (December 24, 2023). "Eastern Michigan-South Alabama brawl: Postgame chaos erupts after sucker punch at 68 Ventures Bowl". CBS Sports . Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  11. Bumbaca, Chris (December 24, 2023). "EMU player sucker punches South Alabama player, ignites wild fight after 68 Ventures Bowl". USA Today . Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  12. "Eastern Michigan apologizes for player's punch vs. South Alabama". ESPN.com. December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.