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]
| 2023 Eastern Michigan Eagles football | |
|---|---|
 | |
68 Ventures Bowl, L 10–59 vs. South Alabama | |
| Conference | Mid-American Conference |
| West Division | |
| Record | 6–7 (4–4 MAC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Mike Piatkowski (1st season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Ben Needham (1st season) |
| Home stadium | Rynearson Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason
editPreseason polls
editCoaches Poll
editOn July 20, the MAC announced the preseason coaches poll. Eastern Michigan was picked to finish second in the West.[5]
| East | ||
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio | 63 (9) |
| 2 | Miami | 52 (2) |
| 3 | Buffalo | 51 (1) |
| 4 | Bowling Green | 35 |
| 5 | Akron | 26 |
| 6 | Kent State | 19 |
| West | ||
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toledo | 66 (11) |
| 2 | Eastern Michigan | 55 (1) |
| 3 | Northern Illinois | 38 |
| 4 | Central Michigan | 37 |
| 5 | Ball State | 27 |
| 6 | Western Michigan | 23 |
| Coaches poll (MAC Championship) | ||
| Rank | Team | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toledo | 7 |
| 2 | Ohio | 4 |
| 3 | Buffalo | 1 |
Schedule
edit| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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* |
| 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 23–26 | 28,323 | |||
| October 7 | 3:30 p.m. | Ball State |
| ESPN+ | W 24–10 | 18,696 | ||
| October 14 | 12:00 p.m. | Kent State |
| CBSSN | W 28–14 | 18,443 | ||
| 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 21–45 | 16,297 | ||
| November 8 | 7:30 p.m. | at Toledo | ESPN2 | L 23–49 | 17,842 | |||
| November 14 | 7:00 p.m. | Akron |
| 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 | |||
| ||||||||
Game summaries
editSouth Alabama (68 Ventures Bowl)
editEastern Michigan Eagles (6–6) vs. South Alabama Jaguars (6–6) (68 Ventures Bowl)
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaguars | 17 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 59 |
| Eagles | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
at Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, 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 |
|---|
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Following the game, an altercation took place on-field between the teams prior to the trophy presentation, initiated by a Eastern Michigan player sucker punching a South Alabama player while the South Alabama marching band and team were singing the school's alma mater.[9][10] Eastern Michigan's athletic director apologized the next day, stating (in part) "We strongly condemn the actions of some of the student-athletes".[11]
| Statistics | USA | EMU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 29 | 10 |
| Total yards | 627 | 150 |
| Rushing yards | 320 | 77 |
| Passing yards | 307 | 73 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 23–36–1 | 12–30–2 |
| Time of possession | 30:53 | 29:07 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Alabama | Passing | Gio Lopez | 14/19, 192 yards, 3 TD |
| Rushing | Gio Lopez | 7 carries, 88 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Jamaal Pritchett | 8 receptions, 127 yards, 2 TD | |
| Eastern Michigan | Passing | Cam'Ron McCoy | 12/27, 73 yards, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Cam'Ron McCoy | 13 carries, 73 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Terry Lockett Jr. | 2 receptions, 29 yards |
References
edit- ^ "Rynearson Stadium". Eastern Michigan Athletics.
- ^ "Chris Creighton". Sports Reference.
- ^ "MAC College Football Standings - 2023". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ "South Alabama stays home to face Eastern Michigan in 68 Ventures Bowl". usatotday.com. AP. December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "2023 Eastern Michigan Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- ^ "Eastern Michigan Eagles Schedule 2023". ESPN.
- ^ "2023 Football Schedule".
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Eastern Michigan apologizes for player's punch vs. South Alabama". ESPN.com. December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.