The Eastern Michigan Eagles did something in 2011 that they haven't done since 2003. They scheduled two division 1-AA or as some would call FCS teams to start the season. They enter the Michigan road game with two home wins against Howard and Alabama State.
The most difficult concept in college football is how to assess a team when they play an opponent below their league?
With a team like Eastern Michigan, who has been historically bad, they have to treat it like a real game. They can't be condescending like a team from the Big Ten or the SEC would be against an FCS opponent. So the first thing to look at is the effort.
If you watch the highlights against the Howard Bison which can be seen on the EMU YouTube channel, Eastern Michigan always runs at full speed and it is very hard to detect a sense of letting up from the Eagles. Then there's the skill position players. What can we get from the running game?
Javonti Greene ran for 120 yards with a touchdown and looked real fluid in his movement dodging the Howard defenders.The Eagles won that game 41-9 in what was an overall positive team performance.
The problem with that game is how can you truly look at a team that has dominated a lesser opponent? Eastern Michigan followed that game with a very close victory against Alabama State 14-7. That game made it more clear to analyze the Eagles because as EMU head coach Ron English said in yesterday's press conference video, "last week's game was critical because Alabama State were the champions of their league, which means they understand winning."
Through that game, their running game looks to be their offensive strength. Against Alabama State, EMU running backs, Javonti Greene and Dominique Sherrer ran for a combined 257 yards in 38 carries and even their quarterback, junior Alex Gillet ran for 74 yards in eight attempts.
What those two games against Howard and Alabama showed is that the Eastern Michigan Eagles love to run the ball and has the backs to do so. They will go into the big house with the nation's fifth ranked running game in terms of rushing yards and it might be the only way they'll move the ball against Michigan this Saturday.
So all Brady Hoke and the Michigan Wolverines have to do is stop the run and this will be a cake walk.
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