2010 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team

The 2010 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team represented Eastern Michigan University during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Eastern Michigan competed as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division, was coached by Ron English, and played their homes game at Rynearson Stadium. They finished the season 2–10, 2–6 in MAC play.

2010 Eastern Michigan Eagles football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West
2010 record	2–10 (2–6 MAC)
Head coach	Ron English
Offensive coordinator	Ken Karcher
Defensive coordinator	Phil Snow
Home stadium	Rynearson Stadium (Capacity: 30,200)

2010 Mid-American Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Miami x$		7	–	1					10	–	4
Ohio		6	–	2					8	–	5
Temple		5	–	3					8	–	4
Kent State		4	–	4					5	–	7
Bowling Green		1	–	7					2	–	10
Buffalo		1	–	7					2	–	10
Akron		1	–	7					1	–	11
West Division
Northern Illinois x		8	–	0					11	–	3
Toledo		7	–	1					8	–	5
Western Michigan		5	–	3					6	–	6
Ball State		3	–	5					4	–	8
Central Michigan		2	–	6					3	–	9
Eastern Michigan		2	–	6					2	–	10
Championship: Miami 26, Northern Illinois 21
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	7:00 PM	Army*	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI		L 27–31	11,318[1]
September 11	2:00 PM	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	STO	L 21–28	12,857[2]
September 18	4:00 PM	Central Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI (rivalry)		L 14–52	20,348[3]
September 25	3:30 PM	at No. 2 Ohio State*	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC/ESPN	L 20–73	105,017[4]
October 2	12:00 PM	Ohio	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN+	L 17–30	16,753[5]
October 9	7:00 PM	at Vanderbilt*	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPNU	L 6–52	33,107[6]
October 16	1:00 PM	at Ball State	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN		W 41–38 ^OT	10,956[7]
October 23	6:00 PM	at Virginia*	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ESPN3	L 21–48	37,386[8]
October 30	4:00 PM	Toledo	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	STO	L 7–42	25,860[9]
November 13	2:00 PM	at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy)		L 30–45	12,136[10]
November 20	2:00 PM	at Buffalo	University at Buffalo Stadium Amherst, NY	STO	W 21–17	9,786[11]
November 26	12:00 PM	Northern Illinois	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPNU	L 3–71	5,147[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

[13]

Coaching staff

Following the disastrous 0-12 2009 season, head coach Ron English made major changes to the coaching staff, bringing in five new assistant coaches, most notably, defensive coordinator Phil Snow.[14]

Name	Position	Year at school
Ron English	Head Coach	2nd
Phil Snow	Defensive Coordinator	1st
Steve Morrison	Linebackers Coach	1st
Doug Downing	Running Backs Coach[15]	1st

Game summaries

Army

See also: 2010 Army Black Knights football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Black Knights	7	7	10	7	31
Eagles	7	7	6	7	27

The Army Black Knights defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles for the third consecutive year, this being the second of the three decided by less than a touchdown. The game was tied twice and there were three lead changes. The teams combined for 594 yards rushing and only 96 yards passing. The game was delayed for about 12 minutes early in the second quarter when the public address system, the scoreboard, and the lights on the west (pressbox) side of the stadium went out. The lights eventually regained power, but the scoreboard and public address system remained inoperable for the remainder of the game. Notable performances included Army running back Jared Hassin's three touchdowns, 142 yards rushing by EMU's Dwayne Priest, and 126 yards rushing by EMU quarterback Alex Gillett.[16]

The scoreboard lost power early in the second quarter, and was not used for the remainder of the game.

For his performance in the game, Dwayne Priest was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Offensive Player of the Week.[17]

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

• 14:56 EMU - Dwayne Priest 5-yard run (Sean Graham kick) 0-7 EMU
• 6:01 Army - Jared Hassin 3-yard run (Alex Carlton kick) 7-7

2nd Quarter

• 1:00 Army — Jared Hassin 3-yard run (Alex Carlton kick) 14-7 Army
• 0:35 EMU — Dwayne Priest 5-yard run (Sean Graham kick) 14-14

Army lines up for a field goal attempt early in the third quarter. The kick was good, giving the Black Knights a 24-14 lead, the biggest of the night.

3rd Quarter

• 14:55 Army - Patrick Mealy 11-yard run (Alex Carlton kick) 21-14 Army
• 10:30 Army — Alex Carlton 42-yard field goal 24-14 Army
• 8:25 EMU - Alex Gillett 1-yard run (Sean Graham kick failed) 24-20 Army

4th Quarter

• 3:03 EMU - Ben Thayer 10-yard pass from Alex Gillett (Sean Graham kick) 24-27 EMU
• 0:44 Army — Jared Hassin 7-yard run (Alex Carlton kick) 31-27 Army

Miami

See also: 2010 Miami RedHawks football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	7	7	0	21
RedHawks	7	7	7	7	28

The RedHawks largely stifled the Eagles' running game, allowing only 66 yards on 32 carries. For Miami, Thomas Merriweather ran for 105 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. EMU managed to keep the game close, with the teams trading touchdowns, despite Alex Gillett throwing two interceptions and Devontae Payne throwing another. In the final minute, EMU drove to the Miami 21-yard line, but for the second straight week, was unable to reach the end zone as time expired.[18] EMU sophomore punter Jay Karutz's kicks averaged 49.5 yards, breaking a 54-year-old school record.[19]

For their performances in the game, Miami's Thomas Merriweather was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Offensive Player of the Week, and EMU's Jay Karutz was named the MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week.[20] Karutz was also named an honorable mention choice for national Division I punter of the week.[19]

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

• 12:06 M-OH- Thomas Merriweather 23 Yd Run (Trevor Cook Kick) 7-0 M-OH
• 2:34 EMU- Kinsman Thomas 71 Yd Pass From Josh LeDuc (Sean Graham Kick) 7-7

2nd Quarter

• 11:05 M-OH- Armand Robinson 24 Yd Pass From Zac Dysert (Trevor Cook Kick) 14-7 M-OH
• 00:28 EMU- LeDuc 11 Yd Pass From Alex Gillett (Sean Graham Kick) 14-14

3rd Quarter

• 6:43 EMU- Thomas 40 Yd Pass From Alex Gillett (Sean Graham Kick) 21-14 EMU
• 4:00 M-OH- Thomas Merriweather 20 Yd Run (Trevor Cook Kick) 21-21

4th Quarter

• 9:03 M-OH- Thomas Merriweather 9 Yd Run (Trevor Cook Kick) 28-21 M-OH

Central Michigan

See also: 2010 Central Michigan Chippewas football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	14	7	14	17	52
Eagles	0	7	7	0	14

Central Michigan lined up for one of their seven converts against EMU.

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

• 4:13 CMU — Cody Wilson 21-yard pass from Ryan Radcliff (David Harman kick) 7-0 CMU
• 0:47 CMU — Paris Cotton 13-yard run (David Harman kick) 14-0 CMU

2nd Quarter

• 4:28 EMU — Dwayne Priest 2-yard run (Sean Graham kick) 14-7 CMU
• 1:45 CMU — Paris Cotton 1-yard run (David Harman kick) 21-7 CMU

3rd Quarter

• 13:30 CMU — Paris Cotton 61-yard run (David Harman kick) 28-7 CMU
• 8:09 EMU — Donald Scott 52-yard pass from Alex Gillett (Sean Graham kick) 28-14 CMU
• 4:20 CMU — Kito Poblah 14-yard pass from Ryan Radcliff (David Harman kick) 35-14 CMU

4th Quarter

• 13:42 CMU — Mike Petrucci 43-yard fumble return (David Harman kick) 42-14 CMU
• 8:09 CMU — David Harman 41-yard field goal 45-14 CMU
• 6:25 CMU — Zurlon Tipton 20-yard run (David Harman kick) 52-14 CMU

Ohio State

See also: 2010 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	14	6	0	20
#2 Buckeyes	24	14	14	21	73

For the first-ever meeting between the two schools, Ohio State paid Eastern Michigan $850,000. This is the first time Eastern Michigan has played a team ranked higher than #10 in a national poll. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel came into the game with a 1-4 record against Eastern Michigan; when he was the head coach at Division I-AA Youngstown State the teams played annually from 1986-1990.[21]

For his performance in the game, Terrelle Pryor was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Pryor completed 20 of 26 passes for 224 yards and four touchdowns.[22]

Ohio State's win was subsequently vacated as part of the penalties for major NCAA violations, including the use of ineligible players.[23]

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

Ohio

See also: 2010 Ohio Bobcats football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	3	7	20	0	30
Eagles	7	3	0	7	17

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

Vanderbilt

See also: 2010 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	3	0	3	0	6
Commodores	7	24	14	7	52

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

Ball State

See also: 2010 Ball State Cardinals football team

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Eagles	0	14	14	7	6	41
Cardinals	7	21	0	7	3	38

Alex Gillett was named the MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week.[24] Ben Thayer was named the John Mackey tight end of the week by the Nassau County Sports Commission.[25]

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

Virginia

See also: 2010 Virginia Cavaliers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	7	7	0	21
Cavaliers	14	3	14	17	48

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

Toledo

See also: 2010 Toledo Rockets football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	8	7	14	13	42
Eagles	0	7	0	0	7

The special "Band Day" halftime show featured the EMU Marching Band along with 12 high school bands.

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

Western Michigan

See also: 2010 Western Michigan Broncos football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	14	3	6	30
Broncos	14	10	7	14	45

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

Buffalo

See also: 2010 Buffalo Bulls football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	14	7	0	21
Bulls	0	10	7	0	17

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

2nd Quarter

• 13:36 EMU — Dwayne Priest 1 Yd Run (Sean Graham Kick) 7-0 EMU
• 07:35 BUFF — Marcus Rivers 28 Yd Pass From Jerry Davis (A.J. Principe Kick) 7-7
• 03:03 EMU — Dwayne Priest 1 Yd Run (Sean Graham Kick) 14-7 EMU
• 00:00 BUFF — A.J. Principe 30 Yd 14-10 EMU

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

Northern Illinois

See also: 2010 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	20	17	21	13	71
Eagles	0	3	0	0	3

Northern Illinois had 654 yards on 46 plays, rushing for 552 yards, with most of the starters on the sideline for the second half. The Huskies (10-2, 8-0 MAC) swept MAC play for the first time in school history and went on to represent the West Division against Miami (8-4, 7-1) in the MAC Championship. It was the 5th most points scored by the Huskies in school history.

For his performance in the game, Northern Illinois defensive end Jake Coffman was named MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week. Coffman finished with five solo tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble.[26]

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

Notes

1. "Army Black Knights vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles - Box Score". ESPN. September 4, 2010. Archived from the original on September 8, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
2. "Miami (OH) RedHawks vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles Box Score". ESPN. September 11, 2010. Archived from the original on October 21, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
3. "Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles - Box Score". ESPN. September 18, 2010. Archived from the original on September 22, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
4. "Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. Ohio State Buckeyes - Box Score". ESPN. September 25, 2010. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
5. "Ohio Bobcats vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles Score". ESPN. October 2, 2010. Archived from the original on October 9, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
6. "Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. Vanderbilt Commodores Score". ESPN. October 9, 2010. Archived from the original on October 14, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
7. "Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. Ball State Cardinals - Box Score". ESPN. October 16, 2010. Archived from the original on October 20, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
8. "Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. Virginia Cavaliers - Box Score". ESPN. October 23, 2010. Archived from the original on October 26, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
9. "Toledo Rockets vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles - Box Score". ESPN. October 30, 2010. Archived from the original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
10. "Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. Western Michigan Broncos - Box Score". ESPN. November 13, 2010. Archived from the original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
11. "Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. Buffalo Bulls - Box Score". ESPN. November 20, 2010. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
12. "Northern Illinois 71, Eastern Michigan 3". Comcast.net. November 26, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
13. "2010 Football Schedule". Eastern Michigan University Department of Athletics. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
14. Snyder, Mark (September 2, 2010). "Eastern Michigan's Ron English ready to put past behind". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved September 2, 2010. Last year didn't work, so English cleaned house. There are five new assistants, including defensive coordinator Phil Snow, a longtime Pac-10 coordinator at Washington, UCLA and Arizona State. Snow was English's secondary coach when he played at Cal, and Snow also coached the Lions' linebackers in 2005-08.
15. "Eastern Michigan hires Doug Downing for running backs coach". Detroit Free Press. March 25, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010. Eastern Michigan has hired Doug Downing as an assistant football coach, head coach Ron English announced Wednesday. Downing, who will coach the Eagles' running backs, replaces Tyrone Wheatley, who left for the same position at Syracuse.
16. "Late TD gives Army 31-27 win against E Michigan". September 4, 2010. Archived from the original on September 11, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
17. "MAC Football Players of the Week". Mid-American Conference. September 6, 2010. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2010. Senior tailback Dwayne Priest (Roanoke, Va.) ran for a career-best 142 yards on 26 rushes and scored two touchdowns. Priest added two five-yard touchdown scores in Eastern Michigan's 31-27 loss to Army last Saturday, Sept. 4.
18. "East. Michigan at Miami (OH) Play by Play". Yahoo!. September 11, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
19. "Karutz Named MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week". Eastern Michigan University. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
20. Adelson, Andrea (September 13, 2010). "Non-AQ Players of the Week". ESPN. Archived from the original on September 16, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
21. "Eastern Michigan-Ohio State Capsule". Sports Illustrated. September 23, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
22. "Spartans linebacker Greg Jones shares Big Ten weekly honor after first two interceptions". The Grand Rapids Press. September 27, 2010. Archived from the original on September 29, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2010. Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was named offensive player of the week. He completed 20-of-26 passes for 224 yards and four touchdowns while the Buckeyes scored 73 points against Eastern Michigan.
23. Ludlow, Randy (July 8, 2010). "Ohio State vacates wins from 2010 football season, places program on probation". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved July 24, 2010. An "embarrassed" Ohio State University is wiping its stellar 2010 football season from the record books as self-imposed punishment for major NCAA violations.
24. "MAC Announces Football Players of the Week". Mid-American Conference. October 18, 2010. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2010.
25. "Eastern Michigan's Ben Thayer earns national tight end honor". Detroit Free Press. October 21, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2010.
26. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2011-07-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)