Week 1: Striving for Perfection vs. Spartans

So far, so good for Eastern Michigan through its first 60 minutes of football. Now comes the fun part: trying to play every game like that for the next three months. 

Getting to a 1-0 start for the Eagles was incredibly important. The stakes were high with the Week 0 contest also being a conference game, and of course it had to be against a team that EMU had never played before. Had EMU lost to Sacramento State, then EMU would’ve had to wait until October to try and dig itself out of an early hole in the league standings.

But that’s not something EMU has to worry about, now does it? EMU won. Its defense slammed the door on Sac State’s offense’s face as it jogged out of the visitors’ locker room. Quarterback Noah Kim and his receivers stretched the field and made big plays through the air. 

It wasn’t a perfect game, but a win after nine months of no football is a perfect way to end the drought. 

EMU has reason to feel good with the win, and knowing that it has a 2-0 record all-time against the next team flying in won’t make anybody feel worse. But a lot of time has passed since then. Brett Brennan, the coach of San Jose at the time, is at Arizona. Ken Niumatalolo, a former longtime head coach at Navy, is in his third season as SJSU’s coach. In terms of winning games, EMU hasn’t had the same success since it captured nine victories in 2022. 

While EMU may feel like it had a favorable opponent to begin the 2026 season, it’ll have its hands full against the Spartans. 

San Jose’s got a head coach with the triple option in his bones even if his offense doesn’t play like those Navy teams in the 2000s and 2010s. Its quarterback has a slingshot arm. The defense surrendered 505 yards of offense, but I suppose this team was simply outmatched against #14 USC last week. 

The Spartans had 23 of their 26 points scored in the fourth quarter last week at USC. Sure, the game was already out of hand by the time San Jose intercepted a pass, and its quarterback scrambled for a third touchdown, but you can’t say the Mountain West team showed any quit. 

If anything, Friday should be a very evenly-matched game. These two teams that saw each other in 2022 have been on similar downswings. EMU won four games last year, and San Jose only won three times. 

SP+ has San Jose (118) ranked exactly one spot ahead of EMU (119). San Jose’s offense is ranked #108 while EMU’s is at #113. Defensively, EMU is the #114-ranked team while San Jose has the #116 defense. 

Las Vegas likes EMU, but only by a field goal.

It’s an early-season, cross-country battle with fun doses of history. EMU’s fans have been looking forward to this contest since it was announced, and both teams enter the season with a lot to prove. Tomorrow’s bound to be a fiesty Group of 6 match, and it’s going to be a must-win environment for both sides.

If EMU wins, it’ll have its first 2-0 start to a season since 2018. At which point, EMU would be a third of the way towards being bowl-eligible for the first time since, well, 2023.

Of course, EMU has a 2-0 record against SJSU with bowl victories in 1987 (30-27) and 2022 (41-27). But what about EMU vs. San Jose’s current head coach?

Even though Ken Niumatalolo (119-99 record) was Navy’s head coach from 2008-2022, his teams didn’t face EMU. That, however, doesn’t mean he has no coaching history against EMU. In fact, Friday will be the third time he’ll be on the sidelines opposite EMU for a game — and his first time doing so at Rynearson Stadium. And, of course, his first time as a full-fledged head coach. 

As an offensive line coach and right-hand man to then-coach Paul Johnson, Navy hosted EMU in 2003, and EMU “hosted” Navy at Ford Field in Detroit in 2006. The Midshipmen won both contests. 

WR, Benson Prosper (#3) — While he didn’t have a score next to his name, Benson Prosper showed why he was integral to the offense’s success Saturday. He had a pair of 25-yard receptions, an 11-yard catch, and four other receptions for a team-high seven catches for 81 yards in last week’s opener.

“You just absolutely love coaching Benson Prosper, he loves football as much or more than anybody,” Creighton said of his slot receiver Monday. “He’s super talented, and he’s got this incredible work ethic. So, not surprising at all for him to show out and have a really big game. He’s going to be a really great player the rest of the season.”

CB, Rayquan Adkins (#25) — Caleb Coley missed last week’s game to injury, so new transfer Rayquan Adkins started in his place. Adkins finished second on the team in tackles made (6), including one third-down stop that could’ve been an embarrassingly long touchdown if it wasn’t for him.

TE, Kama Kopa-Kawalauole (#83) — This tight end does not have a career reception to his name, but the school’s game notes typed out something pretty important there, so I’d like to share it here. In the notes, the school says that he’s “big into spear fishing.”

LB, Naseri Danielson (#3) — We don’t have to overthink it. Watch out for this guy. San Jose’s defensive captain led the unit with 10 tackles and an interception last week at USC.

EMU’s run game wasn’t the reason why it won its game Saturday, though there were some positive moments.

Creighton believes that, though his offense didn’t have a great day running the football (30 attempts, 69 yards, 2.3 avg., 2 TD), this offense has some talented running backs it can feel good about.

Amareon Blue, a sophomore who notched his first career start, led EMU’s efforts with 55 yards, and found some success with his outside handoff runs. Braydon Bennett, in from Virginia Tech, gained some tough yards for first downs, and finished his EMU debut with 27 rush yards and a score.

“[Blue] ran the ball well. [We] didn’t really ever get him going-going,” said Creighton.

“When Braydon came in, you felt it. He’s tall, he can run, is physical. He gave us a lift, even though there wasn’t some 20-yard, 50-yard run; we just felt his presence when he was in there.”

EMU’s run game can only be as strong as its offensive line, which was very obviously a mixed bag out the gate. New tackle Tyler McMillan backed the offense up with a false start penalty before the first snap of the season. The other new starting tackle, Tyler Brumfield, went down with an injury, though Creighton believes “he’ll be fine.”

If not, then these running backs are going to hope that maybe Cole Powell or Samuel Adjin, a 21-year-old Canadian freshman, can create some running lanes for them.

Said Creighton, “We did not run the ball like we need to run the ball, but it’s always a group project when you talk about the running game… That’s an area we feel as though we need to make better.”

San Jose’s defense took a beating last week. USC’s a good team, but 505 yards (164 rushing, 4 rush TD) is a lot to surrender in one afternoon.

In the first quarter, a long punt return and a hit-below-the-waist penalty by San Jose’s punter gave USC the ball on San Jose’s 22. USC’s Jayden Maiava scrambled with none of his receivers open on a fourth-and-goal pass, and tried to navigate into the end zone but got stopped short by one last yard. In the fourth quarter, San Jose picked off USC’s backup QB, and the offense turned the short field into points.

“Defensively, San Jose, it’s less confusing and more really fundamentally sound and stout, and tough, and physical,” Creighton said.

Additionally, on EMU’s offense:

Eastern Michigan’s defense had a lot of fun in last week’s home opener against Sacramento State.

But San Jose, despite its 10-16 record under Niumatalolo, ought to be a tougher task. First-year starter and Hawaii transfer Luke Weaver battled for three touchdowns at USC (2 pass, 1 rush), and completed 21 of his 30 targeted throws. 

Weaver was not the starter at his last school, but his game-winning touchdown throw in the Hawaii Bowl was certainly a highlight to remember. 

“They have a new quarterback who’s really talented. We think he’s a really good player,” Creighton said Monday. “Offensively, they’re a spread-you-out, and throw it [type of team]. They’ll run the ball; they’ve got a really good back. The most-improved part of their offense is their offensive line. They’re good. 

“They, sometimes, get into a 00 personnel, 10 personnel — no tight end.”

EMU’s defense built some confidence through last week’s game, but tomorrow will be a true test to see if the unit really has improved from last year.

Additionally, on EMU’s defense:

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

No update this week, considering EMU and Sac State were the only two MAC teams in action last week. I’ll hit you with a new list next week.

In my opinion, the music you listen to is as important as the games you watch to making these college football weekends whole. Whether you’re outside tailgating or sitting at home in front of your television, the tunes you listen to become the soundtrack of your football season. 

Here at The Ypsilanti Eleven, I offer you, dear reader, some service journalism. Please consider these 11 handpicked tracks for your playlist to help make your football season feel whole and worthwhile:

(Click here to view The Ypsilanti Eleven’s pregame mix on Spotify.)

San Jose State isn’t the only program Eastern Michigan has a perfect record against. Here are the other 15 current-day Division 1 teams EMU has had the pleasure of, so far, not having any losses to: