Four Downs: Gradual Steps For RB Committee

The resolve of this year’s group has been really something to watch.

The health of this offensive line has never been all right. Right guard Cole Dellinger’s been out since the second game of the season. Elijha Payne made only one start, last week, at right tackle. Left tackle Tyler Brumfield and guard Guzzy Kayed have battled injuries, though Brumfield has played in every game this year. Kayed did not play against Lindenwood.

Still, Eastern Michigan’s (4-3, 3-0 MAC) run game, which relies on a trustworthy O-line, has found its footing recently. Amareon Blue was limited ( 1 carry, 6 yards), and Bradyon Bennett (9 carries, 50 yards) has taken a few hits this season with the number of short-yardage carries he was tasked with.

Joey Mattord, a former walk-on and the third running back in this position’s committee, has seen his usage go up since the Wisconsin game. He ran for 21 yards on 9 carries in the first three games, 36 yards on 9 carries against Wisconsin, 48 yards on 9 handles against Lindenwood, 54 yards and his first career touchdown at UMass, then another new career day yesterday at Akron: 73 rush yards on 18 attempts.

There aren’t a lot of offensive highlights in yesterday’s game (EMU won 25-23) where 12 of its 25 final points came from its field goal unit, and Mattord even saw his best run of the night be called back. Late in the third quarter, after runs of 2, 10, and 8 yards, he took a second-down run 24 yards to the house, but the play was canceled as lineman Dennis Strey was penalized for holding. EMU finished the drive four plays later with a touchdown pass to Harold Mack.

Akron (1-5, 0-2 MAC), with its top running back Jordan Gant going for 117 yards on the day, slightly out-rushed EMU 143 yards (4.2 rush avg.) to 136 (4.1), but Akron had just a couple more penalties (9 for 82 yards), especially late in the fourth quarter, than EMU (7, 65).

EMU faces Toledo (4-2, 1-1 MAC) at home, and it should be a big one.

EMU’s off to its best start in over 30 years, and Toledo just suffered a regrettable 23-8 loss to Buffalo (3-3, 1-1 MAC) in front of its own homecoming crowd.

The Rockets were penalized FIFTEEN TIMES (15!!!) and are currently tied with four other schools at #121 in the nation with 48 total flags thrown against them for 414 yards lost.

What were those penalties against Buffalo?

The last penalty was as dumb as any. Toledo scored its first and only touchdown of the game, then made its 2-point try, to trail Buffalo 16-8 late in the fourth. Buffalo’s offense took the field and scored on one play: an 87-yard run that Messiah Burch bounced out to the right and dashed all the way down the sideline. On the run, a Buffalo player tried to get in the way of Andrew Zock, who was chasing after Burch, and Zock decided to fiercely grab and toss the blocker out of bounds, at least 10 yards away from the ball.

It wasn’t a football move, and the bonehead penalty from Toledo’s heralded defensive transfer only hurt his team even more. Buffalo moved up its kickoff attempt to the midfield logo, and Buffalo successfully ran a trick onside kick, which bounced off one Toledo player’s leg and back into Buffalo’s possession with four and a half minutes remaining.

Since EMU at Akron was a 3:30 p.m. kick, I didn’t really pay much attention to the Miami at UMass game, which began at 2 p.m., especially in the second half.

Looks like I missed a very miserable ending for UMass.

To table set, UMass (4-2, 1-2 MAC) was without its top quarterback, Pop Watson, and Miami (3-3, 1-1 MAC) was also hurting with only its #3 QB option available Saturday.

UMass trailed 20-13 on its final drive of the game, and finished the 91-yard drive in just over two minutes with a 20-yard pass to tight end Max Dowling in the end zone with one second left on the game clock.

Rather than tying the game up and forcing overtime with a PAT kick, Joe Harasymiak called for a brain-busting 2-point play, and it worked out horribly for UMass, beautifully for Miami.

I don’t cover the SEC, but I do try to keep an eye on how the entire sport of football is doing while 90% of my attention is focused on the MAC.

The MAC, as everybody knows, is dead broke and there’s absolutely zero good football to be seen here. Meanwhile, multiple millions and multiple millions of dollars are invested in entire SEC rosters, and sometimes seven- or eight-digit figures are dedicated to just one guy.

Sometimes, those expensive quarterbacks make throws that MAC quarterbacks can’t (complimentary).

Other times, these overpaid quarterbacks make throws that MAC quarterbacks don’t (derogatory).