2021 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team

The 2021 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team represented Eastern Michigan University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Eagles were led by eighth-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). For the third time in the past six seasons (2016, 2018), the Eagles clinched a winning record, becoming the sixth Eagle team to reach seven wins.

2021 Eastern Michigan Eagles football
LendingTree Bowl, L 20–56 vs. Liberty
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	7–6 (4–4 MAC)
Head coach	Chris Creighton (8th season)
Defensive coordinator	Neal Neathery (6th season)
Home stadium	Rynearson Stadium

2021 Mid-American Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Kent State xy		6	–	2					7	–	7
Miami (OH)		5	–	3					7	–	6
Ohio		3	–	5					3	–	9
Bowling Green		2	–	6					4	–	8
Buffalo		2	–	6					4	–	8
Akron		1	–	7					2	–	10
West Division
Northern Illinois xy$		6	–	2					9	–	5
Central Michigan x		6	–	2					9	–	4
Toledo		5	–	3					7	–	6
Ball State		4	–	4					6	–	7
Eastern Michigan		4	–	4					7	–	6
Western Michigan		4	–	4					8	–	5
Championship: Northern Illinois 41, Kent State 23
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	7:00 p.m.	Saint Francis (PA)*	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN3	W 35–15	16,461
September 11	7:00 p.m.	at No. 18 Wisconsin*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	FS1	L 7–34	70,967
September 18	3:30 p.m.	at UMass*	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	NESN+	W 42–28	7,012
September 25	2:00 p.m.	Texas State*	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN+	W 59–21	14,253
October 2	2:00 p.m.	at Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN+	L 20–27	10,034
October 9	3:30 p.m.	Miami (OH)	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN+	W 13–12	15,664
October 16	2:00 p.m.	Ball State	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN+	L 31–38	15,258
October 23	12:00 p.m.	at Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPN+	W 55–24	10,875
November 2	7:30 p.m.	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	ESPN2	W 52–49	14,997
November 9	8:00 p.m.	Ohio	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN2	L 26–34	13,636
November 16	7:30 p.m.	Western Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy)	ESPN2	W 22–21	15,272
November 26	12:00 p.m.	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI (rivalry, Michigan MAC Trophy)	ESPNU	L 10–31	7,708
December 18	5:45 p.m.	vs. Liberty*	Hancock Whitney Stadium Mobile, AL (LendingTree Bowl)	ESPN	L 20–56	15,186
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Saint Francis (PA)

See also: 2021 Saint Francis Red Flash football team

at No. 18 (FBS) Wisconsin

See also: 2021 Wisconsin Badgers football team

Eastern Michigan vs. Wisconsin – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	0	7	7
No. 18 Badgers	7	17	3	7	34

at Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin

• Date: September 11, 2021
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C); Sunny; Wind at SW3 MPH
• Game attendance: 70,967
• Referee: Reggie Smith
• TV announcers (FS1): Dan Hellie (play-by-play) and Robert Smith (analyst)

Game information

First quarter WISC – Chez Mellusi 6-yard TD run, Collin Larsh kick, 4:39 (Wisconsin, 7–0) Second quarter WISC – Collin Larsh 33-yard field goal, 13:39 (Wisconsin, 10–0) WISC – Jalen Berger 6-yard TD run, Collin Larsh kick, 7:02 (Wisconsin, 17–0) WISC – Isaac Guerendo 82-yard TD run, Collin Larsh kick, 4:40 (Wisconsin, 24–0) Third quarter WISC – Larsh, 39-yard field goal, 8:02 (Wisconsin, 27–0) Fourth quarter EMU – Chase Wolf pass intercepted for a TD, Chad Ryland kick, 9:38 (Wisconsin, 27–7) WISC – Braelon Allen 1-yard TD run, Collin Larsh kick, 4:16 (Wisconsin, 34–7) Top passers EMU – Preston Hutchinson – 6/13, 53 yards, INT WISC – Graham Mertz – 14/17, 141 yards Top rushers EMU – Preston Hutchinson – 3 rushes, 12 yards WISC – Chez Mellusi – 20 rushes, 144 yards, TD Top receivers EMU – Zach Westmoreland – 2 receptions, 35 yards WISC – Kendric Pryor – 4 receptions, 54 yards Top defenders EMU – Scott Woo – 3 tackles, 2 TFL, sack WISC – John Torchio – 3 tackles, TFL, 0.5 sack

Ball State

Ball State at Eastern Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total • Ball State 14 3 7 14 38 Eastern Michigan 0 14 3 14 31 Date: October 16. 2021 Location: Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 15,258 Television network: ESPN+

See also: 2021 Ball State Cardinals football team

Pregame line	Over/under
BALL –1.0	55.5

Statistics	Ball State	Eastern Michigan
First downs	29	27
Total yards	433	385
Rushing yards	200	46
Passing yards	233	339
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	32:43	27:17

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ball State	Passing	Drew Plitt	27/35, 207 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Carson Steele	18 carries, 138 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Justin Hall	10 receptions, 58 yards
Eastern Michigan	Passing	Ben Bryant	35/48, 331 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Jawon Hamilton	8 carries, 40 yards
	Receiving	Dylan Drummond	7 receptions, 105 yards, 1 TD

at Central Michigan (Michigan MAC Trophy)

Michigan MAC Trophy

1 2 3 4 Total Eastern Michigan 0 3 7 0 10 • Central Michigan 7 3 7 14 31 Date: November 26, 2021 Location: Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 7,708 Television network: ESPNU

See also: 2021 Central Michigan Chippewas football team, Central Michigan–Eastern Michigan football rivalry, and Michigan MAC Trophy

Pregame line	Over/under
CMU –8.5	63.5

Statistics	Eastern Michigan	Central Michigan
First downs	15	22
Total yards	226	366
Rushing yards	5	236
Passing yards	221	130
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	27:17	32:43

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Eastern Michigan	Passing	Ben Bryant	24/35, 221 yards
	Rushing	Bryson Moss	5 carries, 26 yards
	Receiving	Tanner Knue	7 receptions, 70 yards
Central Michigan	Passing	Daniel Richardson	12/24, 130 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
	Rushing	Lew Nichols III	44 carries, 194 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	JaCorey Sullivan	4 receptions, 46 yards, 2 TDs