Much like last week, the Navy football team is playing on the road Saturday against a team with a far inferior win-loss record.
And just like last week, when Navy played at Duke, coach Paul Johnson is doing all he can to stress that the Midshipmen have to do more than just show up at Ford Field in Detroit against Eastern Michigan (1-8) if they hope to improve to 7-3 on the year.
Johnson said Eastern Michigan is much better than its record indicates. The Eagles have been on the wrong side of a number of close games. Of their eight losses, six have been by eight points or less, including a 16-10 defeat against Ohio last week.
“I think they have had a tough year, as far as wins and losses go,” Johnson said. “But when you turn the tape on, they have been in almost every game, and they have lost some real heartbreakers. … They have played a lot of low-scoring games. If you look, they have some pretty good stats on defense. It?s going to be a tough game for us.”
Quarterbacks Andy Schmitt and Tyler Jones are the leaders of Eastern Michigan?s offense. Schmitt has completed 97 of 155 passes for 858 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions. Jones has completed 67 of 118 passes for 672 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions. The pair also leads the Eagles in rushing ? Schmitt has 332 yards on the ground, followed by Jones at 262 yards.
Defensively, Daniel Holtzclaw leads Eastern Michigan with 86 tackles, followed by Michael Richardson with 82 tackles. As a team, the Eagles allow an average of 25.7 points per game.
Johnson said it is important not to take lightly a team like Eastern Michigan, which plays in the Mid-American Conference, since they have shown the ability to compete with any team in the country.
“All you have to do is look at some of their scores,” Johnson said on the MAC. “Western Michigan won at Virginia. I saw Ohio U. on film earlier this year against Rutgers, and they have a very good football team. Ball State took Michigan to the end. There are some good teams in that league. There always have been.”
GAME NOTES
» Navy won the last, and only other, meeting with Eastern Michigan in 2003 by a 39-7 score.
» This game marks Navy?s first trip to Michigan for football since 1981. At that time, then-coach George Welsh led Navy to a near-upset of Michigan before eventually losing, 21-16.
