something from nothing, an eastern Michigan dynasty

[kcarr]

Week 5 akron. After the frustration of the last 2 weeks being able to move the ball and make a stop felt nice. 5 different players had rushing tds ror us and Clinton morris set an ncaa record with a 99 yard burst for his tdma as we won 42-7 to go back above. 500. the bad new though was chad Jackson broke 2 ribs late in the 4th. It didnt hurt us here as the game was all but over but he will miss atleast 3 games including the 2 rivalries.

[kcarr]

Week 6 Toledo. This game was a true battle until the middle of the 4th when we melted down. morris had just caught a 3 yard td from brooks to cut the lead to 27-21 then we got a stop forcing a punt. Bass muffed it though and Toledo recovered and it webt down from there as we lost 38-21

[kcarr]

Week 7 cmu. Another close battle with a final that does not tell the whole story. We jumped out to a quick 110-3 lead as d. James broke an 80 yard run. Cmu would tie it before the half and go up by a touchdown in the 3rd but down the stretch brooks hit morris with 4 minutes left to tie the score. However the next 4 minutes saw 4 interceptions thrown by brooks and we lost 31-17

[kcarr]

Week 10 ball state. Jackson is back and not a moment too soon but he struggled at times in his return and the injury is still nagging and he had to step out a few times. Mendoza ran for 248 and 2 scores and bass took a kick 96 for a score as we won 45-41

[kcarr]

Week 11 buffalo. Our defense came to play in the frozen tundra today. Buffalos only points came off a drive started by a fumble that began on our 1 yard line and mendoza had a pair of scores breaking the school record and also crossed the 1000 yard mark with a 148 today while we won 20-3

[kcarr]

Week 12 at Kent state. Jackson is still banged up but will start. We are 5-5 going in while Kent is 4-6.

Our gameplan has to center around mendoza running the ball and other players adding explosion while theres is based on their running back Jeremy Johnson and a couple athletic wide outs.

The first drive saw steady movement but ended with us scoring a 19 yard fg. Webb then made a pick for us and we got an early chance to take the momentum. mendoza wasnt settling for 3 this time as he ran it in from 19 out.

Kent ended the 1st with a drive marked by 2 big passes and a roughing call and got a fg to cut our lead to 7. morris answered big though scoring on a run from 66 out. After a punt Jackson hix Dixon for 38 yards 1 play then kept it on an option to score from 10 out the next and the game looked to be well in hand.

if it wasnt ugly enough though Webb added another pick. Kent did add a tdma before the half to cut the lead to 14 but overall we had a solid 1st half.

To start the 3rd Kent was moving the ball but caldwell threw his 3rd pick of the game. Kent scores next though cutting our lead to 7 and putting the pressure on. Kent then scores on a 65 yard run to tie it up. A few plays later a scoop and score gives them the lead and Jackson is down again. He is not down long.but is clearly bothered and throws a pick 6 missing a wide open target by several yards. He does throw another tdma but we end up losing 45-31 dashing any hopes of going bowling.

[kcarr]

Week 13 at northern Illinois. At 5-6 we are a clear underdog going into this game against a tough northern Illinois tea. Hopefully we can catch them off guard as they look ahead to the conference championship.

our gameplan is as always on the ground. We lack the players to go elsewhere. They on the other hand have a very good dual threat QB and a stable full of receivers. On defense their linebackers are true beasts.

They jump out to a quick lead but a missed xp leaves it 6-0. Jackson then goes down but mendoza gets a score on a great effort. They answer with a fg though then get a quick pick and another 3 to make it 12-7. right before the half Dixon makes a play off a tip and catches a td making it 14-12.

A fumbled kick return after the break leads to a fg which pushes our lead to 5. after forcing a punt we start chewing the clock. A hardnosed drive takes a few minutes off the clock and.is capped with a mendoza td run. Niu goes 3 and out and we have a chance to seal the upset. After trading some punts though they score to make it 24-19.

We put together a start to a drive but it stalls. They score and go for.2 but fail so we are a fg from a win. We had a shot with Dixon wide open but brooks missed him and we lost 25-24.

[kcarr]

The regular season is over and while the winners are not yet known the losers have been made quite apparent and emulation is among them. However theree is no point in dwelling on what happened. when asked about the season heee is what coach Carr had to say.

"sure, we didnt have the best year but we outdid what most.thought we could. When faced with.tough times such as jacksons injury troubles and Dixon and mendoza being banged up at times the kids all showed toughness abduction fought through. I think the last game was a good representation of what these kids can do. We went into niu's house and nearly beat a team that will ay.for the conference title even without our starting QB.most of the game. Seeing that i have hogh hopes for the future"

Enough about past failures though. There are a going to be some new faces on campus next year. Lets look at those who.have.already signed.

HB Jared Mcdaniel, 6' 189 lbs Big Rapids Michigan. As a 3* recruit jared is so fae the headliner of the class. He is an explosive runner with.the moves in the open field to be a big play threat and could be a day 1 starter.

T David Jacobs 6'4" 273 lb Montreal Canada. David is a good athlete for his size but needs to improve his technique before he can play.

DE James Dailey 6'2 245 lbs Rochester Michigan. James is undersized for the 3-4 but has the strength to hold up against the run.

QB Anthony Williams 6' 219 lbs Halifax Canada. Anthony was a first week signing who is a backup plan incase i dont sign anyone better. He is a 2* player with a decent arm but very limited mobility.

FB kellen Joseph 6'1 223 lbs Allen park Michigan. Kellen is one of 2 1* players signed.so far an is the 47th best FB in the class. He is a tough runner with the required blocking technique but no mean streak.

SS Eric Dixon 5'11 211 lbs Hamilton Ohio. Eric will most likely be outmatched on defense but could see time on special teams.

There you have it. Not a great class yet but there are players in there who cpuld make an impact sooner rather than later and others who will provide depth