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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – A series of turnovers and miscues were too much for the Eastern Michigan University football team to overcome in a 58-28 Mid-American Conference loss to Western Michigan University under the lights Thursday, Oct. 29, at Rynearson Stadium in front of a national television audience. The Eagles were guilty of two interceptions, a pair of fumbles and a missed field goal.
 
The Broncos took advantage of those Eagles' mistakes with 24-points off turnovers to improve their record to 4-0 in MAC play, while EMU falls to 0-5 in the league.

Redshirt sophomore Brogan Roback (Maumee, Ohio-Toledo St. John's) directed the Eagles offense, completing 18-of-30 passes for 263 yards while adding three touchdowns and two interceptions.Senior Dustin Creel (Industry, Pa.-Western Beaver) hauled in five receptions for a team-high 82 yards and two touchdowns, while freshman Eddie Daugherty (Mentor, Ohio-Mentor) added three catches for 64 yards, including the Eagles' longest play of the game at 48 yards. EMU's ground game featured a two-headed monster in senior Darius Jackson (Sparta, Ill.-Sparta) and redshirt freshman Shaq Vann (South Bend, Ind.-John Adams). Jackson led the way with 17 carries for 95 yards, while Vann added 12 carries for 79 yards and one receiving touchdown.

Defensively, senior Great Ibe (Philadelpia, Pa.-Meade-Concordia University) paced the Eagles with 10 total tackles. Ibe added a team-best two tackles for a loss, while totaling 11 yards.

The Eagles relied heavily on the run in their first drive of the game, running the ball on five consecutive plays to open the game. Vann took a direct snap with the Green and White lined up in the Wildcat formation, resulting in a nine yard gain, to open the series for the Eagles before Jackson and Roback combined for a trio of long runs to put the Green and White in the redzone. Eastern capped an impressive opening drive with a shovel pass from Roback to Vann, who exploited a hole in the Broncos defense, bulldozing his way in for a touchdown. Vann's 16-yard reception put the Eagles in front, 7-0, with 11:38 to play in the first quarter.
 
The Broncos broke through a hole on the ensuing kickoff, putting them at the EMU 44-yard line to begin their drive, but a strong defensive stand by the Eagles held Western Michigan to a field goal.
 
Attempting to hurdle a few Broncos on the kickoff, a Western Michigan helmet knocked the ball loose on the Eagles' return, allowing Western to take over from the EMU 26-yard line. With the Broncos on the edge of the red zone, Ibe broke into the backfield, taking down the WMU running back for a loss of eight before Brown broke up a pass on third down. Facing fourth and seven, the Broncos elected to take the points, capitalizing on the Eagles' turnover by way of a 41-yard field goal.
 
A promising drive highlighted by an 11-yard and 22-yard run by Jackson, ended abruptly as Roback's pass on third down was intercepted. As they did with the first EMU turnover, the Broncos cashed in on the Eagles' miscue, charging downfield for a touchdown. The touchdown gave Western Michigan their first lead of the game, 13-7, with less than a minute to play in the first quarter.
 
On their first drive of the second quarter, the Broncos charged into EMU territory, earning a fresh set of downs from the Eagles' 17-yard line. On the heels of a 32-yard reception by Daniel Braverman, giving WMU first and goal, a strong goal line stand by the Eagles held the Broncos to a field goal. The 25-yard kick by Andrew Haldeman extended WMU's lead to 16-7.
 
The Eagles responded on their next drive, fueled by a 30-yard scamper from Vann and back-to-back runs by Jackson. Taking a break from the rushing game, the Eagles turned to Roback. Scrambling in the pocket, Roback eluded the sack and fired a pass to the back of the endzone, connecting with Creel for the Eagles' second touchdown of the contest. The score cut the Broncos lead to single-digits, 23-14, with less than a minute to play in the half.
  
The Eagles opened the second half on a sour note, as WMU scored on their opening drive. Following their score, the Eagles promptly turned the ball over twice, resulting in consecutive touchdowns for the Broncos. However, EMU managed to put together a solid drive behind a long pass to Kris Strange (Pickerington, Ohio-Central) for 27 yards and a fourth down conversion. Eventually, Roback found Creel wide open, who scored from 41 yards out to cut the WMU lead to 44-21.
 
On the following drive, a holding penalty on WMU brought back a long run, but the Broncos quickly responded with another long run that eventually led to a touchdown and increased the WMU lead to 51-21.
 
On the Eagles' next drive, Roback gunned a pass to Daugherty, who made an incredible diving catch to pick up 48 and put the Eagles into Bronco territory. A personal foul on WMU then brought EMU into the redzone, where Vann bulldozed his way to the one-yard line. However, senior Dylan Mulder's (Saline, Mich.-Saline) field goal attempt missed wide left and the Eagles were left empty handed following their long drive.
 
The Broncos then turned around and found the end zone on a long screen-pass, increasing their lead to 58-21.
 
The Eagles added a touchdown to their total, late in the fourth quarter as Roback punched it from inside the five, bringing the score to 58-28.

As part of the under the lights matchup, Eastern Michigan University gave current students a chance to win a free year of tuition. To be eligible, students needed to check in at Tailgate Town, download the My Eagle Rewards application, and attend the game. Freshman Alex Theisen and graduate student Dawud Ellayan, took the field halfway through the second quarter to participate in EMU's Tution Toss. With one Swoop tossing for each participant, Theisen came out on top 6-4, earning the Saline, Mich. native a free year's worth of tuition.
 
Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Oxford, Ohio for a matchup with Miami. Kickoff against the RedHawks is set for 2:30 p.m.