Amherst, Mass. — Eastern Michigan walked into a sold-out McGuirk Alumni Stadium and left with a victory that carried significance far beyond the final score.
The Eagles used a balanced offensive attack and a dominant second half to pull away from Massachusetts 38-14 on Saturday, handing the Minutemen their first loss of the season while opening Mid-American Conference play with a 2-0 record for the first time since 2005.
Eastern Michigan improved to 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the MAC, spoiling what was Massachusetts’ first sellout at McGuirk Alumni Stadium since 2014.
Quarterback Noah Kim was in control throughout the afternoon, completing 21 of 30 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
The Eagles established control early and never surrendered it.
Kim opened the scoring when he connected with Kozy Isaac on a 27-yard touchdown pass, giving Eastern Michigan an early 7-0 advantage.
The Eagles continued to control the line of scrimmage as the game progressed, eventually stretching the lead to 14-0 late in the second quarter when Braydon Bennett powered into the end zone from two yards out.
Massachusetts finally found an answer before halftime.
With only 28 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Minutemen quarterback William Watson III connected with Max Dowling for a 34-yard touchdown, cutting Eastern Michigan’s advantage to 14-7 and giving the home crowd reason to believe a comeback was possible.
The Eagles quickly eliminated that possibility after halftime.
Eastern Michigan came out of the locker room and scored twice in a span of just 24 seconds.
Kim found Joshua Long for a 2-yard touchdown, and moments later Amareon Blue broke through for a 9-yard rushing touchdown, suddenly turning a seven-point game into a 28-7 Eastern Michigan advantage.
The Eagles never looked back.
Eastern Michigan continued to punish Massachusetts on the ground, finishing with 192 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
The Minutemen struggled to generate the type of offensive consistency that had carried them to a 4-0 start.
Watson finished with 210 passing yards and one touchdown, while Jabari Lewis provided one of the bright spots for Massachusetts with six receptions for 102 yards.
But the Minutemen couldn’t match Eastern Michigan’s efficiency or physicality.
The Eagles added another touchdown early in the fourth quarter when Joey Mattord raced 25 yards into the end zone, pushing the lead to 35-7 and effectively putting the game out of reach.
Eastern Michigan’s defense then finished the job, preventing Massachusetts from mounting another serious threat.
For the Eagles, the victory represented another important step forward in the MAC race.
Starting conference play 2-0 is something Eastern Michigan hadn’t accomplished in more than two decades, and doing it on the road against an undefeated Massachusetts team made the accomplishment even more impressive.
The Eagles now have momentum, balance and confidence as they head into the next phase of their conference schedule.
For Massachusetts, the loss ended a promising undefeated start and dropped the Minutemen to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in MAC play.
Up Next:
Eastern Michigan: Travels to Akron next Saturday.
UMass: Returns home to host Miami (OH) next Saturday.
