The Machine

Eastern Michigan

Mid-American · 4-6CFP unranked

Eastern Michigan is 4-6 and No. 129 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 18.4 points below an average FBS team. Last game: lost 35-7 vs Central Michigan in Week 10.

Machine rankNo. 129of all FBS teams
Rating now−18.418.4 points below an average FBS team
Since July−2.1from −16.3 in the preseason rating

Why Eastern Michigan is No. 129

  • Eastern Michigan's rating is −18.4: the machine's estimate that Eastern Michigan is 18.4 points worse than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 129 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
  • It started the season at −16.3, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it down 2.1.
  • The biggest weekly moves: +3.3 after Week 5 (W 38-14 at Massachusetts) and −2.6 after Week 2 (L 7-35 at Michigan State).
  • Its record is 4-6. The 6 losses were to No. 31 Wisconsin, No. 58 Michigan State, No. 89 Toledo, No. 97 Ohio, No. 116 San José State, No. 117 Central Michigan, by 21.7 points on average. The 4 wins came by 15.8 points on average; the best was over No. 126 Massachusetts. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
  • Its FBS opponents so far average No. 101 in the machine's ratings.
  • Just above is No. 128 Middle Tennessee (−17.5); just below is No. 130 Charlotte (−19.1).

The rating, week by week

Strengths and weak spots

Head coach

Chris Creighton is in his 13th season at Eastern Michigan (since 2014). This season: 4-6. At Eastern Michigan overall: 65-89, counting this season.

Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.

Team stats

Season totals and averages over 10 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.

Passing

Completions-attempts219-356
Passing yards2020
Touchdowns-interceptions13-6
Yards per attempt*5.6No. 136 of 138
Explosive pass rate6.3%No. 134 of 138
Sacks allowed (rate)3.8%No. 30 of 138

Rushing

Carries-yards291-1024
Yards per carry3.5No. 122 of 138
10-plus-yard runs (rate)12.1%No. 107 of 138
Stuffed at or behind the line (rate)17.6%No. 73 of 138

Scoring

Points per game19.9No. 122 of 138
Yards per play4.76No. 133 of 138
Third-down rate36.6%No. 99 of 138
Red-zone TD rate56.0%No. 99 of 138
Giveaways12No. 76 of 138

Defense

Points allowed per game26.6No. 87 of 138
Yards per play allowed6.05No. 111 of 138
Yards per pass attempt allowed7.9No. 115 of 138
Yards per carry allowed4.3No. 86 of 138
Sack rate3.9%No. 117 of 138
Takeaways11No. 66 of 138
Third-down rate allowed41.2%No. 101 of 138

Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.

Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.

Player leaders

The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).

Passing

  1. Noah Kim169-285, 1678 yds, 11 TD, 4 INT
  2. Brogan McCaughey41-60, 274 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
  3. Jace Stuckey9-11, 68 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT

Rushing

  1. Amareon Blue87 carries, 447 yds, 3 TD
  2. Joey Mattord67 carries, 286 yds, 1 TD
  3. Braydon Bennett63 carries, 280 yds, 2 TD

Receiving

  1. Harold Mack38 catches, 392 yds, 5 TD
  2. Joshua Long44 catches, 384 yds, 2 TD
  3. Ben Prosper35 catches, 356 yds, 1 TD

Tackles

  1. Bryce Llewellyn63
  2. Zach Mowchan60
  3. Elgin McDuffey51

Sacks

  1. Quincy Byas5
  2. Ronn Hardin2.5
  3. Donmiel Rogers1.5

Interceptions

  1. Caleb Dobbs2
  2. Jason Marshall1
  3. Rayquan Adkins1

Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.

Who's playing

Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.

Throwing

  1. Noah Kim8 games285 attempts80%
  2. Brogan McCaugheyMost passes in the last game3 games60 attempts17%
  3. Jace Stuckey3 games11 attempts3%

Carrying

  1. Amareon Blue10 games87 carries38%
  2. Joey Mattord10 games67 carries29%
  3. Braydon Bennett9 games63 carries27%
  4. Decorie Johnson3 games9 carries4%

Catching

  1. Joshua Long10 games44 catches20%
  2. Harold Mack9 games38 catches17%
  3. Ben Prosper8 games35 catches16%
  4. Joey Mattord9 games30 catches14%

Tackling

  1. Bryce Llewellyn10 games63 tackles9%
  2. Zach Mowchan9 games60 tackles9%
  3. Elgin McDuffey8 games51 tackles8%
  4. Juan Salas10 games49 tackles7%

Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.

The season, week by week

  1. Week 1 W 28–17 vs Sacramento State. The run game struggled: 2.3 yards a carry, 2.9 less than Sacramento State usually allows. Its most yards an attempt of the season.
  2. Week 1 L 21–27 vs San José State. The passing game struggled: 4.0 yards an attempt, 3.6 less than San José State usually allows.
  3. Week 2 L 7–35 at Michigan State. The run defense gave ground: Michigan State got 5.7 yards a carry, 3.1 over what it usually gains. Its fewest yards an attempt of the season.
  4. Week 3 L 10–54 at Wisconsin. The pass defense gave ground: Wisconsin got 11.0 yards an attempt, 4.5 over what it usually gains. Lost the turnover battle by 2.
  5. Week 4 W 29–3 vs Lindenwood. Lindenwood is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against.
  6. Week 5 W 38–14 at Massachusetts. The passing game was the strength: 7.1 yards an attempt, 1.0 more than Massachusetts usually allows. The machine had Massachusetts by 12.1 (78%), so this was a win it did not see coming; Eastern Michigan won the turnover battle by 2.
  7. Week 6 W 25–23 at Akron. The pass defense gave ground: Akron got 9.5 yards an attempt, 3.2 over what it usually gains. Lost the turnover battle by 2.
  8. Week 7 L 14–34 vs Toledo. The run game struggled: 1.2 yards a carry, 2.3 less than Toledo usually allows. The offense gave up 5 sacks.
  9. Week 8 L 20–24 at Ohio. The passing game struggled: 5.1 yards an attempt, 2.3 less than Ohio usually allows.
  10. Week 10 L 7–35 vs Central Michigan (neutral site). The passing game struggled: 4.5 yards an attempt, 2.8 less than Central Michigan usually allows.

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