Eastern Michigan vs. Cincinnati Eastern Michigan
As can be expected in the early going finding information on this team is a bit weak but I am sure more information on the team will pop up from the bearcats.
GAME 1 STORYLINES
1. 2005 SEASON KICKS OFF: The Eastern Michigan University football team
kicks off its 114th season in 2005. The first year of intercollegiate football in
Ypsilanti was 1891 when the team posted an 0-2 record. EMU has fielded a team
every year since 1891 with one exception, when the 1944 season was cancelled
because of World War II.
2. 30th MAC SEASON: The 2005 season is the 30th year of Mid-American Conference
action for the Eastern Michigan University football team. Eastern was
admitted into the MAC in 1971, but a complete MAC football schedule could not be
cleared until 1976.
Cincinnati
Bearcats Open 2005 Season vs. EMU
The University of Cincinnati opens the 2005 football season hosting Eastern Michigan on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. at Nippert Stadium, in the season-launching contest for both teams.
The game will mark Bearcat Bobblehead Night with the first 5,000 entering the stadium receiving a BIG EAST commemorative Bearcat Bobblehead.
Both teams are entering the new season with the momentum of successful runs in 2004. Cincinnati posted a 7-5 record under new head coach Mark Dantonio, winning four of its final five games to finish in a tie for second place in Conference USA. The Bearcats advanced to the Fort Worth Bowl where they defeated Marshall, 32-14.
Eastern Michigan, 4-7 overall in Jeff Genyk’s first year at the helm, posted a .500 record in Mid-American Conference play for the first time in six years and defeated rivals Central Michigan and Western Michigan in the same season for the first time since 1986.
The two teams enter 2005 on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of experience. Eastern Michigan has 12 returning starters, seven on offense. Cincinnati has starters returning at only six positions, three on each side of the line of scrimmage. With a total of eight returning regulars, which includes kicker Kevin Lovell and punter Chet Ervin, UC fields one of the youngest teams in the country in terms of experience.
The Bearcats will be kicking off their 118th football season. Cincinnati, which began grid play in 1885, boasts the nation’s fifth-oldest Division I-A program, with only Rutgers (1869), Michigan (1879), Navy (1880) and Minnesota (1883) having longer histories. Eastern Michigan is no newcomer to college football, having fielded teams since 1891.
Cincinnati is 69-38-10 in season openers. The Bearcats have won five of their last eight lid-lifters. UC is 49-37-3 in home openers, and has won five of its last six home openers.
Cincinnati, which finished first or second in Conference USA in four of the past five seasons, begins play in the BIG EAST Conference this season. The Bearcats’ first BIG EAST game will be on Oct. 8 when they visit Pittsburgh. UC’s first BIG EAST home contest will be on Oct. 15 when Connecticut visits for Homecoming.
UC vs. Eastern Michigan
Thursday’s game will be the first-ever meeting between Cincinnati and Eastern Michigan. UC is 10-6-0 vs. teams from the state of Michigan.
UC vs. the MAC
While Thursday’s game is UC’s first vs. Eastern Michigan, the Bearcats are no stranger to the Mid-American Conference. Cincinnati is 81-91-11 vs. teams which currently comprise the Mid-American Conference. UC is 44-58-7 vs. rival Miami and has a 23-23-4 ledger vs. Ohio.
Bearcats Once Ruled the MAC
The University of Cincinnati once ruled the Mid-American Conference. The Bearcats were members of the MAC for six seasons, from 1947 through 1952, during which time they compiled a 19-3-0 record and won five conference championships.
Cincinnati is one of the nation’s youngest teams, in terms of returning starters and in terms of projected senior starters. UC has starters returning at eight positions—tackle Steve Eastlake, tight end Brent Celek and fullback Doug Jones on offense; end Adam Roberts, cornerback Antoine Horton and Dominic Ross and JaJuan Hall, who shared the strong safety position on defense; along with punter Chet Ervin and kicker Kevin Lovell. Only two schools have fewer returning starters, Navy with six and Marshall with seven.
UC projects five senior starters on offense and defense, entering the 2005 season, second fewest to Rice which has three projected senior starters.
What a Difference a Year Makes
When the Bearcats opened the 2004 season, they boasted 26 seniors, 17 of whom were projected starters and seven more who were listed as backups. The total starting experience of the 2004 Bearcats was 256 games, 127 on offense and 129 on defense. The 2005 team enters the season with 85 games, 57 on offense and 28 on defense.
First Freshman Start
When Dustin Grutza makes his appearance as the Bearcats’ starting quarterback in Thursday’s Cincinnati-Eastern Michigan game, it may be the first time in UC history that a freshman has opened the season as the team’s starting quarterback. There is no evidence in available records, dating back to the post-World War II years, that a freshman has ever before started a season opener. The last time the Bearcats opened the season with a quarterback who had never played for UC was in 1983 when junior college transfer Troy Bodine made his debut and helped lead Cincinnati to a 14-3 upset of defending national champion Penn State.
Thursday Game Not So Rare for UC
Thursday night games are not exactly rare for the University of Cincinnati. The Bearcats have played 53 games on Thursdays, compiling a 21-28-4 record. UC’s annual rivalry with Miami (Ohio) has been played on Thursdays 50 times, 49 of those on Thanksgiving Day—the game a fixture there from the early century through the 1950s. UC’s last Thursday night appearance occurred last season when the Bearcats defeated Marshall, 32-14, at the Fort Worth Bowl on Dec. 23.
Hair-Rinsing Experience
Brent Celek will hope Thursday’s game vs. Eastern Michigan is a hair-rinsing experience. The Bearcats’ junior tight end has abstained from washing his hair since the beginning of summer workouts—a span of nine weeks and counting—and vows not to wash it until UC’s first victory.
JT
Sneaks