For an ASU team looking to rebound from a loss, hosting a team like Eastern Michigan is seemingly what the doctor had ordered for the Sun Devils to get back on the winning track. Here’s our examination of Arizona State’s Saturday opponent.
Eastern Michigan Offense
At quarterback, journeyman Taylor Powell has had a bit of a boom-or-bust start to the 2022 season as part of Eastern Michigan’s 1-1 record through two games.
After stops at Missouri and then Troy, Powell was named starting quarterback this season for EMU and thus far has averaged 294.0 passing yards per game and has completed 65% of his passes with four touchdowns but also has four interceptions and has been sacked six times. He doesn’t offer much as a ground threat, as he has -21 net rushing yards with one touchdown.
In game one against Eastern Kentucky, Powell completed 21-of-30 passes for 271 yards with three touchdowns and one interception; then, against Louisiana, he completed 31-of-50 passes for 317 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
Though he is on an early pace to throw for over 3,500 yards on the season, his high rate of interceptions and high sack total allowed on him could prove to be significantly detrimental Saturday against Arizona State.
The run game for EMU has not been incredibly effective through two games as the team averages just 82.5 yards per game on the ground – including just 23 net team rushing yards on 23 carries last week at Louisiana.
Taking the bulk of the rushing load is Samson Evans, who has 25 carries for 108 yards and two touchdowns. He had 89 yards on 15 carries and both scores in week one against FCS opponent Eastern Kentucky but had just 19 yards on ten carries last week at Louisiana. He also has six receptions for 33 yards and threw a three-yard touchdown.
Behind Evans, Jaylon Jackson has seen some reps here and there as he has eight carries for 61 yards and two catches for 18 yards on the year.
EMU boasts a set of experienced and talented receivers, with the three starters listed as Tanner Knue, Dylan Drummond, and Hassan Beydoun.
Knue leads the team through two games with 12 receptions for 132 yards with three touchdowns, while Beydoun, a Second-Team All-MAC selection in 2021 who had over 1,000 yards last year, has seven catches for 90 yards with a touchdown. Drummond, so far, has 72 yards on six receptions.
Including this season’s games, Beydoun has 174 career catches for 1,962 yards and six scores, while Drummond has 156 career receptions for 1,575 yards with 11 touchdowns.
Though listed as a reserve receiver, Darius Lassiter, the son of late former Arizona Cardinal Kwamie Lassiter, ranks second on the team with eight catches for 91 yards.
Gunnar Oakes starts at tight end and has been a steady target in his own right as he has registered seven catches for 74 yards thus far.
The offensive line figures to start tackle Marcellus Johnson, guard Sidy Sow, center Dimitri Douglas, guard Alex Howie, and tackle Brian Dooley.
Sow was EMU’s lone First-Team All-MAC pick in 2021, while Dooley was a Third-Team All-MAC selection last year.
Eastern Michigan Offense Summary
If the first two games are any indication, Eastern Michigan is quite a one-dimensional offense, though that dimension can be effective if Powell is given time to throw and does so accurately, as EMU’s receivers are polished and talented and can strike when allowed.
However, after a zero-sack outing at Oklahoma State, ASU likely will look to put the pressure on Powell as the film likely will show the Sun Devil staff that he can be pressured and brought down and ultimately pushed into mistakes.
There is no logical reason to expect that EMU should have rushing success against Arizona State an element when added to the predictable talent disparity, leads to the belief that Powell’s pass attempts likely will hit a high total Saturday evening.
Eastern Michigan Defense
Up front, EMU figures to start nose tackle Jordan Crawford along with tackle Alex Merritt, surrounded by end Grant Trueman and “Bull” Jose Ramirez.
The 325-pound Crawford has three tackles, including 1.5 for loss and EMU’s only sack through two games, while Ramirez has eight tackles, including one for loss. Trueman has four total tackles, and Merritt has yet to record any statistics in either of the first two games.
Ramirez was the only defensive player for EMU to last year earn any level of all-conference recognition, as he was named a Third-Team All-MAC selection in 2021. Last year, he had 63 tackles, including 12.0 for loss with 6.5 sacks with four pass deflections, and three forced fumbles in 13 games. Also, according to his bio on the team’s website, Ramirez spent time on the University of Arizona roster during the 2017 season.
Eastern Michigan’s two starting linebackers are listed as Chase Kline at Mike and Joe Sparacio at Will.
Kline leads the team after two games with 14 total tackles, while Sparacio isn’t far behind at second with 12. Neither starting linebacker has recorded a TFL or sack on the year.
In the secondary, Kempton Shine and Mark Lee, Jr. are slated to start at cornerback, with T.J. Peavy at the “Dog” safety, Russell Vaden IV at free safety, and Blake Bogan at “Rover.”
Bogan is the most seasoned defender on the two-deep as he has 20 career starts and has six tackles and the team’s lone interception thus far.
Peavy ranks third on the team with 11 tackles, including one for loss, while Lee has five tackles on the season. Vaden has posted five tackles, and Shine has three so far.
Eastern Michigan Defense Summary
For the second straight week, ASU faces a team that operates out of a base 4-2-5 defensive alignment. Statistically, things have simply not been good for EMU through two weeks as they rank near the bottom of the FBS in several key defensive categories.
Out of 131 FBS teams, EMU ranks 129th in team tackles for loss (2.0 per game), 127th in turnover margin (-2.50), 125th in pass defense (330.5), 122nd in scoring defense (41.5), 121st in total defense (475.5) and 119th in team sacks (.50 per game).
Ultimately, through the first two games, this defense has been steadily attacked by quarterbacks – both opponents so far have surpassed 300 passing yards – while EMU has been unable to create balance by way of sacks, TFLs, or turnovers.
If these trends continue Saturday, ASU should have the opportunity to right the wrongs of a challenging offensive day last week at Oklahoma State.
Eastern Michigan Special Teams
Eastern Michigan had all-conference performers at both punter and kicker last year but is faced with the task of replacing both in 2022.
Jesus Gomez assumes placekicking duties while Mitchell Tomasek punts. Tomasek averages 43.8 yards on eight punts for the year, but Gomez has yet to attempt a field goal.
Jaylon Jackson is listed as the top kickoff returner, with Dylan Drummond returning punts. Jackson averages 18.8 yards on five kickoff returns, but Drummond has not yet returned a punt this season.
Overall Summary
A unique matchup, to say the least, this game marks just the fourth all-time meeting between Arizona State and a current member of the Mid-American Conference, and it is the first-ever clash between ASU and EMU. Similarly, this is only the second all-time game between Eastern Michigan and a member of the Pac-10/12 Conference, as EMU traveled to Tucson to face Arizona in 1988.
In the three previous games against teams currently in the MAC, ASU lost the 1951 Salad Bowl played in Phoenix to Miami (Ohio), then defeated Toledo in Tempe in 1979 – a win that was later forfeited among others that season due to ASU’s use of ineligible players. Most recently, ASU opened the 2019 season with a victory at home against Kent State. ASU has a future game scheduled against a MAC opponent as well as the Sun Devils are currently slated to open the 2026 season at home versus Bowling Green.
The uniqueness could prove disadvantageous to the visiting team, as EMU will play in temperatures at or above 90 degrees in what will be about an 11 p.m. kickoff back home in Ypsilanti, Mich. Sun Devil fans surely know the success ASU has had at home in early season non-conference games in the past decade or so against teams from EMU’s general area of the country against the likes of Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Including this season’s opening win over NAU and dating back through the 2009 season, the Sun Devils have won 24 of 25 non-conference games at home, with the only loss coming against San Diego State in 2017. In the past quarter-century, ASU has dropped three home non-conference games to programs that are now in Group of Five leagues in San Diego State (2017), UNLV (2008), and New Mexico State (1999).
A longtime doormat of college football – from 1990 to 2015, EMU had just three seasons with five or more wins, and none with more than six – head coach Chris Creighton has done what can truly be considered a tremendously remarkable job since arriving in 2014 as he has guided Eastern Michigan to four bowl games from 2016 to 2021. Prior to his arrival, EMU had only appeared in one bowl game in the history of its program – the 1987 California Bowl.
Despite the noticeable improvement under Creighton’s tutelage, EMU, on paper, still represents an advantageous matchup for ASU in several ways as the Sun Devils look to get back on track after their loss to Oklahoma State and prior to marquee matchups the next two weeks against Utah and USC.
That said, this is, in every way, not only a “must win” but a “must look good doing so” game for Arizona State with the two highest ranked teams in the Pac-12 Conference up ahead on the schedule. Similarly, ASU absolutely cannot afford a repeat of 2008 in which it vastly overlooked UNLV with Georgia coming to Tempe the next week, of course resulting in Sun Devil losses in both games.
ASU should have significant success on offense and should be able to attack EMU’s offense in terms of sacks and turnovers to potentially create a comfortable win for the home team.
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