Football

Bison Face Eastern Michigan in Non-Conference Tilt

            Howard University will looking to get its first win of the season when it travels to Ypsilanti, MI to take on the Eagles of Eastern Michigan University on Saturday.  This will be the first time that the two institutions have met and it has the makings of an intriguing match-up between Howard, which is a FCS (formerly 1-AA) team and EMU, which is classified FBS (formerly 1-A).

            The Bison (0-2) are coming off a disappointing 30-17 loss to Florida A&M University last Saturday on the road.  Howard, which had played well in the season opening loss to Hampton, was run over by the Rattlers who roughed the Bison defense for over 300 yards rushing.  Most of the damage was done by FAMU freshman tailback Philip Sylvester, who amassed 222 for almost 10 yards per carry.

            "We took a step back," said Howard first-year coach Carey Bailey.  "Tackling is the essence of defense and we did not do a very good job.  We have to get better in that area if we are to compete against a team like Eastern Michigan."

            On the offensive side, Howard senior quarterback Brian Johnson was hounded by the Rattlers' defense early and often as he was sacked five times and was never able to generate any consistent offense.

            "FAMU did a good job of blitzing and disguising their coverages," explained Bailey.  "We will have to make some adjustments and do a better job in the protection packages to make things more comfortable for BJ."

            The Eagles (1-2), from the Mid-American Conference (MAC), rallied from a 13-0 deficit to come from behind and beat conference foe Northern Illinois, 21-19 on the road.

            "I thought we played sound in all three areas:  defense, offense and special teams," explained EMU coach Jeff Genyk.  "A win like that on the road against a good team does a lot for our confidence."

            Genyk is not underestimating the Bison.  "They have a quarterback in Johnson who runs the spread offense very well;  they have a fine receiver in (Jarahn) Williams and (Rudy) Hardie on defense is a big playmaker for them.  We will have to play well."

            Bailey was equally gracious in his praise of the Eagles.

            "When you look at them, their record is deceiving," says Bailey.  "They had played well but it looks like it all came together for them last week.  The thing that stands out is that they are very sound.  They have a very accurate quarterback; their receivers are big and the backs run hard.  It is going to be a challenge for us."

            The game gets underway at 3:30 pm at Rynearson Stadium.