Kent State Golden Flashes vs Eastern Michigan Eagles, 10/14/2023, 12pm

Eastern Michigan 28 – Kent State 14, Attendance: 18,443

Weather: Rain, 49; Ticket: $19 Stubhub, Face: $25, Parking: $0

Blue Collar Football by Tree

Eastern Michigan University is in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which is a suburb of Detroit. It is also a stone’s throw from Ann Arbor. This is both a positive and a negative. On the positive side, you could see both the Eagles and Wolverines on the same weekend or day if the schedules align. For our visit, they did not. Both teams kicked off at noon. It didn’t matter to us because we were doubling up this game with Western Michigan over in Kalamazoo, which is about two and a half hours to the west. Central Michigan is a similar distance to the north.

The proximity to Ann Arbor is also a negative because if both teams are home, affordable lodging is hard to find. We were also tying in a Cleveland Browns game, so we ultimately ended up in an Airbnb in Toledo. The place itself was very nice, the neighborhood not so much. You could pair a visit with either Toledo or Bowling Green, but I don’t recommend that. Save those visits for a weekend where you also hit the amusement park Cedar Point.

We did not spend much time in Ypsilanti. The most I can say is that logistically, it was easy to get around. I would not call it a destination city. I would guess Eagle students feel the same way as EMU is primarily a commuter school.

It was then a short walk over to the paid lots where we ended up hanging out in players parents’ lot. These folks were great and fully understood breakfast tailgating. There was a great spread of bacon, pancakes, and some addictive “fentanyl” chicken wings. They also had mimosas, bloody Mary’s, and Irish coffee. This group alone saved the tailgating rep of EMU. They were generous and a lot of fun. They also noted that it was Fall Weekend as another defense for the general lack of tailgating fans. Accordingly, EMU tailgate gets a thumbs up with a small asterisk.

Rynearson Stadium is on the small side with a capacity of roughly 30,000. Nicknamed the “Factory”, it fits well with the blue-collar vibe of Eastern Michigan. It is all bleacher seats although some season ticket holders had portable seat backs. The top half of the visitors’ side is tarped off. We paid just under $20 for 50-yard line seats halfway up the home side of the stands. There is one video scoreboard, but with a stadium this size, any seat will give you a good view. The field itself is gray and not green. There’s an EMU football saying, “We’ll meet you in the parking lot” and the team does a bit where they knock down a concrete wall as they enter the field.  Between that and the eagle that flies into the stadium, the pre-game festivities are a step above most small schools. The concessions were the standard offering with a few local varieties ringing the stadium. Much to my chagrin, there was no souvenir cup.

The crowd for our game was sparse and I don’t recall any specific or noteworthy cheers. It was not a vibrant environment between the rain and absent students gone for fall weekend. Unfortunately, we were told the MACtion games during the week are not any better. Nothing unusual in terms of attire, other than perhaps a bit more camo here than normal. It was hard to discern any sartorial trends when everyone was in ponchos and rain gear. Their mascot, Swoop the Eagle, made some photo appearances in the stand and that sparked the crowd a bit.

The band, “Pride of the Peninsula” was decent, and they brought in a local jazz quartet to play with them at halftime. It was a good show except for the sax player who decided to wear a salmon-colored suit. One would have thought he would have at least worn the school colors. Having a gray suit is not unusual and surely a swinging cat would have a green suit in his wardrobe as well. Clearly, he was not one of the Eagle faithful. At least he didn’t wear Kent State colors. The Golden Flashes were in the midst of a dismal year and did not drive demand either. I would imagine games with rivals Central Michigan and Western Michigan are much more exciting.

As mentioned, Kent State came sputtering in to Rynearson Stadium and we did not expect a good game. We were, in fact, planning on it. Our goal was to stay through halftime and then bolt to Western Michigan to catch their 3:00pm game. The underdog Golden Flashes must have decided they needed to take some chances to win this game, so it wasn’t surprising to see them start off with an onside kick. The Eagles were more than ready for it and promptly returned it 44 yards for a touchdown. It is not something you see often. In fact, I have only seen it one other time, when the Steelers’ Hines Ward returned one in a meaningless NFL Pro Bowl game. Seeing it live and in real time started the afternoon in memorable fashion. The rest of the first quarter was not as interesting. It was a lot of three and outs.

Kent State finally mustered a drive that stalled at the EMU 6. Sticking with their aggressive theme, the Golden Flashes seemingly made the fourth and two for a first down only to have it overturned on replay. That’s what you get when you run a dive play from the shotgun. The remainder of the second quarter was mostly a repeat of the previous quarter. However, EMU finally put together a long drive. They started at their own 15 and capped it off with a 19-yard touchdown run.

So, it was 14-0 Eagles at halftime, but it was hardly a dominating performance from EMU. Grudgingly, we knew we needed to stay even though it was putting the very rare, same game-day double at risk. I had to get at least a half in at Western Michigan for that game to count. Kent State started the third quarter off with a first down but then were stuck at fourth and two again. This time at the EMU 42. I will say this for the Golden Flashes staff, they were nothing if not consistent. Again, they went for it and and again the EMU defense held them. The Eagle offense then marched down the short field, scoring another touchdown in about four minutes. At this point, it became clear that the Eagles had an edge both on the physical and mental sides of this game. We left the game comfortable that the Eagles, with a 21-0 lead, would win this game. Kent State cut the lead to 14 a couple of times, but EMU won easily enough at 28-14.

In an item that may be only of interest to me, the Iceman George Gervin played one season of hoops at Eastern Michigan, eventually leaving after getting suspended for punching an opponent in a NCAA playoff game. Despite his short and arguably turbulent time with the Eagles, the basketball arena next to the stadium is named after him. You can catch a glimpse of a statue of the Iceman as you walk into Rynearson Stadium. Gen X’s like me will immediately be reminded of the Iceman poster that graced many a bedroom walls of our youth along with those of Dr. J and Moses Malone.

In closing, this was not a game I was looking forward to. The weather was not great, and Ypsilanti was not on my bucket list to visit. I pretty much apologized to my buddy for dragging him to the game. However, the mood changed when we talked to the folks tailgating in the lot. They were gregarious and gracious, and the chicken wings were delicious. Considering this was a nearly empty lot, EMU represented itself well in the worst conditions possible. It is a small school environment, but they play well to their strengths with the blue-collar theme and the gray field. It is not a must-see venue, but not one to avoid if your team is playing there. It also could be paired nicely with a trip to the Big House at Michigan, especially with the MAC playing weeknight games. It is, after all, only one of three non-green fields in the FBS. Or match it with a Detroit Lions game to make a football weekend. Eastern Michigan and Rynearson Stadium is just different enough to make it worth considering whenever you are near the Motor City.

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