YPSILANTI, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Handing Arizona State their first non-conference home loss since 2017, 30-21, Eastern Michigan pounded out 305 yards rushing in the upset victory. Samson Evans rushed 36 times for 258 yards and one touchdown to lead the offensive charge. EMU becomes the first program in the Mid-American Conferenced to earn a regular season win over a Pac-12 member.

“The world tells you that they are better than us, that they are better than you and that’s not true. You have to play the game and money doesn’t buy E-Tough. You can’t pay someone to put the team first. You can’t do that and its deep in the heart and its hard. You can’t pay someone enough money to be obsessed. Your eight obsessed or you are not. You can’t pay someone to be unwavering. You have a backbone and resolve and a deep seeded belief or you don’t. You have grit or you don’t. They write books about it to try and figure it out. Money doesn’t by grit,” says head coach Chris Creighton.

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The win became EMU’s first-ever against a Pac-12 member and now has won a non-conference contest every year since 2011 which is the longest in program history since 1966-75.

EMU took a commanding 10-0 lead in the first quarter with a 27-yard field goal from Jesus Gomez to start he scoring. Jaylon Jackson then rushed in from four-yards out with 3:18 left for the 10-point lead. ASU cut the lead to three with a three-yard touchdown pass just six seconds into the second quarter.

Austin Smith then made it 17-7 at the 8:11 mark with a six-yard pass to Hassan Beydoun. Six minutes later, ASU once again was within three with a three-yard touchdown run but Evans ran in from three-yards out just before the half for a 10-point Eagles lead, 24-14 at the half.

Gomez hit his second field of the game from 40-yards out pushing the lead to 13, 27-14, with seven minutes left in the third quarter. ASU didn’t go away with a 44-yard run with just under 11 minutes left in the game pulling to within six points, 27-21. Gomez came through again on a 20-yard field with 4:24 left in the game making it 30-21.

ASU threatened again after the Gomez field goal driving into EMU territory. They were down to the 29-yard line of the Eagles but a penalty pushed them back to the 39-yard line. On the very next play, EMU’s defense forced a fumble on the 32-yard line as Kempton Shine came up with the recovery. EMU then ran out the clock for the milestone win.

They will start MAC play next week against Buffalo at 12:00 p.m.