Eastern Michigan football: Is Chris Creighton’s first bowl win incoming?

Can Eastern Michigan football get to the postseason for a third consecutive season and win its first bowl game under Chris Creighton?

The Eastern Michigan Eagles are proof that if you give the right coach time, he can build you a winner. The Eagles won just three games the first two seasons of head coach Chris Creighton’s tenure. He’s gone 25-26 his last four. Though he’s a game under .500, they’ve been to the postseason three of the last four years and twice in a row.

It is unclear if this is the ceiling for a program like Eastern Michigan — before 2016 they hadn’t been to a bowl since 1987 — but Creighton has certainly raised the floor in Ypsilanti. This season the Eagles try to return to the bowl season for a third consecutive season and their first postseason win under Creighton.

This season could be a flip of last season. In 2019, the offense took a step forward because of the returning talent and the emergence of senior quarterback Mike Glass III. The defense took a step back because they lost so much talent including defensive end Maxx Crosby early to the NFL.

This season each unit takes some significant losses. Offensively, the Eagles lose their leading rusher Shaq Vaugn in addition to Glass. Defensively, they lose their top tackler and their interception leader. Who steps up to take the reins of these critical positions is the story of the offseason for Eastern Michigan.

Here’s how the 2020 season stacks up for Eastern.