Can Eastern Michigan Football get to its third straight bowl game?

Can the Eastern Michigan football defense improve?

“Mr. Everything” Chase Cline leads a defense that was good at times but came up short in some key moments. The defense came up short against Toledo and played poorly against Buffalo, allowing 50 points. The big question in Ypsilanti is, “Where does the pass rush come from without Jose Ramirez?”

Ramirez was second in the country with 12 sacks. While that was impressive, no one on the team had more than three. All of their portal signees thus far have been on offense, so they will rely on returning players to fill that void.

Cline and fellow linebacker Joe Sparacio are solid in the middle of Ben Needham’s 4-2-5 defense. The strength of this defense is its secondary. That is important, considering several teams in the MAC like to pitch it around the field.

Having five defensive backs in the secondary is meant to confuse quarterbacks and disrupt the timing of wide receivers. Joshua Scott, who led the team in interceptions, returns, as does fellow corner Kempton Shine, who led them in passes defended.

This is a solid secondary that can mix up coverage. Can they generate enough pass rush to take advantage of having such a good secondary?