Laying out the optimistic, pessimistic cases for Eastern Michigan in 2026

Editor’s note: Mitten Football will dig into the rosier and dimmer potential outlooks for all five of the FBS teams in Michigan over the summer, with installments coming regularly. This week (still in reverse alphabetical order), things keep going with Eastern Michigan.

Read the first installment on WMU here, the second installment on MSU here, and the third installment on Michigan here. 

Coming off an underwhelming 2025 season, hope springs eternal in Ypsilanti. 

And for good reason, as Eastern Michigan football has a lot to be hopeful about despite the way 2025 went. 

Starting with a returning, veteran quarterback and a reworked defense, a team with plenty of continuity is eying a big jump in performance after a strong finish to the 2025. But there are, of course blemishes and potential weaknesses that could see it undone. 

Let’s dig in to the reasons for optimistic and pessimistic outcomes for Eastern Michigan in 2026.

The case for optimism

1. Noah Kim returns as the starting quarterback

It’s always a good place to start to have your conference’s leading passer back for another season, and that’s what EMU got with Kim coming back for another season via an NCAA eligibility waiver. 

In 12 games last year, Kim completed 61.4 percent of his passes while throwing for 2817 yards, 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Another year in the same offensive system and with several targets back from last year — wideouts Harold Mack and Nick Devereaux, plus tight end Joshua Long, among others — should lend to EMU having yet another strong passing game. It could, if things go to plan, take another big step forward. 

Kim is also a pretty solid runner, when needed, though it did lead to a handful of fumbles last season — and cutting back turnovers in general always helps. 

And though head coach Chris Creighton wants to have the back of Kim’s jersey say “Mr. Kim” instead of just “Kim” since the quarterback is 24 years old, a productive veteran quarterback returning is invaluable.

2. The defensive rework… works

Eastern Michigan’s main bugaboo in 2025 was a defense that, especially early in the season, struggled to tackle and, ergo, defend the run. 

Creighton juggled the defensive staff around, making Kasey Teegardin and Tate Omli co-defensive coordinators. And throughout spring, the early reviews were positive as they emphasized a few key ideals with an abbreviation: TTE, which stands for tackles, takeaways and effort. 

The first two are a pretty good one-two punch to build a good defense around and the third is a reminder of perhaps the most important non-negotiable. 

But what was perhaps the most promising bit of feedback coming back from the Eagles through the offseason is how seamlessly Omli and Teegardin work off each other. 

Mix that all with some better linebacker health and depth, and EMU could look a lot better on defense quite quickly. 

3. A transfer-remade offensive line comes together

It’s the big question mark on offense for the Eagles, which had few returning offensive linemen when playing experience, thus opting to bring in an array of transfers. 

And much like the defense, the reports on that group coming back in spring were very positive. Creighton went so far as to say he felt like the Eagles hit on each and every portal lineman they took. And if that’s the case, look out. 

But even if it isn’t, a mix of transfers along with returners like Nick Gallegos and perhaps even freshman Carter Miculka, who took a lot of reps in spring, could be paving the way for EMU’s offense. 

And with the rest of the offensive infrastructure behind that group, if this offensive line gets things going in the right direction, EMU could have one of the best offenses in the MAC. 

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The case for pessimism

1. A transfer-remade offensive line doesn’t come together

Looking good in spring is one thing, being good in the fall is another. And while EMU is rightfully optimistic about the offensive line for this year, things going wrong for the group could torpedo a lot of the offensive hopes. 

In general, the big question when bringing in transfers is less about their individual abilities and more how they can mesh and adjust to one another, forming a cohesive unit. In short, it’s a series of bets that need to parlay just right. 

That’s hard to do in half a year, and EMU wasn’t aided by a number of offensive line injuries during spring practice that limited who was taking reps. By the spring game, EMU was down to fewer than 10 linemen who played that day. 

And without an offensive line getting it done up front, life can become hell for an offense as a whole. 

2. Another porous run defense

EMU had the third-worst defense in the MAC in 2025 in terms of total yards given up, all while having the third best pass defense in that same measure. So the culprit, of course, is a run defense that gave up 2785 yards, the worst in the MAC last year. 

Tackling issues plagued EMU and lead to that for much of the year, and is something the Eagles are keen on eliminating. They largely did late last year. 

But on a bigger level, the depth in the front seven isn’t the best and there’s a lot of new or unproven pieces that Eastern Michigan will need to see step up. And though it’s unlikely injuries hit EMU the same way again on defense, losses on the defensive line or in the linebacking corps could be a big problem. 

And if the Eagles can’t stop the run, having a deep and veteran secondary might not matter too much as the rest of the MAC runs over them. 

3. Loss of pop at running back

This is admittedly a bit more nitpicky, but losing Dontae McMillan is a real dent in the backfield, as he starred last year before exhausting his eligibility. 

EMU is thus looking at a few returning backs taking on bigger roles or, more likely, a couple transfers being big pieces. 

Those transfers are Malachi James (Syracuse), Braydon Bennett (Virginia Tech) and XaVior Tyus (Wayne State) who is a relatively recent addition. The returners who have played notably are Joey Mattord and Amareon Blue, the latter having played quite sparingly so far. 

The Eagles are fairly bullish on Bennett and James to be lead backs, but it’s a question of how this backfield looks and how good it is replacing one of the MAC’s truly dynamic weapons in McMillan.