The Eastern Michigan University football team is officially bringing home a championship trophy after defeating the San Jose State University football team, 41-27, in the 26th Annual Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, played today, Dec. 20, inside Albertsons Stadium in Boise Idaho.
Down 13-0 to begin the game, Eastern (9-4, 5-3 MAC) scored an incredible 33 unanswered points between the mid-first and early third quarter to take control of the game and earn its ninth win of the season and first bowl game win since 1987.
Quarterback Taylor Powell (Fayetteville, Ark.-Fayetteville-Troy) earned the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl's Most Valuable Player honor after going 18-for-30 for 298 yards, accounting for two touchdowns in the victory.
Senior running back Samson Evans (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge-Iowa) totaled 82 rushing yards on 25 carries, notching two touchdowns for the Green and White. Fellow back Jaylon Jackson (Burleson, Texas-Centennial-Lamar) totaled 54 rushing yards including a 31-yard touchdown run to help push Eastern past SJSU.
On the outside, junior Darius Lassiter (Chandler, Ariz.- Lawrence Free State (Kan.)-Butler) hauled in six passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns to lead the receiving corps. He is just the 16th player to go for more than 100 yards through the air in the bowl game's history.
Defensively, defensive back Joshua Scott (Antioch, Calif.-Deer Valley- City College of San Francisco) totaled four pass break ups, the second most in EMU single-game history, and an interception for the Eagles. Furthermore, senior Russell Vaden IV (Louisville, Ky.-Moore) grabbed an interception to seal the game for the Eagles while senior linebacker Luke Cameron (Kokomo, Ind.-Kokomo) added an interception for the Green and White defense.
How it Happened
Down 13-2, the Eagles engineered four touchdown drives before intermission, including a bowl-record 96-yard drive that spanned 13 plays and concluded with a one-yard touchdown pass from Powell to Lassiter.
Two of Eastern Michigan's scoring series began courtesy of an interception, one each Cameron and Scott. Evans punched in a pair of touchdowns on the ground in the opening half.
San Jose State marched 59 yards in just over a minute to score the game's first points. Junior quarterback Chevan Cordeiro found the end zone on a 27-yard scamper to cap the three-play opening possession.
The Spartans outscored the Eagles 14-11 in the second half, as Cordeiro tossed a pair of 17-yard touchdowns to senior wide receivers Nick Nash and Isaiah Hamilton. Cordeiro finished 26-for-44 for 366 yards and four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing).
