It might be imperceptible to the naked eye, but Eastern Michigan made great strides last season and was better than its 4-7 record.

The program hasn't enjoyed a winning season since 1995 and only has one winning campaign since 1989. Making things tougher have been the emergence of Central Michigan as a viable threat in the MAC and the reemergence of Western Michigan as a league power. For EMU to take the first step towards respectability, just winning the Michigan MAC isn't enough; it has to actually be better than its rival programs.

Head coach Jeff Genyk has made things better in his first two seasons, even if the overall record hasn't been that great. The defense, once the worst in America, is now merely mediocre. Don't laugh, EMU used to be really, really bad. The offense is still a work in progress, but the system is starting to take shape.

After two straight 4-7 seasons, Genyk's first goal has to be to figure out how to win close games. Over the last two seasons, EMU lost five games by a total of 11 points including a loss to Cincinnati last year by two points and losses to Miami University and Ball State by one. In other words, EMU was a little bit of luck away from being 7-4 and the hot MAC program. Yeah, wins are wins and coffee is for closers only, but for a team that got annihilated in so many games over the years, last season was a major turn upwards.

The 2006 Eagles have a mix of major strengths and screaming concerns. Four starters return to an offensive line that welcomes JUCO transfer star Tom Schmeding, but the backfield is starting from near-scratch breaking in new quarterback Tyler Jones and a slew of small, quick backs. The linebacking corps has the potential to be sensational and Kevin Howe is one of the best defensive ends in the conference, but the secondary is going to be abysmal right off the bat. 

Yes, Genyk has things pointed in the right direction and should make more noise in the West. Even with all the issues, a winning season, or at least a six win season, is very possible as long as the Eagles win every close game.

The Schedule: It starts out tough and ends up interesting. The five road games in the first six aren't as painful as they might seem with trips to Ball State and UL Lafayette along with the yearly obligatory losses to BCS conference teams playing Michigan State and Northwestern this season. Four of the final six games are at home, but there are tough battles with Toledo, Navy and Northern Illinois.

What you need to know on offense ... Eastern Michigan's wide open offense needs to be more consistent and far more explosive. It has speed and quickness at the skill positions working behind a big, veteran line with four starters returning, but there are big question marks at quarterback and running back. Tyler Jones leads a group of six quarterback prospects who can all run, while there's a logjam of small, quick running backs looking to complement the passing attack. Eric Deslauriers is one of the MAC's best all-around receivers and should be the star of a good corps.

Best Offensive Player: Senior WR Eric Deslauriers. Consistency will be the key for one of the MAC's most talented receivers. He was shut down a little too often last season, but he also have three games with double-digit catches and has six in his career. When he's on, there are few receivers more unstoppable.

What you need to know on defense ... The EMU defense has improved a little bit over the last few seasons, but it hasn't been a rock and it'll have to go through some big growing pains this season in the secondary losing three starters. By design, this is a ridiculously undersized defense that relies on speed and quickness to make plays, but it finished last in the MAC in tackles for loss. There are All-MAC talents in the front seven to work around in pass rushing terror Kevin Howe at end and rising superstar Daniel Holtzclaw at middle linebacker. Overall, the D has to be better against the run and has to be better on third downs.

Best Defensive Player: Sophomore LB Daniel Holtzclaw. Look for him to be in the hunt for MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors before his career is through. He's one of the team's strongest players and covers like a safety finishing ninth in the nation with five interceptions.

Key player to a successful season: Sophomore QB Tyler Jones. He's not big and doesn't have a huge arm, but he's accurate and extremely mobile. He has the inside track at the starting job even though he'll have to battle with several other good quarterback options to take over for Matt Bohnet.

The season will be a success if ... Eastern Michigan wins six games. This isn't a good enough team to even think about winning the MAC title, but the team hasn't won more than four games in a season since 1995 and getting five or six victories would be a nice stepping stone.

Key game: August 31st at Ball State. It's not just the opener, it's the MAC West opener against a team EMU must beat to have any realistic hopes of a winning season. A loss to the Cardinals likely means, at best, a 2-5 start and no shot to do much in the West race. A win makes things interesting.

2005 Fun Stats:
- Fumbles: Opponents 17 (lost 9) - Eastern Michigan 11 (lost 4)
- Attendance for EMU's game vs. Michigan: 109,511 - Attendance for all five EMU homes games combined: 32,065
- Eastern Michigan tied Central Michigan with the fewest turnovers in the nation, 10.