Army bowl eligible again, tops E Michigan, 37-22

YPSILANTI, MICH. >> After battling through a 2-10 season as a freshman, Jordan Asberry knows the depth of where the Army football program was when coach Jeff Monken took over in 2014.

Now bowl eligible after Saturday’s rainy 37-22 win at Eastern Michigan, the senior running back should close his career in the postseason for a third straight year.

“Coach Monken and the staff have turned this program around,” said Asberry, who caught a touchdown and ran for another. “We worked real hard, but we didn’t really see the fruit of our labor (in 2015).

“That sets the stage for finishing this year strong, but also the next season for the guys that are going to be playing next year.”

The streak of three bowleligible seasons is the longest in program history for Army, who controlled the clock against Eastern Michigan by outgaining the Eagles 289-34 on the ground, earning its fourth straight win.

Army (6-2), which led the nation averaging 39 minutes of possession per game, had the ball for 45 minutes, 42 seconds on Saturday.

Eastern Michigan (4-5) did not have a first down in the first half of its homecoming game, going threeand-out on its first four possessions and running one play on its fifth before halftime.

“That’s definitely our game plan, that’s definitely what we do,” said quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr., who missed last week’s double-overtime win against Miami (Ohio) with a hip injury. “But we couldn’t finish drives early, which kind of hurt us.”