>> ROGER EBERT WITH A THUMBS UP. WE APPRECIATE IT. THANKS MARIBE. WELL, IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF CLASSES IN YPSILANTI AS WELL. AND THERE IS BUZZ AROUND THE EMU CAMPUS AS IT'S GAME WEEK FOR THE EAGLES FOOTBALL TEAM. >> AND ALL WEEK WE ARE GOING TO BE CELEBRATING THE START OF THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON. AND CHECKING IN WITH EVERY TEAM THAT YOU'LL BE CHEERING ON FOR THE FALL. AND JOINING US THIS MORNING FROM YPSILANTI IS THE HEAD COACH, CHRIS CREIGHTON, WHO IS IN HIS 11TH SEASON WITH THE EAGLES. GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. >> YEAH THANKS FOR HAVING ME. APPRECIATE IT. >> COACH LAST SEASON A BIT OF A STRUGGLE TOWARD THE END. YOU LOSE THE BOWL GAME AND THEN OF COURSE AN UGLY SCENE IN THAT BOWL GAME. BUT HOW QUICKLY DO YOU PUT THAT BEHIND YOU AND TURN THE PAGE TO THE NEXT SEASON? >> YEAH. WHEN WE GOT BACK IN JANUARY, WE CERTAINLY DEALT WITH IT, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR TEAM AND JUST DECIDED THAT WE'RE GOING TO PUT OUR HEAD DOWN AND REALLY SHUT OUR MOUTHS AND JUST GO TO WORK AND START THE CREATION AND THE FORMATION OF A OF A NEW TEAM FOR 2024. AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'VE DONE. AND, THAT'S DEFINITELY REAR VIEW MIRROR FOR US NOW. AND SUPER EXCITED ABOUT KICKING OFF THIS NEW SEASON. >> AND YOU CREATED A THEME FOR THIS NEW SEASON. BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? >> YEAH. SO, SOME OF IT HAD TO DO MAYBE WITH, SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT, YOU KNOW, TOWARDS THE END OF THE SEASON, I THINK PEOPLE NOW REALLY RESPECT US AND KNOW THAT IT'S GOING TO BE, AN INTENSE FOOTBALL GAME WHEN THEY PLAY EASTERN MICHIGAN, BUT I DON'T THINK AND POTENTIALLY RIGHTFULLY SO, JUST BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T BEEN TO A MAC CHAMPIONSHIP YET, THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COUNT US OUT. YOU KNOW, OF, OF WINNING IT ALL. AND SO IT'S REALLY JUST OUR RESPONSE TO BEING DOUBTED AND, SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST KIND OF A, AN IN-HOUSE DEAL FOR US WHERE WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO PROVE PEOPLE WRONG, US AGAINST THE WORLD. >> IT WORKS. I HEAR YOU, COACH. YOU HAD SOME KEY DEPARTURES ON OFFENSE, HOW HAVE YOU NAVIGATED THAT? I GUESS TO REPLACE THAT THROUGH THE PORTAL. AND IT'S PROBABLY MAKING FOR SOME INTERESTING POSITION BATTLES, NO QUESTION. >> YEAH. AS EVERYONE KNOWS, IT'S REALLY A NEW AGE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL. WE'VE GOT 53 NEW PLAYERS. WOW, SINCE THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY ON OUR TEAM THIS YEAR, WHICH IS NEARLY HALF, AND SO IT'S BEEN A FUN PUZZLE. YOU KNOW, OUR CULTURE IS STILL SUPER STRONG. AND WE HAVE GUYS WHO'VE BEEN HERE FOR SIX YEARS THAT ARE DEFINITELY LEADING THE CHARGE, BUT WE HAVE USED THE TRANSFER PORTAL AND RECRUITED AN ENTIRE FRESHMAN CLASS AS WELL. WE'RE GOING TO STILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT, AND I REALLY LIKE HOW THINGS HAVE COME TOGETHER. AND SO IT'S GOING TO BE EXCITING. WE'LL LOOK A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE GOOD. >> YEAH. YOU'RE GOING TO LOOK DIFFERENT ON THE FIELD AND ACTUALLY IN THE FIELD AS WELL. YOU THE FACTORY IS UNDERWENT SOME, SOME TRANSFORMATION AS WELL. >> SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT, FOR THOSE THAT HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET, MAX AND RACHEL CROSBY, YOU KNOW, BOTH REALLY CAME THROUGH AND CAME AND VISITED US IN JUNE. WE HAD AN UNVEILING OF OUR NEW FIELD. WE'VE TAKEN THE TRACK OUT. AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S LITERALLY A SEA OF GREEN WITH OUR CONCRETE GRAY, ACTUAL FIELD. AND IT'S AWESOME. AND WE'RE SO APPRECIATIVE, OF THOSE TWO GUYS, YOU KNOW, INVESTING IN THEIR ALMA MATER AND CARING ABOUT IT, AND IT'S AWESOME. >> WELL, CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT. >> THAT RAIDERS HELMET LOOKS GOOD BEHIND YOU, COACH. YEAH. MAX CROSBY IS A GREAT ALUM TO HAVE. GOOD STUFF, BEST OF LUCK. THIS SEASON, COACH. AND THANKS FOR JOINING US TODAY TO TALK ABOUT IT. >> HEY APPRECIATE IT SO MUCH. >> GO EAGLES. GO EAGLES. >> INDEED, BY THE WAY HERE'S A LOOK AT YOUR SEASON AND HOME OPENERS AS WELL AS THE OCTOBER 12TH GAME FOR THE EAGLES. THAT'S WHEN THE TEMPTATIONS WILL PERFORM. HOW ABOUT