Central Michigan University Athletics
FOOTBALL RELEASE (Oct. 4, 1999)
2/7/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 4, 1999
Mount Pleasant, Mich. - FOOTBALL QUICK FACTS
THE GAME: Central Michigan University is on the road once again when the Chippewas play at the University at Buffalo in a Mid-American Conference (MAC) battle on Saturday, Oct. 9, in Buffalo, N.Y.
KICKOFF: 1:30 p.m. (EDT).
STADIUM: UB Stadium (31,000).
THE RECORDS: Central Michigan (Mid-American Conference) is 1-4 for the season and 0-2 in MAC play after a 38-16 loss at Western Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 2. The Chippewas opened the season on Sept. 2 with a 33-17 win over Eastern Illinois and then lost at Syracuse (47-7) on Sept. 11, at Purdue (58-16) on Sept. 18 and at home to Miami on Sept. 25 (24-16).
Buffalo (Mid-American) is 0-4 for the season, 0-3 in MAC action. The Bulls lost at home to Northern Illinois last week (45-21) and also have losses to Akron (17-10), Connecticut (23-0) and Ohio (45-6).
THE COACHES: Dick Flynn (Michigan State, 1965), Central Michigan, sixth season, 27-34, Craig Cirbus (Buffalo, 1980), Buffalo, fifth season, 17-31.
THE SERIES: This is the first meeting between the two schools.
LAST WEEK: Western Michigan jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the second period and went up 24-3 after three periods in a 38-16 win in Kalamazoo. WMU's Tim Lester threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns, hitting 22-of-39 passes. CMU QB Pete Shepherd countered with 18-of-32 for 231 yards and a score. Redshirt freshman Jammarl O'Neal caught a career-high seven passes for 105 yards and his fourth TD of the season. WMU finished with an edge in total offense, 376-342.
Buffalo spotted Northern Illinois a 38-0 lead before coming to life in the final 16 minutes to score 21 points. NIU held a 453-312 edge in total offense. UB quarterback Joe Freedy completed 17-of-26 passes for 191 yards and a score, eight of them to Drew Haddad for 100 yards. The Bulls picked up 191 yards in the air and 121 on the ground.
TV SHOW: The CMU Football Review is aired weekly with head coach Dick Flynn and host Ed Phelps. The one-half hour show is on CMU Public TV on Mondays at 7:30 p.m.
RADIO INFO: The game will be broadcast live on the CMU Football Network beginning at 1 p.m. (EDT). A total of 13 radio stations throughout Michigan will carry the game with the broadcast team of Ed Phelps and Herb Deromedi doing the game. Don Chiodo will serve as the host. The stations the game are: WATZ-AM (1450) -- Alpena, WPLB-AM (1380) -- Greenville, WRCC-AM (1400) - Battle Creek, WJKN-AM (1510) -- Jackson, WKJF-AM (1370) -- Cadillac, WVFN-AM (730) -- Lansing, *WTVB-AM (1590) -- Coldwater, WLSP-AM (1530) -- Lapeer, WYUR-AM (1310) -- Detroit, WUPS-FM (98.5) -- Mt. Pleasant, *WDBC-AM (680) -- Escanaba, WCCW-AM (1310) -- Traverse City , WTKG-AM (1230) -- Grand Rapids. *Indicates partial schedule. Chippewa broadcasts can also be heard anywhere in the world via the Internet through Broadcast.com, which is linked to CMU's athletics home page at http://www.cmich.edu/~cmsports.
CMU BACK ON THE ROAD
MOUNT PLEASANT -- In its fourth road game in the last five games, the Central Michigan University football team looks to end a four-game losing streak on Saturday, Oct. 9, when the Chippewas play at the University at Buffalo.
Kickoff in UB Stadium is set for 1:30 p.m.
CMU enters the contest with a 1-4 record, 0-2 in Mid-American Conference action after a 38-16 home loss at Western Michigan University on Saturday. The Bulls are 0-4 in their return to Division 1A football, 0-3 in their first season of MAC play.
"It's another tough, long road trip," said Chippewa mentor Dick Flynn. "It's been a difficult four weeks and it'll be a challenge for all of us to get ourselves ready for this game. We'll have to rebound mentally as well as get ready physically. We had better come out of the gate ready to play or it could be a long afternoon."
The Chippewas went 0-4 in quite possibly the most difficult four-game schedule in school history with losses at Syracuse, Purdue, at home to Miami and at Western Michigan.
"We can't dwell on those games any longer, we just have to bounce back," Flynn said. "Now, we'll find out what everybody is made of. There's still a lot of season left to be played."
The Chippewas return to Kelly/Shorts for a Homecoming clash with Northern Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 16, at 1 p.m. CMU is then idle on Oct. 23 before playing at Bowling Green on Oct. 30.
FLYNN ON LOSS AT WESTERN MICHIGAN -- "It was tough loss for us. Western hurt us with its ability to convert on third-and-long situations and we had problems converting those. We gave up two or three big plays but looking at the overall picture, Western's ability on third down was the key.
"It was disappointing that we were not more consistent. We played hard but we didn't execute."
FLYNN ON BUFFALO -- "Buffalo is having its troubles but I'm sure it's hungry for a win and I liken this game to the one at Northern Illinois last year. It'll be Homecoming and we're facing a team without a win."
SCOUTING THE BULLS -- QB Joe Freedy has connected on 60-of-104 passes for 670 yards and two touchdowns while FL Drew Haddad is his top receiver with 30 grabs for 405 yards and both scores. TB Bam McDonald is the top rusher with 41 carries for 171 yards. Place-kicker Scott Keller has booted three field goals in six tries and is perfect in four extra-point attempts. Buffalo is 11th in the MAC total offense (254.3) and ninth in total defense (413.0). Haddad is first in the conference with 7.5 receptions and second with 101.3 yards per game.
MAC STATS -- The Chippewas are eighth in total offense (320.4 yards per game) and eighth in total defense (386.0). CMU is fourth in rushing defense (143.0) and QB sacks (15 for 108) and fifth in passing offense (207.4). QB Pete Shepherd is fourth in passing (205.8) and total offense (207.4) while SE Jammarl O'Neal is third in receptions (5.8) and receiving yards (97.4). ILB Darvin Lewis is tied for third in interceptions (0.60).
CHIPPEWA NOTES -- Senior tailback Eric Flowers (Trenton, N.J.), who missed the Purdue and Miami games with a sprained knee suffered at Syracuse, returned to the lineup at WMU. He gained 50 yards in 19 carries and scored a TD.
The Chippewas moved junior Ira Gooch (Davenport, Ia./Ellsworth JC) from flanker to tailback last week as injuries in the backfield continue to pile up. Gooch carried the ball seven times for 40 yards.
The two young tailbacks CMU turned to after Vince Webber (Elgin, Ill.) and Flowers were injured in the Syracuse game both missed the WMU contest with injuries. Freshman Robbie Mixon (Detroit/Denby) has a hip-pointer while redshirt freshman Alan Parks (Saginaw/Buena Vista) didn't make the trip with an ankle injury. Webber is lost for the season with a broken jaw.
Junior quarterback Pete Shepherd (Mount Pleasant) is fourth in career attempts (532) and completions (276) and fifth in yards (3,582), third in attempts is Joe Youngblood (1990-93) with 572 and completions is Chad Darnell (1994-96) with 319, and fourth in yards Bob DeMarco (1981-84) with 3,699.
Shepherd broke the 200-yard barrier for the fourth time in five games this season against Western Michigan, completing 18-of-32 passes for a season-high 231 yards, he now has nine 200-yard games in his career.
Redshirt freshman Jammarl O'Neal (Riviera Beach, Fla./Dwyer) posted the fourth 100-yard receiving game of his young career, snaring a career-high seven passes for 105 yards against WMU. He now has 29 for 389 yards including four for touchdowns. He's third in the MAC in receptions (5.8) and yards (97.4) per game.
First-year freshman receiver Rob Turner (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Pinecrest) has played in four games but didn't catch his first pass until the WMU clash when he caught a 12-yarder.
Redshirt freshman Darvin Lewis (Farmington Hills/Renaissance) picked off his third pass of the season at WMU.
Junior free safety Brian Leigeb (Midland/Dow) is back -- leading CMU in tackles as he's done for the past two years. He has 52, including three for losses of 16 yards.
The Chippewas have played six true freshmen this season -- defensive linemen Marvin Smith (Wellington, Fla./Suncoast) and Dominic Mancini (Hinsdale, Ill./Fenwick), offensive lineman Kyle Croskey (East Lansing), outside linebacker Cullen Jenkins (Belleville), wide receiver Turner and Mixon.
CMU has lost six straight games on the road -- the final three of last season and the first three this year.
