Central Michigan University Athletics
Football Takes On Purdue
8/28/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 28, 2000
THE GAME: Central Michigan University opens the 2000 season with a non-conference clash at Big Ten foe, Purdue University, on Saturday, Sept. 2.
KICKOFF: 1 p.m. (EST).
STADIUM: Rose-Ade Stadium (67,332).
THE RECORDS: Central Michigan (Mid-American Conference) finished the 1999 season with a 4-7 mark for the season and a 3-5 slate in the MAC.
Purdue (Big Ten) was 7-5 for the season in 1999, 4-4 in the Big Ten. Boilermakers lost in overtime in the Outback Bowl to Georgia, 28-24.
THE COACHES: Mike DeBord (Manchester, 1978), Central Michigan, first season, 0-0. Joe Tiller (Montana State, 1965), Purdue, fourth season, 25-12.
THE SERIES: Purdue holds a 1-0 lead in the series, rolling to a 58-16 victory over the Chippewas at home in 1999, CMU did lose to the Boilermaker "B" team in 1932, 13-6. Central Michigan is 2-7 all-time against Big Ten teams, standing 2-2 against Michigan State, 0-2 against Iowa and 0-1 versus Michigan, Minnesota and Purdue.
LAST YEAR: The Chippewas lost to the 14th ranked Boilermakers, 58-16, in front of a crowd of 58,349 in Rose-Ade Stadium. Drew Brees completed 25-of-39 passes for 320 yards and two TDs. Vinny Sutherland caught seven passes for 134 yards and one score. He also returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown. CMU's Pete Shepherd was 14-of-31 for 201 yards. Tedaro France returned a fumble 41 yards for a Central score and Shepherd combined with Jammarl O'Neal for a 60-yard scoring play. Purdue held a 580-245 edge in total offense, holding CMU to just 36 yards rushing in 39 attempts.
GRID OPENERS: The Chippewas are 4-1 in their last five season lidlifters, the lone setback a 38-0 loss at Iowa in 1998, CMU is 13-11-1 in season openers since becoming Division I in 1975, Central is 1-8-1 in openers on the road in that time, the lone win coming at Boise State (42-21) in 1996.
TV SHOW: The CMU Football Review is aired weekly with head coach Mike DeBord and host Ed Phelps. The one-half hour show is on CMU Public TV on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. Fox 33 in Cadillac will also show it on Tuesday nights at 11 p.m.RADIO SHOW: Central Michigan University will have a weekly coaches radio show on WUPS-FM (98.5) on Thursday nights from 7-8 p.m. Stan Shingles will be the host from Buffalo Wild Wings in Mt. Pleasant.
RADIO INFO: The game will be broadcast live on the CMU Football Network beginning at 1:30 p.m. (EDT). A total of 12 radio stations throughout Michigan will carry the game with the broadcast team of Ed Phelps and Herb Deromedi doing the game. The stations the on the network include:
WFYC-AM (1280) - Alma, WHGR-AM (1290 ) - Houghton Lake, WKJF-AM (1370) - Cadillac, WJKN-AM (1510) - Jackson, WCBY-AM (1240) - Cheboygan, WVFN-AM (730) - Lansing, WYUR-AM (1310) - Detroit, WLSP-AM (1530) -- Lapeer, WTKG-AM (1230) - Grand Rapids, WUPS-FM (98.5) -- Mt. Pleasant, WPLB-AM (1380) -- Greenville, WCCW-AM (1310) -Traverse City.
Chippewa broadcasts can also be heard anywhere in the world via the Internet at www.cmuchippewas.com.
CHIPPEWAS LAUNCH 2000 SEASON AT PURDUEMOUNT PLEASANT - New head coach Mike DeBord and his Central Michigan University football team open the 2000 season in difficult fashion with a road game at No. 13-ranked (USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll) Purdue University on Saturday, Sept. 2.
Kickoff in Rose-Ade Stadium is set for 1 p.m. (EST) or 2 p.m. in Michigan.
Purdue comes off a 7-5 season in 1999 and is led by Heisman Trophy favorite, Drew Brees. The Boilermakers raced to a 58-16 win over CMU in a home matchup a year ago. Central was 4-7 last fall.
"It'll be a tremendous challenge for us," DeBord said. "But, it will be our program against Purdue's program ... not our defense against their offense. That's the way we have to approach it to win.
"The key to beating Purdue is our offense and special teams. We have to secure the football and be able to possess time. We can't allow any long returns or blocked kicks."
DeBord knows the defense will have its hands full with the electric Boilermaker offense.
"The defense can not allow any big plays but more importantly you can't let a throwing team run on you," DeBord said.
Purdue did a lot of both last year against CMU, rushing for 234 yards and passing for 346 more.
The Chippewas will have a new wrinkle on offense with DeBord employing a two-quarterback system to start the season. Senior Pete Shepherd (Mount Pleasant), a starter the past two years, and redshirt freshman Derrick Vickers (Miami, Fla./Pace) will share the job. Shepherd will play the first period and Vickers the second.
"We made as fair an evaluation of our quarterbacks as possible and it just came down to the fact that two young men deserved to play," DeBord said. "Pete has the experience and Derrick is a talented young quarterback. If they both continue to play well, we may stick with this all season."
The Chippewas entertain Akron on Saturday, Sept. 9, in the home opener in Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
DeBORD ON BREES - "Drew is an intelligent athlete who finds your weakness right away and attacks it like all great quarterbacks. He knows Purdue's offense and knows how to attack your defense.
"He has a great arm and is accurate ... that's why he's the Heisman favorite."
DeBORD ON FALL DRILLS - "We had a physical, demanding training camp. We backed off the last couple of days to get healthy and prepare for the season. We did have a couple of surprises, guys who came on strong after so-so springs. Two receivers, Shelton Lewis (Houston, Tex./West Hills CC) and Rob Turner (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Pinecrest), have come on strong this fall and will help us.
"Another guy who we didn't get to evaluate in the spring, Tyrone Dalton (Pottstown, Pa./Valley Forge Military), has looked good at tailback and will play."
CHIPPEWA NOTES - New CMU head coach Mike DeBord is no stranger to playing the Boilermakers. As an assistant at Michigan for eight years, DeBord helped the Wolverines to a 5-1 mark against Purdue and a 2-1 slate in Ross-Ade Stadium. He was also an assistant at Northwestern in 1992 and the Wildcats posted a 28-14 road win.
CMU's previous four head coaches have had mixed reviews in their coaching debuts: Dick Flynn (1994-99) lost at Iowa, 52-21, Herb Deromedi (1978-93) beat Kent at home, 41-0, Roy Kramer (1967-77) stopped Bradley, 23-21, and Bill Kelly (1951-66) won at Southern Illinois, 34-13.
Senior quarterback Pete Shepherd (Mount Pleasant) enters the 2000 season with his named already etched six times in the Chippewa career record book. He's second in yards passing (4,848), passes attempted (737) and passes completed (373), third in total offense (4,916), sixth in interceptions (26) and tied for ninth in TD passes (16).
Senior free safety Brian Leigeb (Midland/Dow) needs 101 tackles to become the career leader. Ray Bentley (1979-82) is tops with 443 and Leigeb is sixth at 343. Tied for fourth are Mike Bevier (1980-84) and Shawn Williams (1995-98) with 352.
Sophomore Vince Webber (Elgin, Ill.) has had his first two seasons cut short by injuries. The highly touted tailback missed the end of the 1998 with knee surgery and played just two games in 1999 when he sustained a broken jaw at Syracuse.
Senior Ira Gooch (Davenport, Ia./Ellsworth CC) has returned to wide receiver after a horde of injuries forced him to spend half the 1999 campaign at tailback. He proved his versatility by rushing for 438 yards, catching 26 balls for 236 yards and passing for 97 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior Abdullah Muhammad (Kentwood/East Lansing) is being held out indefinitely with a lingering shoulder injury. The starting linebacker in 1999 was moved to roverback in the spring.
The most experienced position for the Chippewas is the secondary where all four starters return in junior cornerbacks Wayne Dudley (Baltimore, Md./Fork Union Military) and Tedaro France (New Haven), junior roverback Rodrico Epps (Oak Park/Orchard Lake St. Mary's) and Leigeb.
The defensive front four is the youngest unit on the team with four sophomores slated to start - ends Matt Reynolds (Port Huron/Northern) and Cullen Jenkins (Belleville), middle guard Dominic Mancini (Hinsdale, Ill/Fenwick) and tackle Marvin Smith (Wellington, Fla./Suncoast).
Sophomore inside linebacker Darvin Lewis (Farmington Hills/Renaissance) tied for the MAC lead in interceptions last fall with five, he also tied the CMU mark among linebackers with Ray Bentley who also snared five in 1982.
The Chippewas are 6-24 on the road since winning the MAC title in 1994.
CMU will bus to West Lafayette on Friday morning, leaving Mount Pleasant at 11 a.m. The Chippewas won't practice in Ross-Ade Stadium but do have a walk-through slated for 5:30 p.m. Central will bus home immediately following the game.
