Central Michigan University Athletics
Football Heads To Wyoming
9/11/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 11, 2000
THE GAME: Central Michigan University hits the road again, playing a non-conference contest at the University of Wyoming on Saturday, Sept. 16.
KICKOFF: 2 p.m. (MDT)/4 p.m. (EDT).
STADIUM: War Memorial Stadium (33,500).
THE RECORDS: Central Michigan (Mid-American Conference) is 1-1 following a 17-7 home win over Akron. CMU was 4-7 last season and a 3-5 slate in the MAC. Wyoming (Mountain West) is 0-2 after losing at Auburn (35-21) and at Texas A & M (51-3). The Cowboys were 7-4 in 1999, finishing fourth in the MWC at 4-3.
THE COACHES: Mike DeBord (Manchester, 1978), Central Michigan, first season, 1-1. Vic Koenning (Kansas State, 1983), Wyoming, first season, 0-2.
THE SERIES: This is the first meeting between the two schools. In fact, the Chippewas have only faced one school from the Mountain West Conference on the gridiron. CMU is 1-2 against the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Other MWC schools are Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State and Utah. The Cowboys are slated to play at Central Michigan on Sept. 7, 2002.
LAST WEEK: The Chippewas launched the home portion of the Mike DeBord era with a 17-7 MAC win over Akron, CMU finished with a 344-252 edge in total offense, thanks to the efforts of sophomore tailback Robbie Mixon who rushed for 164 yards and caught passes for 101 yards, Mixon scored on an 86-yard TD pass and a two-yard run, QB Pete Shepherd was nine-of-19 for 173 yards, Central had key interceptions by Tedaro France and Scott Naz in the fourth period to help preserve the win.
Wyoming lost at Texas A & M despite jumping out to a 3-0 lead on Aaron Elling's 40-yard field goal, A & M held a 490-213 edge in total offense, holding the Cowboys' standout QB Jay Stoner to 69 yards on 11-of-18 passing, Nate Scott rushed for 50 yards and Ryan McGuffey and Malcom Floyd each caught four passes, Cowboy punter Tom Waring did have eight punts for a 45.3 average.
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 3:30 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. The stations the on the network include:
WFYC-AM (1280) - Alma, WJKN-AM (1510) -- Jackson, WKJF-AM (1370) -- Cadillac, WVFN-AM (730) -- Lansing, WCBY-AM (1240) - Cheboygan, WLSP-AM (1530) -- Lapeer, WYUR-AM (1310) - Detroit, WUPS-FM (98.5) -- Mt. Pleasant, WTKG-AM (1230) --Grand Rapids, WOAP-AM (1080) -- Owosso, WPLB-AM (1380) -- Greenville WCCW-AM (1310) -- Traverse City, WHGR-AM (1290 - Houghton Lake
Chippewa broadcasts can also be heard anywhere in the world via the Internet through CMU's athletics home page at www.cmuchippewas.com.
CMU FACES HUNGRY COWBOY TEAM
MOUNT PLEASANT - It may not be the best time for Central Michigan University's football team to play at the University of Wyoming but that's what on tap for the Chippewas this week when they venture to Laramie, Wyo., on Saturday, Sept. 16.
Kickoff in War Memorial Stadium is set for 2 p.m. (MDT) or 4 p.m. (EDT).
The Cowboys enter their first home contest on the heels of a 35-21 loss at Auburn and a 51-3 setback at Texas A & M. This game will also mark the home coaching debut of Wyoming's Vic Koenning.
The Chippewas are hoping he doesn't have as much success as CMU's Mike DeBord had in his first home outing. Central posted a 17-7 win on Saturday to raise its record to 1-1.
"I've got to admit that I shed a tear or two after this win," DeBord said. "But, it wasn't for me because I'm an emotional guy. Most people don't know what it's like to see young men work as hard as they have and then have success.
"You dream about experiences like that in a lockerroom after a big win. Coming back after a loss at Purdue (48-0) like that made it even better. For years, this team has been told it wasn't any good. It bounced back and showed it could win.
"This win is for everyone ... for the athletics department, for the school and for the community as well as this football team. "
Sophomore tailback Robbie Mixon (Detroit/Denby) had a sensational day for CMU. He rushed 42 times for 164 yards and a touchdown and also caught three passes for 101 yards and an 86-yard score.
The Chippewas return home on Saturday, Sept. 23, when they entertain Boise State in another cross-sectional battle. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
DeBORD ON MIXON - "I expected the type of output from Robbie that you saw today. When you run as hard as he does and don't have any turnovers, you'll have success. He prepared hard for this season and it showed."
DeBORD ON CHIPPEWA IMPROVEMENT - "We did not run the ball well at Purdue. I called our offense Club 65 because we gained only 65 yards on the ground. The offensive line did a great job against a good Akron team and Mixon did the rest. We showed great improvement from week one to week two. You could see it from the first practice on Monday night this week. We had great focus."
DeBORD ON QUARTERBACKS - "We went with Pete (Shepherd) because he was doing things right and we didn't want to take away from his rhythm. Derrick (Vickers) will play ... his time will come. All I want the quarterback to do is take care of the football. I hope to be able to play both of them."
DeBORD ON WYOMING - "Wyoming has played one of the most difficult football schedules in the country thus far. It went to Auburn and played a great game and then ran into an excellent Texas A & M team that just lost a tough one at Notre Dame.
"It's Wyoming's first home game for Coach Koenning and we know we're going to get its best shot. (Jay) Stoner is a great quarterback. He's listed in the top 10 in every list of quarterbacks you see around the country."
MAC STATS - CMU is 11th in total offense (279.5) and seventh in total defense (366.5). TB Robbie Mixon is first in all-purpose yardage (183.0) and third in rushing (105.5) and sixth in receiving (77.5). QB Pete Shepherd is fourth in passing efficiency (136.6).
CHIPPEWA NOTES - Sophomore tailback Robbie Mixon (Detroit/Denby) continues to show his versatility. He leads CMU in rushing (211 yards) and receiving (nine catches for 155 yards).
In his second collegiate start (he started against Miami last fall), Robbie became the first CMU player in memory to rush for more than 100 yards (164) and catch passes for more than 100 yards (101) against Akron.
Senior quarterback Pete Shepherd (Mount Pleasant) passed for 173 yards on nine-of-19 passing and is inching closer to the top of CMU's career stats. Pete's second in yards passing (5,103), passes attempted (769), passes completed (392) and total offense (5,165). He's ninth in TD passes with 17.
Shepherd, who played the first and third quarters against Purdue, went the entire game against Akron. Redshirt freshman Derrick Vickers (Miami, Fla./Pace) played in the second and fourth periods at Purdue. The coaching staff would still like to play both in future competition.
Senior free safety Brian Leigeb (Midland/Dow) needs 82 tackles to become the career leader. Ray Bentley (1979-82) is tops with 443 and Leigeb is fourth at 362. Bryan Gross (1976-78) is third with 396.
CMU has now played three true freshmen. Defensive tackle Matt Wohlgemuth (Lake Orion) has played in both games while wide receiver Steve Messam (South Bay, Fla./Glades Central) and linebacker Ed Hillery (Rochester Hills/Rochester) saw their initial playing time against Akron.
Sophomore inside linebacker Darvin Lewis (Detroit/Renaissance) has been outstanding, leading the team in tackles (20) and tackles for loss (three for six yards).
The Chippewas are 6-25 on the road since winning the MAC title in 1994.Senior inside linebacker Casey Laughlin (DeWitt) saw limited action against Akron after missing the Purdue game with an ankle injury, senior fullback Joe Fuller (Mount Pleasant), junior roverback Abdullah Muhammad (Kent/East Lansing) and junior offensive lineman Nick Ferguson (Harrison) are out indefinitely with shoulder injuries.
| MAC Standings |
| East Division | |||
| Team | MAC Division | MAC Overall | Overall |
| 1. Miami | 0-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| 2. Marshall | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| 3. Ohio | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| 4. Bowling Green | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 |
| 5. Buffalo | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 |
| 6. Kent State | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 |
| 7. Akron | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-2 |
| West Division | |||
| 1. Central Michigan | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| 2. Toledo | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-0 |
| 3. Northern Illinois | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| 4. Western Michigan | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| 5. Ball State | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 |
| 6. Eastern Michigan | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1-1 |
