Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Eye .500 Football Season
11/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 11, 2002
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MOUNT PLEASANT -- The 2002 football season has boiled down to two games for Central Michigan University.
"We want to finish with six wins and a .500 record," said CMU head coach Mike DeBord. "However, we must win game No. 5 before anything else can happen."
The Chippewas are 4-6 for the season, 2-4 in Mid-American Conference action entering a home game on Saturday, November 16, against Ball State University. CMU then closes the campaign with a November 23 home contest with arch-rival Western Michigan University.
Kickoff for this Saturday's BSU battle in Kelly/Shorts Stadium is set for 1 p.m. It will be "Hall of Fame Day."
CMU's chances of a winning season were dashed this past Saturday night at the University of Toledo when the Rockets rolled to a 44-17 MAC victory.
"We want to finish strong at home, and set the tone for next season," DeBord said. "This is an awfully big game for this football team and our program. We've made some strides this season, and now we have to finish it off."
The Chippewas won two games in DeBord's first season (2000), captured three wins in his second (2001) and already have four in 2002.
Honored at halftime of Saturday's game will be the Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2002. Those being inducted in ceremonies Friday night at the Comfort Inn will be Jeff Bender (football), Mary Bottaro (field hockey coach), Dave Grauzer (basketball), Denny McNamara (baseball), Glorida Neve (multi-sports) and Pam Stanley (softball).
The Coaches Central Michigan -- Mike DeBord (Manchester, 1978). Career record: 9-23 (third year). CMU record: same. Ball State --Bill Lynch (Butler, 1977). Career record: 35-52 (eighth year). BSU record: same.
The Series: 35th Meeting
Central Michigan owns a 17-16-1 lead in the series that began in 1939 with a 7-0 Chippewa win. Since the two teams have been in the MAC, BSU holds a 14-11-1 lead.
The Cardinals have won the last two games by identical scores of 38-34.
CMU's Mike DeBord is 0-2 against Ball State while BSU's Bill Lynch has a 5-2 mark against the Chippewas.
Last Game: CMU
Toledo raced out to a 44-3 lead after three periods and cruised to a 44-17 MAC home win over the Chippewas Saturday night under the lights.
The Rockets dominated the game, amassing a 351-71 edge in total offense in the first half. The final margin was 522-284.
One of the lone bright spots for CMU was the play of third-string quarterback Kent Smith. The 6-5, 200-pound redshirt freshman from Toledo's Start High saw his first extended action of the season. He rushed for a team-high 69 yards on five carries, scoring on a three-yard run. He also completed three-of-nine passes for 22 more yards, one a five-yard TD strike to Nick Thompson.
Robbie Mixon, who set CMU and MAC marks the previous week with 377 yards in rushing, had only 35 yards in 10 carries. He did return five kickoffs for 125 yards, and caught two passes for five yards. Mixon finished with 165 all-purpose yards.
James King had a career-high 19 tackles from his safety position while cornerback Dante McKnight added 17 and linebacker Jovan Clarke had 11. Anthony Tyus had an interception.
Rob Turner caught four passes for 51 yards.
DeBord on CMU loss:
"Toledo executed and we didn't. When you can't throw the football, you can't have balance and it kills the offense.
"We were ready to play, and we played hard. Toledo's speed hurt us, though, and we didn't do a good job tackling on defense."
Last Game: Ball State
The Cardinals are the third straight opponent that has had a bye week prior to playing CMU.
Ball State won its last outing, a 17-7 home decision over Western Michigan.
The two teams have played four common opponents. BSU defeated EMU (42-17), and lost to Northern Illinois (41-29), Toledo (37-17), and Bowling Green (38-19).
CMU beat EMU (47-21), and lost to Bowling Green (45-35), Northern Illinois (49-0), and Toledo (44-17).
Scouting the Cardinals
BSU is 12th in the MAC in total offense (327.2 yards per game) and ninth in total defense (401.3).
TB Marcus Merriweather is second in rushing with 130.9 yards per game and fifth in all-purpose yards (152.6). Sean Schembra is fourth in punt returns with a 12.2 average.
Lorenzo Scott and Justin Beriault are among the MAC leaders in tackles with 10.1 per game.
DeBord on Ball State:
"Ball State is a lot like us. It is a team that is looking to finish the season on a positive note. Marcus Merriweather is an outstanding back who makes things happen.
"Ball State is aggressive on defense, and plays a lot of zone coverage. It should be a heckuva football game."
Chippewa Training Room
CMU lost two players in early drills for the season -- cornerback Richard Kiel (Detroit/Murray-Wright) and offensive guard Dean Zarafonetis (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Northern) with knee and shoulder injuries, respectively.
Defensive lineman Caleb Anthony (Ludington) is also out for the season after back surgery.
Also done for the season is junior middle guard Jay Davidson (Frankfort) with a neck injury.
MAC Stats
The Chippewas are: *seventh in total offense (397.6) *11th in total defense (404.1) *first in penalties (38.7 yards) *tied-first in sacks allowed (10) *second in rushing defense (139.3) *fourth in rushing offense (222.2) *fifth in first downs (207) *fifth in QB sacks (24)
Individuals: Robbie Mixon *first in all-purpose yards (193.3) *third in rushing (129.6) *sixth in kickoff returns (21.9) *tied-eighth in scoring (TDs) 6.0Derrick Vickers *ninth in total offense (176.7) *10th in passing (166.1) *10th in pass efficiency (110.2)Brian Brandt *seventh in punting (39.5)Dante McKnight *eighth in punt returns (8.9)Mike Gruzwalski *third in field goals (1.30) *fifth in FG percentage (76.5) *tied-sixth in kick scoring (56.2)Matt Wohlgemuth *fifth in QB sacks (seven) *tied-fifth in tackles for loss (12).Jovan Clarke *second in tackles for loss (16.5)
Ron Bartell *tied-second in fumbles forced (3)
NCAA Rankings CMU ranks among the leadersin NCAA Division 1A stats in the following categories: *15th in rushing offense (222.20) *36th in total offense (397.6) *49th in rushing defense (138.3) *Mixon is second in all-purpose yards (193.4) *Mixon is eighth in rushing (129.6)
ESPN Celeb
Robbie Mixon (Detroit/Denby) was featured on ESPN twice last week. Clips from his record-setting 377-yard performance at Eastern Michigan were shown at halftime of Thursday night's Cincinnati-Louisville game.
And, on Saturday morning during ESPN's Game Day show, a small clip was shown with Mixon promoting the MAC to hosts Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit.
Mixon Makes Mark
Mixon rushed for 377 yards and four touchdowns on 43 carries to set CMU and MAC records in a 47-21 win over EMU.
The old CMU mark was 356 by Brian Pruitt in 1994 against Toledo. The conference standard was 376 by Miami's Travis Prentice against Akron in 1999.
Mixon also tied Pruitt's CMU and MAC mark of 435 all-purpose yards.
The 5-10, 185-pounder was held to 35 yards in 10 carries at Toledo. His 1,296 yards are tied for eighth-best in CMU annals.
Mixon's accomplishments mark the 29th time (by 19 different backs) that a Chippewa rusher has broken the 1,000-yard barrier since 1955.
Season Rushing 1. Brian Pruitt (1994), 1,890 2. Silas Massey (1996), 1,544 3. Chuck Markey (1972), 1,513 4. Walt Hodges (1974), 1,463 5. Billy Smith (1991), 1,440 6. Curtis Adams (1983), 1,431 7. Eric Flowers (1998), 1,302 8. Jesse Lakes (1970), 1,296 Robbie Mixon (2002), 1,296
Vickers in the Record Book
Derrick Vickers (Miami, Fla./Pace) ranks in the top six in four career passing categories for the CMU.
Vickers has hit on 149-of-272 passes this fall for 1,592 yards and eight touchdowns. He's been intercepted just five times.
Vickers set a school record with 28 completions in a 32-20 win over Wyoming, and then put up the second best game ever against BGSU with 27 completions.
Career Completions 1. Jeff Bender (1988-91) 502 2. Pete Shepherd (1997-00) 455 3. Derrick Vickers (2000-) 352
Career Attempts 1. Jeff Bender (1988-91) 960 2. Pete Shepherd (1997-00) 879 3. Derrick Vickers (2000-) 661
Career Passing Yards 1. Jeff Bender (1988-91) 6,528 2. Pete Shepherd (1997-00) 5,754 3. Joe Youngblood (199-93) 4,718 4. Chad Darnell (1994-96) 4,705 5. Derrick Vickers (2000-) 3,846
Career TD Passes 1. Jeff Bender (1988-91) 38 2. Joe Youngblood (1990-93) 35 3. Chad Darnell (1994-96) 33 4. Andy MacDonald (1950-51) 27 5. Bob DeMarco (1981-84) 23 6. Derrick Vickers (2000-) 22
Turner in the Books, Too
Rob Turner (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./ Pine Crest) is CMU's top receiver with 36 catches for 407 yards. His 105 career grabs are fourth.
He has 1,260 career receiving yards, ninth best all-time. Eric Reed's 1,266 in 1985-88 are eighth.
Who's at Quarterback?
CMU head coach Mike DeBord said he wouldn't make a decision on the starting quarterback until later in the week.
Derrick Vickers has started all 10 games this season but slumped against Toledo when he hit just four-of-14 for 30 yards.
Redshirt freshman Kent Smith (Toledo, Ohio/Start) played in the second half, and led the Chippewas to both TDs. He completed just three-of-nine passes for 22 yards but one was a five-yard scoring pass to Nick Thompson (Menominee). He also rushed five times for 69 yards, scoring on a three-yarder.
"Kent went in and handled a tough situation well," DeBord said. "He's an improving quarterback, and he's a guy you can see with a lot of potential."
Mr. Versatility
While no CMU football player has led NCAA Division 1A in an individual category, Mixon is ranked second in all-purpose yards with 193.4 per game.
All-American Brian Pruitt was second in three categories in 1994 -- rushing (171.8), all-purpose yards (208.5) and scoring (12.0).
The Chippewas have led the nation twice in team stats -- scoring defense (1990) with 8.9 points per game and pass defense (2000) with 149.73. CMU was second in passing efficiency in 1990 (135.4).
Career Day
Free safety James King (Oak Park/Western) had a career-high 19 tackles in the 44-17 loss at UT. He's third in tackles for CMU with 80, and tops in interceptions (three).
King made a name for himself in 2001 with eight blocked kicks, seven of them punts. He now has 10 for his career, collecting a blocked punt and extra point.
McKnight Stops 17
Junior cornerback Dante McKnight (Trenton, N.J./Valley Forge Military) also tallied a career-high 17 tackles at Toledo. He's now second in tackles with 52 but first in solo stops with 59.
Not Quite a Dozen
After three straight weeks with 12 tackles, 6-3, 240-pound linebacker Jovan Clarke (Miami, Fla./Pace/Sr.) 'slumped' to 11 tackles at UT.
He still leads CMU in tackles with 87, 17 of them for losses of 55 yards. The 17 are tied for seventh best ever in Chippewa annals.
His 32 career tackles for loss are eighth best.
To Sack or Not to Sack
The Chippewas have done an excellent job in protecting their quarterbacks, allowing 10 sacks for minus 50 yards. That's tied for first in the MAC. Conversely, the defense has registered 24 which is fifth.
Running to Success
CMU has had running backs gain 100 yards in 228 games since 1970.
The Chippewas are 166-55-7 in those games. CMU has had a 100-yard rusher six times this season, and is 3-3 in those games.
In games with two 100-yard rushers, CMU is 32-3-1 (.903) and 21-0 when a back gains 200 yards.
Call Him 'Butter'
Redshirt freshman place-kicker Mike Gruzwalski (Shelby Township/Eisenhower) is on a roll. He has drilled seven straight field goals, and hasn't missed since the Boston College game on September 28. He's now 13-of-17 for the season.
Bests Under DeBord
The 47 points, the 488 rushing yards and 557 yards in total offense against EMU were the most ever since DeBord became the Chippewa head coach in 2000.
The 488 yards in rushing were CMU's most since the 1994 team set a school record with 551 yards against UNLV.
