Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewa Football Opens at Michigan
8/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 25, 2003
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MOUNT PLEASANT -- It's been 72 years since a Central Michigan University football team last played at the University of Michigan.
The year was 1931 and CMU was known as the Central State Teachers College Bearcats.
The Wolverines won the season-opener, 27-0, in the only contest ever between the two schools. The crowd was 13,169.
The 2003 version of Chippewa football will also launch the season at Michigan this Saturday, Aug. 30, with kickoff set for 12:10 p.m.
The game will be televised by ESPN Regional with Wayne Larrivee handling the play-by-play. Randy Wright will the analyst and Beth Mowins the sideline reporter.
The following stations are slated to carry the game -- WXYZ (Detroit), WJRT (Flint), WXMI (Grand Rapids), WLAJ (Lansing) and WFQX (Cadillac-Traverse City).
CMU is coming off a 4-8 campaign while the Wolverines are ranked among the top 10 teams in the country in most preseason polls. They were 10-3 a year ago.
Chippewa head coach Mike DeBord, an assistant for eight seasons with the Wolverines, is impressed with Michigan.
"I don't see any weaknesses on that football team," said DeBord, who was the offensive coordinator on UM's 1997 national champiosnhip season. "It has talent, is well-coached and has great schemes on offense, defense and special teams. It's definitely one of the top teams in the country."
DeBord, however, is confident his team will be ready for Saturday's contest.
"This year's football team will be more ready physically and mentally to play a team like Michigan than any of our previous teams," he said. "We've had a great training camp. We've had focus and we've remained healthy.
"We're a much better football team than a year ago in all facets -- technique, kicking game, speed and competition for positions."
What about playing in front of a crowd of more than 100,000 in Michigan Stadium known as the "Big House?"
"We're not talking about the stadium," DeBord said. "We're concentrating of playing inside the white lines that are the same at every stadium. We're focusing on our game plan and Michigan's schemes.
"We'll focus on one play at a time and try to win each play. The game is made up of many series of plays."
The Chippewas opens the home portion of the schedule with a pair of games in Kelly/Shorts Stadium against New Hampshire (Sept. 6) and Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 13.
The Coaches
Central Michigan -- Mike DeBord (Manchester, 1978).Career record: 9-25 (fourth year).CMU record: same. Michigan -- Lloyd Carr (Northern Michigan, 1968)Career record: 76-23 (ninth year)
The Series: Second Meeting
While CMU has played 12 games against Big Ten foes, this will be only the second battle with Michigan. The first came in 1931 when the Wolverines defeated Central State Teachers College, 27-0.
Incidentally, it was the first game of a doubleheader the Wolverines played that day. In the nightcap, UM stopped Michigan Normal (now Eastern Michigan) by a 34-0 margin.
The Chippewas are 2-3 against Michigan State, 0-2 against Iowa and Purdue, and 0-1 against Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota. All games were played on the road.
Ahead for CMU are games at Indiana (2004), Michigan State (2004), Penn State (2005), Michigan (2006), Purdue (2007) and Purdue (2008). Indiana is set to come to Mount Pleasant in 2005.
Last Season
The Chippewas jumped out to a 3-0 start and held a 29-16 lead in the third period at Indiana when they lost a fumble at IU nine. It proved to be a big momentum swing as the Hoosiers scored 23 unanswered points for a 39-29 win.
CMU proceeded to lose the next four games in a row before claiming a 47-21 win at Eastern Michigan when Robbie Mixon set a MAC record with 377 yards rushing.
The Chippewas then dropped the final three to finish 4-8 for the season and 2-6 in MAC play.
DeBord on return to Michigan:
"It's not about me but about Central Michigan versus Michigan. It's an exciting game for our football team and our program.
"We will be the underdog, no doubt. But, it's important how we play. We're not just going down there to show off our new uniforms. All we have to do is beat them once, not nine or 10 times.
"We have to play with emotion and discipline because there will be a lot of people watching.
"We had Monday off from practice and I told the team to get everything taken care of like tickets and phone calls because we'll lock into game focus on Tuesday. And, that goes for me, too."
DeBord's Last Game at UM
DeBord's last game with the Maize and Blue came in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 2000 when the Wolverines capped a 10-2 season with a 35-34 overtime win over Alabama.
His last game at Michigan Stadium was on Nov. 20, 1999 when Michigan trimmed Ohio State, 24-17.
The Wolverines went to a bowl all eight years DeBord was an assistant and posted an overall record of 74-21-3. UM was 41-9-1 in Michigan Stadium over the same span.
UM-CMU Ties Galore
In addition to the DeBord-UM connection, the two schools have many more ties:
*CMU AD Herb Deromedi earned both his bachelor's (1960) and master's (1961) degrees from Michigan.
*CMU assistant head coach/offensive line coach Harold Goodwin earned two letters from UM and was a student assistant for two more seasons. He was a graduate assistant on Michigan's 1997 team.
*CMU assistant coach/quarterbacks Mike Bajakaian was a GA for two seasons at UM in 2000 and 2001.
*Current Michigan coaches Jim Boccher, Scot Loeffler and Gary (Max) Glowacki all coached at CMU. Boccher had two stints with the Chippewas, first as a GA in 1994 and then as an assistant in 1998 and '99. Loeffler was CMU's quarterbacks coach in 2000 and '01. Glowacki was twice a first team academic All-MAC selection before serving as a GA in DeBord's first season.
*CMU's reserve wide receiver Drew Schanski is the younger brother of Tate Schanski who played on Michigan's 1997 national championship team.
Into the Fire
If junior Jeff Perry (Apple Valley, Cal.) gets the call this week as CMU's starting quarterback, the 6-1, 210-pounder's first snap from scrimmage in a college football game will be at Michigan Stadium.
A variety of injuries have slowed his progress. He emerged from a four-way battle in the spring for the job and held onto the No. 1 slot through this fall drills.
Jeff threw for 2,337 yards in 1999 at Silverado High to set school and league marks. He lists wakeboarding and surfing as his hobbies.
Vickers in the Record Book
Should Perry not start, the nod would likely go to incumbent Derrick Vickers (Miami, Fla./Pace) who ranks in the top five in five career offensive categories.
Vickers has 23 career starts including 11 a year ago.
Vickers set a school record with 28 completions in a 32-20 win over Wyoming in 2002, and then put up the second best game ever against BGSU with 27 completions.
Following are his rankings:
Career Completions1. Jeff Bender (1988-91) 5022. Pete Shepherd (1997-00) 4553. Derrick Vickers (2000-) 376
Career Attempts1. Jeff Bender (1988-91) 9602. Pete Shepherd (1997-00) 8793. Derrick Vickers (2000-) 691
Career Passing Yards1. Jeff Bender (1988-91) 6,5282. Pete Shepherd (1997-00) 5,7543. Joe Youngblood (199-93) 4,7184. Chad Darnell (1994-96) 4,7055. Derrick Vickers (2000-) 4,013
Career TD Passes1. Jeff Bender (1988-91) 382. Joe Youngblood (1990-93) 353. Chad Darnell (1994-96) 334. Andy MacDonald (1950-51) 275. Bob DeMarco (1981-84) 23 Derrick Vickers (2000-) 23
Total Offense1. Jeff Bender (1988-91) 6,5182. Pete Shepherd (1997-00 5,7473. Chad Darnell (1994-96) 4,9254. Joe Youngblood (1990-93) 4,5855. Derrick Vickers (2000-) 4,357
Jackson Looks to Regain Form
Terrence Jackson (Somerset, N.J./Franklin) is looking to return to the form of 2001 when he rushed for 1,194 yards. Primed for a banner junior season, Jackson sustained an ankle injury prior to the 2002 campaign and missed the first five games. In seven games, he gained just 399 yards and scored six times.
Jackson is healthy and has won his starting job back in a hard-fought tussle with fellow senior Kenan Lawhorne (Miami, Fla./Coral Park).
Lawhorne provides the Chippewas with a solid one-two punch at halfback. He has 920 yards in 26 career games.
Experience Up Front
The left side of CMU's line has plenty of size and experience in 6-5, 315-pound senior guard Derek McLaughlin (Berrien Springs) and 6-7, 320-pound junior tackle Adam Kieft (Rockford).
McLaughlin, who's father Duane played at Michigan State, has 27 career starts under his belt.
Kieft has started 20 times in his two seasons with the Chippewas.
Freshman All-Americans
CMU's most recent Freshman All-American as chosen by The Sporting News is sophomore place-kicker Mike Gruzwalski (Shelby Township/Eisenhower) who was a first team choice in 2002 after nailing 14-of-19 field goals and 27-of-31 extra points.
Junior tight end Tory Humphrey (Saginaw) and junior strong safety James King (Oak Park/Western) were second and fourth teams selections in 2001.
New Position for King
For the third straight season James King has a new position.
The 6-1, 215-pounder was a linebacker two years ago, played free safety last fall and has moved to strong safety this season.
King has a knack for finding the football. Not only has he made 186 tackles in two seasons, but he has five interceptions and has blocked 10 kicks --eight of them punts.
In 2001, James had eight blocked kicks, seven of them punts (four at Michigan State).
Chippewa Captains
In a vote of their peers, senior offensive guard Derek McLaughlin and senior defensive tackle Matt Wohlgemuth (Lake Orion) were selected captains for the 2003.
Newcomers to See Action
The Chippewas figure to use at least three members of the incoming class this Saturday at Michigan.
Junior wide receiver Jovan Witherspoon (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Harper College) and frosh tight end Joe Staley (Rockford) are second team and halfback Jerry Seymour (Miami, Fla./Pace) is third team.
While Witherspoon is 6-3 and weighs 205 pounds and Staley is 6-5 and 230, "Bam Bam" Seymour checks in at 5-6 and 190.
Other yearlings who could see action include a pair of wide receivers in Jemmy Jasmin (Miami, Fla./North Miami Beach) and Damien Linson (Plymouth, N.C.).
Birthday Boys
Reserve safety Doug Kress (Lapeer/West) will celebrate his 20th birthday on Saturday while reserve wide receiver Nick Thompson (Menominee) turns 23 on Sunday.
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 had a 100-yard rusher six times last season, and was 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.
Terrence Jackson gained 100 yards or more in seven straight games in 2001.
Classroom Success
Three CMU football players were 2002 selctions to the Verizon All-District Academic team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Those making the team were graduating seniors Kyle Croskey (3.62 GPA/industrial education), and Rob Turner (3.95/business), and current senior Matt Wohlgemuth (3.65/outdoor and environmental education).
Turner, a first team academic All-American in 2001, was a second team selection last fall.
Banner Season
An incredible season on the playing field for CMU teams was capped off this past summer when the Chippewas won the Mid-American Conference Institutional Academic Achievement Award for the sixth time in seven years.
The award goes to the school with the highest cumlative grade-point-average by its student-athletes in MAC-sponsored sports.
A total of 383 Chippewa athletes compiled an average GPA of 3.10 during the 2002-03 year.
During that same span, CMU captured championships in field hockey, men's cross country, wrestling, men's basketball, gymnastics and men's outdoor track.
How About Those Chippewas!
CMU enters the 2003 season as the 23rd winningest Division IA football program in history.
In 28 seasons of 1A football, the Chippewas have a winning percentage of .616.
CMU stands ahead of such programs as Texas A & M (.606), UCLA (.602), Michigan State (.602) and Arkansas (.594).
Michigan (.746) is second behind Notre Dame (.750).
MAC Honorees
Since joining the MAC in 1975 (one year after claiming the 1974 Division II national title), CMU has had more first team all-conference selections than any other school with 101. The Chippewas have won MAC titles in 1979, '80, '90 and '94.
