Chippewas Welcome Bye Week

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MOUNT PLEASANT -- The schedule maker gets a great big "hooray" from Central Michigan University football coach Mike DeBord for giving his Chippewas a bye this weekend.

Coming off a 27-14 loss to open the Mid-American Conference season at Ball State University this past Saturday, CMU does not play again until going on the road to face Bowling Green State University on Oct. 4.

"We need it off for two reasons," said CMU's fourth-year coach. "No. 1, we've got to get healthy. We have guys playing who probably shouldn't be playing but have a great attitude and want to be out there.

"And, No. 2, we have to improve. We're just too inconsistent right now. We need to get better on both sides of the ball."

One of the biggest concerns entering the bye week is the status of starting quarterback Jeff Perry (Apple Valley, Cal./Silverado) who missed the fourth period at Ball State with a leg injury.

"We'll know more this week as we get get some tests back," 'DeBord said. "Early indications are that it is not as bad as we may have first thought."

CMU also played the Cardinals without a pair of starting linebackers in juniors Omari Colen (Lathrup Village/Lathrup) and Jonathon Nelson (Coral Springs, Ill./Lake Zurich), and reserve redshirt freshman linebacker Mike Ogle (Caledonia).

After posting a 2-2 record in the first four games, the Chippewas face the "Murders' Row" portion of its schedule following the bye.

Up first is No. 31-ranked (Associated Press) Bowling Green followed by home games with No. 20 Northern Illinois (Oct. 11), No. 26 Toledo (Oct. 18) and a road tilt at Central Florida (Oct. 25).

Before those games, though, the Chippewas have work to do.

"We need to execute our offense better," he said. "Our running and passing game have been too inconsistent.

"On defense, we have to improve our play at cornerback. We gave up two easy touchdowns at Ball State when we used poor technique on one play and fell down on another. We can't have either.

"We also have to do a better job at stopping the run. We'll work hard, too, in the next two weeks to improve our depth."