CMU Falls at Western Michigan, 31-24

Nov. 12, 2005

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Central Michigan University jumped to a quick 14-0 lead, then nearly rallied from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit before falling to Western Michigan, 31-24, on Saturday.

Kent Smith completed 46-of-70 for 460 yards and a touchdown in the loss. His completions, attempts, and yards are all new CMU records, and his 70 attempts are a new Mid-American Conference record.

Smith's aerial assault paced an offense that racked up 575 total yards on a school-record 110 plays, but committed a season-high four turnovers. The Chippewas also were flagged for 13 penalties.

CMU (5-5 overall, 4-3 MAC) scored on its first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead just 12 minutes into the contest. Smith capped the game's opening possession with a 26-yard scoring toss to Justin Harper (school-record 14 catches, career-high 136 yards) on fourth-and-10, while Ontario Sneed found paydirt from five yards for CMU's second score.

Momentum swung the Broncos' way late in the first. Rick Albresi's 41-yard field goal in the final minute was short, and on the next snap, Tim Hiller hit Greg Jennings with a short slant pass that turned into a 76-yard sprint to the end zone.

The Chippewas would fumble and punt on their next two possessions, respectively, and both times WMU scored on its first offensive play to take a 21-14 lead. The spread was 28-14 at the break courtesy of a 13-play, 79-yard drive Western Michigan drive that culminated in a four-yard touchown pass from Hiller to Tim Scheffler; it was Hiller's fourth touchdown toss of the first half.

The Broncos (7-3, 5-2) tacked on a 25-yard Nate Meyer field goal late in the third to stretch the margin to 31-14 and set the stage for the wild finish.

Sneed, who finished with 89 yards rushing to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the season, scored on a two-yard dash around the left side with 5:17 left to pull CMU within 10. The offense got the ball back just 33 seconds later when Isaac Brown stole what would have been a first-down pass to Scheffler. Hiller hit Scheffler up the seam on third-and-eight, but Brown, who was covering Scheffler on the play, stole the ball from the tight end's hands and returned it to the WMU 32-yard line.

CMU advanced to the one-yard line, but ultimately had to settle for a 22-yard Albreski field goal with 3:14 left.

Western Michigan failed to gain a first down following an onside-kick, and a Bronco punt into the end zone set CMU up on its own 20 with one minute left and no timeouts. Smith completed passes to Harper, Obed Cetoute and Damien Linson to move the ball to the Bronco 41, but his final four passes fell incomplete, including a lob into the end zone as time expired.

The Chippewa defense, which held Western Michigan to just three points after halftime, was led by junior end Daniel Bazuin. He collected a team-high 11 tackles, including eight solo, and recorded 1.5 sacks. He increases his school-record sack total to 12.5 this season, and now has 21.5 in his career, just 0.5 off the school's career record.

Hiller finished 15-of-28 for 212 yards for WMU. He hooked up with Jennings nine times for 171 yards. Trovon Riley added balance to the Bronco attack, running 26 times for 128 yards.

CMU closes its season next Saturday at Ball State. Kickoff of the contest, which will be televised on Comcast Sports Net Detroit, is set for noon.

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