Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, October 18
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
TBA
Central Michigan University
5-2 , 4-0
38
vs
28
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Western Michigan
6-2 , 4-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Western Michigan
7
7
7
7
28
Central Michigan
14
7
7
10
38
Chippewas Win Third Straight Over Western Michigan, 38-28
10/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
MOUNT PLEASANT - In his first start in more than two years, Central Michigan senior quarterback Brian Brunner completed 20-of-28 passes for 346 yards and a touchdown to lead the Chippewas to a 38-28 win over archrival Western Michigan in front of a Kelly/Shorts Stadium record-crowd of 30,302.
CMU rolled up a season-high 524 yards of offense in the victory, its third straight over the Broncos. The Chippewas were 10-of-15 on third down, including conversions on third-and-16, third-and-25 and third-and-21 to extend three different touchdown drives.
The victory gives CMU (5-2 overall, 4-0 Mid-American Conference) a one-half game lead over Ball State in the MAC West Division standings. The Chippewas, off to their best seven-game start since 1994, are 4-0 in MAC play for the third consecutive season.
Brunner, a game-time decision to start in place of the injured Dan LeFevour, directed an offensive attack that produced points on six of its 10 possessions and put a season-high 38 points on the scoreboard. The Chippewas and Broncos (6-2, 4-1 MAC) combined for 1,044 yards of offense in the game, the highest scoring matchup in the series since a 38-28 CMU win in 1996.
The fifth-year senior wasted no time settling into the starter’s role, completing all three of his pass attempts on the game’s opening drive to give the Chippewas a 7-0 lead just 1:38 into the contest. On first down from the WMU 24, Brunner pump-faked a defender before throwing to a wide-open Joe Bockheim in the south end zone. Bockheim absorbed a heavy hit, but held on to give CMU the early lead.
Western Michigan quarterback Tim Hiller completed 14 of his first 15 throws and finished with a stadium-record 471 yards passing, but his only incompletion in the game’s first 15 minutes was an overthrow of Austin Pritchard on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line on the Broncos’ opening possession.
CMU answered with a 98-yard scoring march that saw it convert three third downs. Brunner hit Kito Poblah for 27 yards on third-and-7 from CMU’s own 5-yard line, then later connected with Bryan Anderson for 32 yards on third-and-16 from the CMU 40. Facing third-and-1 from the WMU 19, freshman Bryan Schroeder burst up the middle untouched for his first career touchdown and a 14-0 CMU lead with 5:18 left in the first quarter.
Western Michigan scored touchdowns on two of its next possessions runs of 1 yard and 3 yards by Brandon West evened the score and the CMU-WMU series’ second straight shootout was on.
Pinned on his own 17-yard line and facing third-and-25 after WMU had evened the score, Brunner hooked up with Kito Poblah on a 27-yard completion that saw the junior receiver make the catch short of the first-down marker and drag a couple of Bronco defenders until he had the yardage for the first down. Back-to-back completions to Antonio Brown moved the ball into WMU territory, and Schroeder eventually scored from 1 yard out to put the Chippewas back up 21-14.
Western Michigan punted on its next possession, and Brown returned the kick 42 yards to the WMU 45 with 20 seconds left in the first half. Brunner’s desperation throw to the end zone on the final play before halftime was intercepted, the game’s lone turnover.
The Broncos marched 79 yards in 12 plays with the second half kickoff, and Hiller capped the drive with a 6-yard scoring toss to Juan Nunez to tie the score at 21-21.
CMU took the lead for good on the ensuing possession. Brunner threw to Anderson for 19 yards on third-and-8, and the pair later clicked for 27 yards on third-and-7 to move the ball to the WMU 17. A 15-yard throw to Brown gave the Chippewas a first-and-goal at the 2. On second down, Brunner appeared to run an option around the right end, but pitched the ball back to Brown on an apparent reverse. Brown, on the run, threw to Rocky Weaver who fought off a defender in the end zone to give the Chippewas the lead. Weaver’s score, the first of his career, and Andrew Aguila’s point-after gave CMU a 28-21 lead with 6:29 left in the third quarter.
The Chippewa defense forced a punt, and the offense responded with an 11-play, 91-yard drive that stretched the lead to two touchdowns. Brunner threaded a 23-yard completion to Brown over the middle on third-and-21 to keep the drive alive, then later hit Poblah for 24 yards on third-and-1 from the WMU 33-yard line. Justin Hoskins capped the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run with 11:01 remaining.
West returned the kickoff 29 yards to the WMU 48, and Hiller hit Schneider Julien for 35 yards down the sideline on the first play. A 9-yard throw to Nunez moved the Broncos to the CMU 8-yard line, but the drive stalled when West was stopped for no gain and Hiller’s fourth-down pass to Nunez fell incomplete.
The Chippewas went three-and-out following the defensive stop, and Hiller kept the Broncos in the game with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Julien on fourth-and-10. The score drew Western with a touchdown, 35-28, with 6:25 remaining.
Brunner used two more third-down conversions to help seal the win on the ensuing possession. He rushed for 3 yards on third-and-2 from the CMU 33, then threw a screen pass on third-and-5 from the CMU 41 that Hoskins turned into a 52-yard gain. Aguila knocked through a 20-yard field goal that provided the final margin of victory with 1:20 remaining.
Schroeder finished with 106 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries in his first career start. Brown was Brunner’s favorite target, catching 10 passes for 113 yards.
Nick Bellore led the CMU defense with 13 tackles, while Frank Zombo tallied 2.5 sacks. Kirkston Edwards and Matt Berning made 11 stops apiece.
Hiller completed 38-of-53 throws for WMU. Jamarko Simmons (13 catches, 118 yards), Nunez (10 for 145) and Julien (seven for 128) all posted at least 100 receiving yards in the loss.
CMU opens its second three-game road trip of the season next weekend, visiting Toledo at noon.
CMU rolled up a season-high 524 yards of offense in the victory, its third straight over the Broncos. The Chippewas were 10-of-15 on third down, including conversions on third-and-16, third-and-25 and third-and-21 to extend three different touchdown drives.
The victory gives CMU (5-2 overall, 4-0 Mid-American Conference) a one-half game lead over Ball State in the MAC West Division standings. The Chippewas, off to their best seven-game start since 1994, are 4-0 in MAC play for the third consecutive season.
Brunner, a game-time decision to start in place of the injured Dan LeFevour, directed an offensive attack that produced points on six of its 10 possessions and put a season-high 38 points on the scoreboard. The Chippewas and Broncos (6-2, 4-1 MAC) combined for 1,044 yards of offense in the game, the highest scoring matchup in the series since a 38-28 CMU win in 1996.
The fifth-year senior wasted no time settling into the starter’s role, completing all three of his pass attempts on the game’s opening drive to give the Chippewas a 7-0 lead just 1:38 into the contest. On first down from the WMU 24, Brunner pump-faked a defender before throwing to a wide-open Joe Bockheim in the south end zone. Bockheim absorbed a heavy hit, but held on to give CMU the early lead.
Western Michigan quarterback Tim Hiller completed 14 of his first 15 throws and finished with a stadium-record 471 yards passing, but his only incompletion in the game’s first 15 minutes was an overthrow of Austin Pritchard on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line on the Broncos’ opening possession.
CMU answered with a 98-yard scoring march that saw it convert three third downs. Brunner hit Kito Poblah for 27 yards on third-and-7 from CMU’s own 5-yard line, then later connected with Bryan Anderson for 32 yards on third-and-16 from the CMU 40. Facing third-and-1 from the WMU 19, freshman Bryan Schroeder burst up the middle untouched for his first career touchdown and a 14-0 CMU lead with 5:18 left in the first quarter.
Western Michigan scored touchdowns on two of its next possessions runs of 1 yard and 3 yards by Brandon West evened the score and the CMU-WMU series’ second straight shootout was on.
Pinned on his own 17-yard line and facing third-and-25 after WMU had evened the score, Brunner hooked up with Kito Poblah on a 27-yard completion that saw the junior receiver make the catch short of the first-down marker and drag a couple of Bronco defenders until he had the yardage for the first down. Back-to-back completions to Antonio Brown moved the ball into WMU territory, and Schroeder eventually scored from 1 yard out to put the Chippewas back up 21-14.
Western Michigan punted on its next possession, and Brown returned the kick 42 yards to the WMU 45 with 20 seconds left in the first half. Brunner’s desperation throw to the end zone on the final play before halftime was intercepted, the game’s lone turnover.
The Broncos marched 79 yards in 12 plays with the second half kickoff, and Hiller capped the drive with a 6-yard scoring toss to Juan Nunez to tie the score at 21-21.
CMU took the lead for good on the ensuing possession. Brunner threw to Anderson for 19 yards on third-and-8, and the pair later clicked for 27 yards on third-and-7 to move the ball to the WMU 17. A 15-yard throw to Brown gave the Chippewas a first-and-goal at the 2. On second down, Brunner appeared to run an option around the right end, but pitched the ball back to Brown on an apparent reverse. Brown, on the run, threw to Rocky Weaver who fought off a defender in the end zone to give the Chippewas the lead. Weaver’s score, the first of his career, and Andrew Aguila’s point-after gave CMU a 28-21 lead with 6:29 left in the third quarter.
The Chippewa defense forced a punt, and the offense responded with an 11-play, 91-yard drive that stretched the lead to two touchdowns. Brunner threaded a 23-yard completion to Brown over the middle on third-and-21 to keep the drive alive, then later hit Poblah for 24 yards on third-and-1 from the WMU 33-yard line. Justin Hoskins capped the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run with 11:01 remaining.
West returned the kickoff 29 yards to the WMU 48, and Hiller hit Schneider Julien for 35 yards down the sideline on the first play. A 9-yard throw to Nunez moved the Broncos to the CMU 8-yard line, but the drive stalled when West was stopped for no gain and Hiller’s fourth-down pass to Nunez fell incomplete.
The Chippewas went three-and-out following the defensive stop, and Hiller kept the Broncos in the game with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Julien on fourth-and-10. The score drew Western with a touchdown, 35-28, with 6:25 remaining.
Brunner used two more third-down conversions to help seal the win on the ensuing possession. He rushed for 3 yards on third-and-2 from the CMU 33, then threw a screen pass on third-and-5 from the CMU 41 that Hoskins turned into a 52-yard gain. Aguila knocked through a 20-yard field goal that provided the final margin of victory with 1:20 remaining.
Schroeder finished with 106 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries in his first career start. Brown was Brunner’s favorite target, catching 10 passes for 113 yards.
Nick Bellore led the CMU defense with 13 tackles, while Frank Zombo tallied 2.5 sacks. Kirkston Edwards and Matt Berning made 11 stops apiece.
Hiller completed 38-of-53 throws for WMU. Jamarko Simmons (13 catches, 118 yards), Nunez (10 for 145) and Julien (seven for 128) all posted at least 100 receiving yards in the loss.
CMU opens its second three-game road trip of the season next weekend, visiting Toledo at noon.
| |
| A record crowd of 30,302 packed Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Spinning Lens.) |
Team Stats
WMU
CMU
Total Yards
520
524
Pass Yards
471
348
Rushing Yards
49
176
Penalty Yards
57
95
1st Downs
28
22
3rd Downs
5
10
4th Downs
2
0
TOP
32:15
27:45
1st Quarter
WMU 0, CMU 7
CMU - BOCKHEIM, Joe 24 yd pass from BRUNNER, Brian (AGUILA, Andrew kick) 5 plays, 68 yards, TOP 1:38
WMU 0, CMU 14
CMU - SCHROEDER, B. 19 yd run (AGUILA, Andrew kick), 11 plays, 98 yards, TOP 3:33
.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
WMU 7, CMU 14
WMU - WEST, Brandon 1 yd run (POTTER, John kick), 7 plays, 86 yards, TOP 2:50
2nd Quarter
WMU 14, CMU 14
WMU - WEST, Brandon 3 yd run (POTTER, John kick), 10 plays, 87 yards, TOP 4:39
WMU 14, CMU 21
CMU - SCHROEDER, B. 1 yd run (AGUILA, Andrew kick), 9 plays, 68 yards, TOP 3:20
3rd Quarter
WMU 21, CMU 21
WMU - NUNEZ, Juan 6 yd pass from HILLER, Tim (POTTER, John kick) 12 plays, 79 yards, TOP 4:58
WMU 21, CMU 28
CMU - WEAVER, Rocky 2 yd pass from BROWN, Antonio (AGUILA, Andrew kick) 9 plays, 68 yards, TOP 3:33
4th Quarter
WMU 21, CMU 35
CMU - HOSKINS, Justin 9 yd run (AGUILA, Andrew kick), 11 plays, 91 yards, TOP 4:58
WMU 28, CMU 35
WMU - JULIEN, S. 32 yd pass from HILLER, Tim (POTTER, John kick) 8 plays, 42 yards, TOP 1:36
WMU 28, CMU 38
CMU - AGUILA, Andrew 20 yd field goal 10 plays, 72 yards, TOP 5:05
Throwback to the 2009 GMAC Bowl Game vs Troy
Wednesday, February 18
Mike Danna - Chippewas in the NFL Campaign
Friday, February 06
Super Bowl Highlights
Friday, February 06
Tyler Conklin - Chippewas in the NFL Campaign
Wednesday, January 28