Central Michigan University Athletics
Akron Notebook: Defense Stands Tall
10/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
AKRON, Ohio - So often, it's the offense that grabs the headlines in any given football game.
But with the Central Michigan offense sputtering for most of the day, the defense took center stage Saturday, turning in another stout effort in leading the way to a 14-6 Mid-American Conference victory over Akron.
The Chippewas entered the game with the No. 1-ranked defense in the MAC. Akron was third, and first against the run.
Both teams lived up to that billing.
"We knew it would be hard to move the ball against Akron's defense," CMU coach John Bonamego said. "The other two phases (defense and special teams) I thought we were decisively better."
The Chippewas got a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Cooper Rush, and the defense put a stranglehold on the Zips, limiting them to 106 yards of total offense in the second half and just 25 on the ground for the entire game.
CMU recorded a season-high four sacks, two by end Blake Serpa, and one each by noseguard Kelby Latta and linebacker Tyree Waller.
It was a CMU defense that flexed not only its strength, but its depth.
Injuries sidelined six Chippewas who either start or have played significant roles off the bench throughout the season.
Defensive linemen Jabari Dean and Joe Ostman did not play, nor did middle linebacker Tim Hamilton and cornerbacks Josh Cox and Stefon Armstead. Outside linebacker Nathan Ricketts left the game with an injury in the first half and did not return.
Up stepped the likes of Waller at outside linebacker, freshman Emmett Thomas at cornerback, freshman Nate Brisson-Fast on the line, and Latta, who has been a regular in CMU's defensive line rotation and drew his second consecutive start at noseguard.
Two mainstays, however, particularly stood out. Safety Tony Annese and defensive end Blake Serpa turned in monster efforts in containing the Zips.
Serpa finished with six tackles, all of them solos, including two sacks. He forced two fumbles and four of his tackles went for a loss. Annese led the Chippewas with nine tackles, and intercepted Akron's last-ditch bomb as time ran out.
It was Annese's team-leading second pick of the season.
"We ended up winning some matchups," Bonamego said. "Schemes are one thing, but it comes down to players winning individual matchups and when you win more of them than you lose up front, you're going to be good on whatever side of the ball you're on.
"Offensively we didn't win enough of our matchups. Defensively we did. That's the kind of game it was."
Serpa's two sacks tied his career high and his two forced fumbles turned out to be key plays, particularly the first one when Akron faced a third-and-6 at the CMU 13 with the game scoreless in the first quarter.
Serpa's hit on quarterback Thomas Wooden jarred the ball loose and it rolled some 15 yards backward and out of bounds.
Akron retained possession, but instead of a field goal try of perhaps 30 yards, the attempt came from 48 and the boot was wide right.
"That was exciting," Serpa said. "Upset we didn't get it, and we didn't get the second one either, but it was good to keep them from getting any points on that drive. I think that was a big part of the game."
Instead of potentially being down 3-0, the Chippewas took possession at their own 31 after the missed field goal and went 69 yards in nine plays, capped by Rush's 2-yard TD toss to Joe Bacci, giving CMU a 7-0 lead.
The line
The injury bug hasn't limited itself to the CMU defense.
On offense, starting left tackle Ramadan Ahmeti missed his second consecutive game with a back injury. His backup, Jack Ford, sat out with an ankle injury.
Sophomore Joe Austin made his first career start at left tackle.
Key man
In such a tightly played defensive struggle, the kicking game - particularly the punters - played a crucial role.
CMU junior Ron Coluzzi "had a great game punting and we covered well," Bonamego said.
Coluzzi punted eight times for a 41.6-yard average with a long of 55 yards. Four of his punts were downed inside the Akron 20-yard line, including his last, with just over a minute to play.
The Zips put 11 men up on the line in an effort to block the punt, and Coluzzi coolly unleased a 44-yarder, which was downed at the Akron 4.
"Don't shank it, high and far, protect the ball," Coluzzi said. "It's all I kept thinking about -- protect the ball, especially when they had the returner come up on the last one.
"I put my right foot up and went to a one-and-a-half step instead of a two-step. If I didn't, it was going to get blocked."
Coluzzi averaged 64.7 yards on his three kickoffs, with one touchback.
CMU placekicker Brian Eavey was good on his two extra-point attempts and is 26-for-26 on PATs this season.
Rockets next
Central Michigan's next game - and it's a biggie -- is at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 8 p.m.
The Rockets are 7-0 overall, 4-0 MAC, and ranked 20th nationally. They share the West Division lead with Western Michigan.
CMU, which has won three straight games, is 5-4, 4-1. The Chippewas defeated Ball State on the road last week, 23-21, in a game that was similar to Saturday's against Akron.
"Coach Bono stresses this is the most-important game of the season, the next one, the next one," said wide receiver Anthony Rice. "We don't look back, it's always the next one. Now it's Toledo."
Healing time
With a 10-day period between games, the Chippewas will take advantage of the opportunity for some much-needed rest.
"We're pretty banged up right now and we need the rest," Bonamego said. "This'll be good for us."
Career day
Wide receiver Anthony Rice finished with nine catches for 105 yards for CMU. Both were career highs. His previous high-water marks, eight catches for 78 yards, came earlier this season in a 30-10 loss at Michigan State.
Rice's 14-yard touchdown reception early in the third quarter was memorable as he broke away from the Akron defensive back and caught a perfectly lofted pass from Rush.
"I think the biggest thing I can take away from that route is it's not over until it's over," Rice said. "The defender, he did a really good job, he had me locked down for a lot of the play, and at the end I somehow slipped open and Coop saw where I went. Beautiful ball.
"I really think that at any given time, Cooper's going to throw a great ball. It really doesn't matter what route combination you have, he'll find you."
Cleaning it up
One week after being flagged a season-high 10 times at Ball State, CMU was penalized just five times.
"I thought we were good in that area," Bonamego said. "We had a couple of holds, but again those are the result of getting beat, pressuring the quarterback, those kinds of things. I thought we were much better today."
Rush up
Rush, CMU's junior quarterback, didn't have his best game, statistically. He was 23-for-37 for 226 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
It marked the fifth straight multi-TD-pass game for Rush, who raised his season total to 20 and his career mark to 62. His next TD pass will tie him with Ryan Radcliffe for second all-time at CMU.
On the season, Rush has completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 2,626 yards. He ranks fourth in the MAC with a 149.7 pass efficiency rating, and second in the league in passing yards per game (291.8) and total offense (293.7).
The series
The win was CMU's seventh in a row against the Zips and CMU leads the all-time series, 16-9-1. The Chippewas haven't lost to Akron since 2003 and has won 11 of the last 12 meetings.
