Central Michigan University Athletics
Eastern Michigan Notebook: Rush Takes Top Spot
11/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Cooper Rush continually raises the bar.
Rush, Central Michigan's junior quarterback, threw for 391 yards and two touchdowns Friday in leading the Chippewas to a 35-28 victory over Eastern Michigan at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
The win gave CMU a share of the Mid-American Conference West Division title as they finished 6-2 in league play. They are 7-5 overall and will wait until Dec. 6 for a bowl bid.
Rush's yardage total gave him 3,703, a CMU single-season record. He surpassed Dan LeFevour, who threw for 3,652 yards in leading CMU to the MAC championship in 2007. Rush's total has come in 12 games; LeFevour's came in 14.
"You know, it's great company to be in, with one of the greatest college football players," Rush said. "It's pretty cool to be matched with that."
Just as Rush spreads the wealth on the field - five Chippewa receivers have caught at least 33 passes this season, and all five have amassed 500-plus yards on the year - he shared the credit in the post-game press conference.
"We've had a bunch of guys making tons of plays and to see a record get broken as a result of all that is a pretty cool team thing and for myself," he said.
Rush completed 25 of 39 attempts against Eastern. Eleven receivers caught passes for the Chippewas, six of them made multiple catches.
Mark Chapman led CMU with six receptions, while tight end Ben McCord had four for a team-high 100 yards. Rush's TD passes went to Corey Willis (67 yards) and Romello Ross (63).
Ten of those who caught passes on Friday will return next season (McCord is the lone senior among them). The Chippewas rank second in the MAC, averaging 313.3 yards passing per game.
"The way those guys worked in the offseason and how we met in the offseason," Rush said in explaining the Chippewas' success through the air in 2015. "Those guys got on the same page as me with what we really want on offense and concepts of what we want.
"There's some great athletes in the open field. They can catch a 5-yard pass and get 15 and that's how we get a lot of yards."
Case in point: Ross. The freshman running back had caught just six passes for a total of 15 yards entering Friday's game. He took a screen pass from Ross and turned it into a 63-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.
Rush, who was intercepted once, now has 25 TD passes on the season, tying Ryan Radcliff (2011) for fifth in a single season in school history. He has 67 in his career, which ranks second behind LeFevour (102).
Rush's two TD passes were his second and third longest of the season.
On the ground
The Chippewas finally got some major production from their run game, something that had been lacking for much of the season.
Junior Martez Walker finished with a career-high 119 yards on 17 carries and the Chippewas finished with a season-high 175 yards on the ground.
Ross carried seven times for 34 yards and scored four TDs, three of them on the ground.
"The O-line did their job and I just read off of what they opened up," said Ross, who scored on runs of 5, 3 and 17 yards. "Every opportunity I get, I try to make the best of it. Coach puts us in and gives us the tools to do what we are supposed to do and just execute."
Going bowling
The Chippewas became bowl eligible a week ago with a victory at Kent State. Their win over Eastern all but solidifies a bowl berth, and it gave them a share of the MAC West Division title.
CMU, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Toledo each finished 6-2 in league play. NIU owns the tie-breaker and will represent the West in the MAC Championship game next weekend at Ford Field in Detroit against East champion Bowling Green.
"We wish we were playing in the MAC title game next week," Rush said. "That was our main goal. But 6-2 in the MAC is nothing to laugh at. We didn't accomplish our goals, but this team played their butts off every game.
"We were in every game, should have won a few more. But we are just excited to go to a bowl and get another chance to play with these seniors. Get another chance to win."
Bowl announcements will be made on Sunday, Dec. 6.
Among the possible destinations for CMU are the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., on Dec. 19; the Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho, on Dec. 22; the Marmot Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 22; the GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Dec. 23; the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl on Dec. 24; and the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 23.
The defense
The CMU defense was excellent in the second half, holding Eastern Michigan to seven points, six first downs and not allowing the Eagles to convert a third down in 10 chances over the final two quarters.
Senior safety Kavon Frazier led the Chippewa defense with seven tackles and a blocked punt, which set up the game-tying touchdown in the third quarter.
Frazier said he lined up to the left side of the line on the blocked punt after he spotted an opportunity on earlier Eastern punts.
"The first couple (punts) I was going up on the other side and I was getting really close," he said. "I noticed he was kicking to the other gap where nobody was accounted for."
Linebackers Nathan Ricketts and Jeff Perry finished with six stops apiece, Chris Kantzavelos and Mitch Stanitzek combined for a sack - one of six tackles-for-a-loss recorded by the Chippewas in the game -- and cornerback Josh Cox forced a fumble. Ricketts and Stefon Armstead each recovered a fumble.
Possession time
The Chippewas once again held the advantage in time of possession, holding the ball for nearly eight minutes longer than the Eagles.
The Chippewas won the time of possession battle in 10 of their 12 games this season, and they rank second in the MAC in that category.
Kicking game
CMU punter Ron Coluzzi averaged 35.2 yards on five punts with a long of 45. Two of his punts were downed inside the Eastern 20-yard line.
Coluzzi kicked off six times with an average of 62.5 yards with two touchbacks.
CMU placekicker Brian Eavey was good on all five of his extra-point attempts. He missed field goal tries from 47 and 40 yards.
The series
The win was Central Michigan's fourth straight over the Eagles and its sixth in the last seven meetings. The Chippewas lead the all-time series, 59-28-6.
