Quick Lane Bowl: Day 1 Wrapup
12/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
DETROIT - Day 1 Thursday at the Quick Lane Bowl, the Central Michigan football team mixed a little pleasure with some business.
The Chippewas went through a 90-minute morning practice at Ford Field, site of Monday's game (5 p.m., ESPN2) between the Chippewas (7-5) and Minnesota (5-7).
On Thursday evening, both teams took a break from real, gridiron football for a little fun with a visit to the Fowling Warehouse in Hamtramck, a fly pattern from the CMU team headquarters at the MGM Grand.
Fowling is a combination of football and bowling. Put simply, participants toss a football from about 50 feet in an attempt to knock down 10 bowling pins.
"Lot of fun, basically bowling with a football," CMU quarterback Cooper Rush said. "First time ever doing this. It's a great idea."
The game was invented by Fowling Warehouse owner and suburban Detroit native Chris Hutt and some buddies while tailgating at the Indianapolis 500.
The Chippewas will take Christmas Day off and return to practice on Saturday, where they will resume preparations for the Gophers.
Some three dozen of the players on CMU's roster are from locales within a short drive of Ford Field, and most will have an opportunity to spend the holiday with family.
On Saturday, the Chippewas will visit Gleaners Food Bank after practice and then attend the bowl welcome dinner at Henry Ford Museum.
On Sunday, the Chippewas will have a walk-through at the Detroit Lions' Practice Facility in Allen Park, attend the Lions-49ers game at Ford Field, and have dinner at Andiamo Riverfront Restaurant.
CMU coach John Bonamego announced during Thursday's press conference at Ford Field that senior safety Kavon Frazier will wear the No. 21 jersey in honor of late teammate Derrick Nash.
The Chippewas last played on Nov. 28, when they defeated Eastern Michigan, 35-28, in their regular-season finale at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The win lifted CMU to 6-2 in Mid-American Conference play and gave it a share of the MAC West Division title.
Bonamego said the that striking a balance between rest and keeping his players sharp has been the biggest challenge leading up to the bowl game.
"We used a lot of those (practices) to work the young guys and we spaced them out so as not get too rusty," said Bonamego, who spent the 16 seasons before coming to CMU in 2015 as an NFL assistant. "It's new to me. I haven't done this in a long time as far as having this much time to prepare. You don't get that luxury in the NFL.
"I do feel that it's important at the end of the year, after a long season, that you do give them ample time to rest and take a break and I think the health of our football team is really good right now."
