Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Await Bowl Berth
11/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - It's a waiting game for everybody.
The Central Michigan football team and its supporters are in a holding pattern - as is almost every other bowl-eligible team in college football - as they eagerly await the announcement of bowl matchups on Sunday.
The Chippewas (6-6) are one of six bowl-eligible Mid-American Conference teams along with Western Michigan, Ohio, Miami (Ohio), Toledo and Eastern Michigan.
Eastern Michigan already accepted a bid to the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl. The MAC is partnered with the Raycom Media Bowl, the Famous Idaho, the Dollar General and the Miami Beach Bowl.
The MAC also has secondary agreements with the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit and the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego. Western Michigan, if it defeats Ohio on Friday in the MAC Championship, is likely to play in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day.
CMU's bowl destination and opponent will be announced at cmuchippewas.com on Sunday afternoon. Ticket and travel packages and details, along with pregame festivities for alumni, fans and supporters, also will be announced on the site.
For CMU fans, it's best to purchase bowl tickets through CMU Athletics to ensure they are sitting with fellow fans and to help CMU sell its allotment of tickets.
Coach John Bonamego and his team practiced Wednesday in the turf bay at the school's indoor athletic complex. The Chippewas closed the regular season a week ago with a 26-21 loss at Eastern Michigan.
"We're still stinging a little bit from that last game, and I think that's a good thing," said Bonamego, who in his second season in charge of the program. "There's no one in this building that's satisfied with 6-6, least of all myself. If they are, then I would say that they don't belong here."
Bonamego said that playing in a bowl game is a benefit to the program overall because it allows college football teams 15 practices that they wouldn't otherwise get. That helps the younger players in particular, he said.
"The overall theme is rest and recovery for guys who have played, and development for guys who haven't played," Bonamego said. "If you're not preparing for a game, you can really go back and re-install and re-emphasize your base stuff and make sure that they've got the fundamental stuff down."
A number of the younger players have indeed seen action throughout the season, be it on special teams or in spot duty due mainly to injuries to the front-liners. During the week, typically, those players are on scout team - emulating the next opponent's formations and plays.
In this case, with the opponent not yet known, the focus is internal, Bonamego said.
"For them to be a part of the huddle, using our terminology and running our stuff, it's a big advantage," he added.
That development, while critical to the long-term success of the program, is still secondary.
"The focus is to win the game," Bonamego said. "We're going to always play the best players. Guys who are starters are starters for a reason. We've played a lot of young players this year because either they were ready or they were pushed into action because of injuries."
| POSSIBLE BOWL DESTINATIONS | |
|---|---|
 | Raycom Media Camellia BowlDate: Saturday, December 17, 2016Time: 5:30 p.m. ET Location: Montgomery, Alabama Stadium: Cramton Bowl TV Network: ESPN Website: camelliabowl.com |
 | Miami Beach BowlDate: Monday, December 19, 2016 |
 | Boca Raton BowlDate: Tuesday, December 20, 2015 |
 | San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia BowlDate: Wednesday, December 21, 2016 |
 | Famous Idaho Potato BowlDate: Thursday, December 22, 2015 |
 | Dollar General BowlDate: Friday, December 23, 2016 |
 | St. Petersburg BowlDate: Monday, December 26, 2016 |
 | Quick Lane BowlDate: Monday, December 26, 2016 |
