Central Michigan University Athletics
NIU Notebook: Big Play Caps Dramatic Comeback
11/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - It was Senior Day at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Friday, and for the two dozen or so Chippewa seniors playing their final home game, it could not have been much more memorable.
Central Michigan did all of its scoring in the second half in rallying from a 17-0 halftime deficit to defeat Northern Illinois, 31-24, for its fifth consecutive victory. CMU finished the regular season 8-4, 6-2 Mid-American Conference.
The eight wins is CMU's highest victory total since 2009 and CMU will await its bowl destination. That will be announced on Dec. 3.
The Chippewa offense produced a grand total of 35 yards and four first downs in the first half. CMU finished with 386 yards and 16 first downs as it completely turned the game around in the final 30 minutes.
"Really, I just challenged the team to come out and play in the second half," CMU coach John Bonamego said. "I told them I thought we were a much better team than the way we were playing. Really proud of our football team, the grit and the resiliency that we showed, first by working our way back into the game and then taking the lead and then after it was tied up to go down and score.
"It's not so much about play calls and blitz calls and that sort of thing as it is executing. It's a game of execution. You've got to block, you have to run, you have to throw, you have to catch. You have to defend, you have to cover people, you have to get off blocks, you have to tackle, you have to run to the football. When we do those things we're a pretty good football team. When you don't, I don't care who you are, you're not going to be very good."
CMU quarterback Shane Morris completed 19 of 37 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns to lead the comeback. Equally as effective was CMU's run game. It totaled minus-33 yards before halftime. The Chippewas finished with 139 yards on the ground.
The Chippewas scored 24 consecutive points to seize a 24-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. NIU (8-4, 6-2) came back to tie it with 3:03 remaining on a Tre Harbison 12-yard run.
CMU then drove 64 yards in nine plays, with Morris hitting Corey Willis from 29 yards out - on fourth-down-and-4 - for the game-winning touchdown with 1:31 remaining.
"It was a monumental play," Willis said. "This really is an 11-man game. I told them I was going to get open, they just had to protect and for Shane to stay in there and take that hit - he was taking hits all day - to have confidence in me, I owe it all to him."
Said Bonamego: "Shane did a great job of locating Corey; it was a perfectly thrown ball. It was a great throw, Corey made a great catch. That's one they'll remember of the rest of their lives and for good reason."
The big play on the drive was the first, a 40-yard Morris-to-Eric Cooper completion. Cooper caught the pass near the CMU sideline, broke a tackle, and raced down the sideline to the NIU 35. Four plays later, the Chippewas were in the end zone.
Cooper, a senior, had the honor of wearing the No. 21 jersey, which carries a special place in CMU football lore. Each week, a different Chippewa dons the number in honor of the late Derrick Nash. Nash lost his battle with Leukemia on June 22, 2015.
Cooper finished with five catches for 58 yards. Willis was wearing No. 21 when he scored the game-winning touchdown three-plus weeks ago in CMU's other memorable comeback victory this season, 35-28, at Western Michigan.
"Eric Cooper's a great player, not to mention he's got 21 on him," Willis said. "He had a game definitely to remember. I think anybody who wears 21 kind of has those types of plays where it's like, that really wasn't me, that was 21 above."
Getting It Started
The Chippewas played like a different team from the very beginning of the third quarter.
Mark Chapman capped CMU's first possession of the half when he took a pass over the middle and outran the defense to the end zone. The play covered 56 yards and it drew the Chippewas to 17-7 and, more importantly, gave them a much-needed shot of momentum.
"We were talking in the locker room (at halftime) like, `We're one big play away from a spark, you know it's coming,'" said Chapman, who had three catches for 74 yards. "We're confident in each other and our abilities. Coach called a great play, that double slant, and I knew I was going to come open. Once I caught the ball I knew I had to score.
"After I scored and I was celebrating with boys I knew the train was coming, I knew we were about to get rolling."
CMU scored on its first four possessions of the second half.
"I feel like there's no defense that can stop our offense for an entire game, so I felt like it was only a matter of time before our offense got it moving," safety Josh Cox said. "We had faith in them."
Michael Armstrong hit a 23-yard field goal to make it 17-10, and then the Chippewas tied it when Jonathan Ward scored on a 4-yard pass from Morris. They went ahead, 24-17, on Ward's 54-yard TD run.
"It only takes one play to spark," said Ward, who ran for 154 of his 159 yards in the second half. "Mark's big touchdown run, that's what got it going. After that we just got on a roll.
"At the end of the day, it's about beating the man across from you. And I have faith that my O linemen would be their D linemen and their linebackers."
Defense
The CMU defense more than did its part. Though it surrendered 17 points in the first half, the Chippewas stayed in the game on the strength of its defense. They held NIU to 118 yards in the second half, and five of the Huskies' eight second-half possession were of the three-and-out variety.
The Chippewas made two interceptions, both in the second half. The first came from sophomore Sean Bunting, his fourth in five games; and the second came from senior safety Josh Cox with just over a minute remaining at the Chippewa 1-yard line.
It was the sixth pick of the season for Cox, and the Chippewas lead the nation with 19 interceptions.
Cox led the Chippewas with 10 tackles, while Amari Coleman, Michael Oliver and Joe Ostman made seven stops apiece.
Ostman a senior, made his 12th sack of the season and the 26th of his career. He moved into second place in CMU history with the sack.
"It hasn't really hit me yet," Ostman said of the sack total. "It's an honor, it's a blessing. It's kind of a surreal feeling."
The Chippewas recorded 10 tackles-for-loss, including a team-high three by tackle D'Andre Dill.
Kicking game
Armstrong's field goal was his first since CMU's Oct. 14 loss to Toledo. CMU punter Jack Sheldon did an admirable job, averaging 41.9 yards on 10 punts, eight of which came in the first half.
The game was played in a steady southerly breeze of about 20 mph.
Tied For Second
At 6-2, the Chippewas and NIU finished tied for second place in the MAC West behind Toledo, which defeated Western Michigan, 37-10, on Friday. The Rockets will play Akron in the Marathon MAC Championship on Dec. 2 at Ford Field in Detroit.
The Chippewas were picked to finish fifth in the six-team MAC West in the preseason poll.
