Chippewas Head To Eastern Michigan On Saturday

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan football team has lost some games. But it hasn't lost any of its determination and certainly none of its pride.

The Chippewas go to Eastern Michigan on Saturday (noon) to take on the Eagles in a Mid-American Conference game. CMU is 1-8, 0-5 MAC; EMU is 4-5, 2-3.

CMU has three games remaining. It plays host to Bowling Green on Nov. 10 (noon) in the home finale, when the program will celebrate Senior Day; and then closes the season at Toledo on Friday, Nov. 23.

CMU is coming off a 17-10 loss at Akron. The Chippewas trailed, 17-0, at halftime, then pulled to within 17-10 with two third-quarter scores. With a chance to tie, or even go ahead the Chippewas were stopped on fourth down at the Akron 5-yard line in the fourth quarter.

The Chippewas made four trips to the red zone against the Zips and had just 10 points to show for those scoring opportunities.

"Obviously to get down there four times and to come away with 10 points is not good enough," CMU coach John Bonamego said. "You have to be able to get a yard in a critical game-winning situation like that. You know it's gut-check time; we didn't execute."

TO THE GOOD
The Chippewas forced four turnovers and committed just one themselves. All four Akron turnovers were fumbles.

"I was proud of the fight that they showed, they kept playing hard," Bonamego said. "I thought defensively, especially in the second half, that we were outstanding. To get four takeaways in the manner we got them. Those were balls that were knocked out. We were hustling to the ball and were beneficiaries of those balls on the ground, so I thought that was really, really good."

KEEP IT ON THE GROUND
Saturday's game features two of the MAC's – and the nation's – best pass defenses. CMU is allowing 141.6 yards per game through the air, ranking first in the league and third nationally in that category.

The Eagles are surrendering 180.1 passing yards per game. They are third in the MAC and 17^th in the nation.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Chippewas rank third in the MAC in total defense, surrendering 346.9 yards per game. They are 34^th in the nation in that category.

SCOUTING
• The Eagles are coming off a 37-22 home loss to Army West Point. Earlier this season, the Eagles upset Purdue, 20-19, on the road. It was the program's second win over a Power-5 conference team. Eastern's first such victory came a year ago at Rutgers.

• EMU quarterback Tyler Wiegers, a graduate transfer from Iowa who hails from Lake Orion, has thrown for 1,469 yards and 10 touchdowns, while backup Mike Glass has completed 61.2 percent of his passes and thrown six TD passes. Wiegers and Glass have combined to throw just two interceptions on the season.

POLJAN AT QB
Tony Poljan returned to quarterback last week in the Chippewas' loss at Akron. He threw for 169 yards on 19-of-37 passing. The 169 yards were eight shy of the career-best 177 he accumulated against Kansas in the Chippewas' second game of the season. The attempts and completions were career highs.

Poljan started the Chippewas' first three games and was replaced by Tommy Lazzaro in the second half of the third game, a 24-16 loss at Northern Illinois. Lazzaro made five consecutive starts and was injured in the fourth quarter of a 35-10 loss to Western Michigan. Lazzaro, a junior, is out for the season.

THE SERIES THE RIVALRY
The Chippewas lead the all-time series with Eastern, 60-29-6. CMU has more wins over the Eagles than it does against any other MAC school. CMU won last year's meeting, 42-30, and has won seven of the last nine in the series.

There is certainly a rivalry between the schools, Bonamego said, though it doesn't necessarily carry the intensity or the luster of the CMU-Western showdown.

"They're a good football team, they play hard, this is always a physical game," Bonamego said. "No matter what there is no love lost between the two programs. We're prepared for that. We're prepared for a physical dog fight."

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Players Mentioned

Tommy Lazzaro

Tony Poljan

Central Michigan University Athletics