Hungry Chippewas Head To NIU For League Opener

Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Patience is easy to talk about, difficult to practice.

For the Central Michigan football team, there is talk, and there is action.

After two losses to open the season, the first a competitive 35-20 defeat at Kentucky, the second a much-harder-to-swallow 31-7 loss at home to Kansas, the Chippewa camp is hungry for a win.

"When you're 0-2 you have no reason to be happy," CMU coach John Bonamego said earlier this week as his Chippewas prepared for Saturday's Mid-American Conference opener at Northern Illinois.

AT STAKE
Saturday's game is the league opener, which makes it even more important.

"I think more than (it being the) league opener, for our football team right now (the goal) is to play better, to get this bad taste out of our mouths," Bonamego said. "(We are) acutely aware that this is a league game, one in the division and on the road, against the team that is predicted to win it. It is going to take a great effort and a much better performance that we put out there this past weekend."

SCOUTING NIU
Northern Illinois was picked to win the MAC West in the preseason media poll. CMU was picked to finish fifth. The Huskies were also named on four ballots to win the MAC Championship Game.

The Huskies are also 0-2 and, like the Chippewas, both of those losses have come to opponents from Power-5 conferences. NIU opened with a 33-7 loss at Iowa and fell last week at home to Utah, 17-6.

NIU features one of the nation's best defensive linemen in Sutton Smith, the reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus All-American in 2017.

"We have some things in place that we will try and do to try and neutralize him," Bonamego said. "I don't think you can completely shut a player, of that quality, down."

Smith has already made three sacks this season, and is tied for third nationally in that category.

The Huskies rank third in the MAC against the run, allowing an average of 138.5 yards per game.

Marcus Childers, the 2017 MAC Freshman of the Year, is the Huskies' quarterback. He has completed 55.2 percent of his passes for 216 yards and one touchdown in NIU's first two games.

Last year, in a 31-24 loss to the Chippewas at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, Childers was intercepted twice.

SLUGFEST?
The Chippewas rank 11^th in the 12-team MAC in scoring offense, and NIU is 12^th which might lead one to believe Saturday's game shapes up as a defensive struggle.

That remains to be seen. But those early offensive numbers could be skewed a bit by the fact that NIU's two opponents, Utah and Iowa, are ranked first and fifth, respectively, in the nation in total defense. CMU's opponents, Kentucky and Kansas, are among the top 40 in the nation in that category.

BONO'S TAKE
The CMU offense, led by quarterback Tony Poljan, has struggled in CMU's first two games.

The redshirt sophomore was intercepted four times by Kansas. CMU committed six turnovers in the game.

"He's trying to do too much," Bonamego said of Poljan, who leads the Chippewas in rushing with 90 yards. "There were a couple times (against Kansas) he got flushed out of the pocket and he needs to keep his eyes downfield. Typical young quarterback mistakes. Late throws, trying to press, trying to make something when it's not there.

"Sometimes you need to take the sack. If you have to punt, then you have to punt. But we can't turn the ball over."

STICKING WITH IT
The Chippewas are averaging 110.5 yards per game on the ground this season, while NIU averages 109.

Bonamego stressed patience and commitment with that aspect of the Chippewas' offense.

"I think we need to be a little more patient with the run game," he said. "I think we had some good, positive runs early and got away from it a little bit. We need to be a little more patient with it. You have to commit to it; can't abandon it too early or you won't be any good at it."

Consistency and continuity up front should help. Four of the five interior line positions have been filled by the same players through CMU's first two games. Derek Smith and Alex Neering have started at the tackle spots, while redshirt freshman Jamezz Kimbrough and Shakir Carr have lined up at guard. Veteran Steve Eipper is expected to return at center against NIU after sitting out last week in favor of sophomore Jeff Strome.

DRIVE FOR 5
The Chippewas have won their last four meetings and eight of their last 11 with NIU. CMU leads the series, 29-23-1.

START UP
CMU is looking to start the MAC schedule with a win for the first time since 2015, when the Chippewas beat NIU, 29-19, at home. Before that, the Chippewas had not won a conference opener since 1009.

NEXT
CMU returns to nonconference play when it entertains Football Championship Subdivision Maine on Saturday, Sept. 22 (3 p.m.) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

The Black Bears are off this weekend. They are 2-0 after beating Western Kentucky, 31-28, last week in Bowling Green, Ky. CMU goes to 25th-ranked Michigan State on Saturday, Sept. 29.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Shakir Carr

Steve Eipper

Jamezz Kimbrough

Alex Neering

Tony Poljan

Derek Smith

Jeff Strome