NIU Notebook: Missed Opportunities Cost Chippewas

Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

DeKALB, Ill. – The buzz around the Central Michigan football program will understandably be about the quarterback position, and backup Tony Lazzaro's performance in Saturday's 24-16 Mid-American Conference loss at Northern Illinois.

But in the final analysis, the Chippewas can point to two other major factors in the game: missed opportunities, and the defense.

The CMU defense was far from perfect, but it was, as it had been through the first two weeks of the season, solid for the most part.

"We still gave up too many big plays," CMU coach John Bonamego said. "Missed tackles at the point of attack or we're out of position and over ran (the play). We still have work to do.

"We're not playing perfectly in any phase right now. Overall, I think our defense has done well. Just got to eliminate the big plays. Those 15-yard plus runs, those add up."

On the other side was CMU's failure to cash in on scoring chances early in the game.

CMU failed to put the ball in the end zone twice early on despite having first-and-goal situations. CMU missed a field goal and had just three points, a 27-yard Ryan Tice field goal, to show for those red-zone trips.

That inability to cash in put pressure on the Chippewa defense, which surrendered 284 total yards, much of it coming in the first 2 ½ quarters of the game when it was on the field for long stretches and the Huskies built a 21-3 lead.

The Chippewas held NIU to a field goal over the final quarter-and-a-half as the CMU offense came to life under Lazzaro, who led two second-half touchdown drives.

"Momentum is a big thing in football," CMU middle linebacker Malik Fountain said. "They had all the momentum in the beginning of the game."

LOOKING FORWARD
The loss left the Chippewas 0-3 and 0-1 in the MAC.

There is no such thing in college football as a moral victory, coaches say, yet there was enough to the good to give the Chippewas a spark going forward. CMU plays host to Maine on Saturday, Sept. 22 (3 p.m.) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

"We're looking up at the future," Fountain said. "Win out, that's what we're going for now."

Maine, a Football Championship Subdivision team, is 2-0. The Black Bears were idle on Saturday after claiming a 31-28 win at Western Kentucky the previous week.

MONSTER GAME
Fountain, a native of Chicago, made a career-high 18 tackles including a sack. He said he had 15 family members and friends in the stands for the game.

DeKalb is about one hour west of Chicago, and Fountain, a senior, said he visited NIU when he was being recruited out of Rich Central High School.

For Fountain, Saturday's game was personal.

"This is probably one of the most important games for me on that note because I feel like they did me a disservice," he said of the Huskies. "I came up here and they didn't show me any love. I didn't talk to the coach or anything so I felt like I needed (a big game) for my family and all my friends that came out today."

Fountain's previous career high in tackles was 13, which he had done twice. He made 13 stops last week in CMU's 31-7 loss to Kansas.

Saturday marked the 42^nd consecutive start for Fountain, a two-time All-MAC selection.

MAKING AN IMPRESSION
Wide receiver Julian Hicks led the Chippewas with seven receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown.

The redshirt freshman from Cleveland had never caught a pass for CMU before Saturday. All seven of his receptions came on Lazzaro passes.

Lazzaro said that was partially due to the fact that both he and Hicks run plays all week in practice with the second teamers.

"We have that chemistry," Lazzaro said. "I know where he's going to be most of the time. But (it's) also him being able to get open during the game. That's a big part of it."

MAKING AN IMPRESSION II
Tice, a junior transfer from Michigan, made a 27-yard field goal to account for CMU's only points of the first half.

It was Tice's first field-goal attempt as a Chippewa. He also made his one extra-point try.

Bonamego called on Tice to handle the place-kicking duties after senior Michael Armstrong missed a 25-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter.

GROUND GAME
The Chippewas finished with 164 yards rushing and 322 total yards, both season highs.

Running back Jonathan Ward, who also hails from the Chicago area, ran for a team-high 74 yards. It was his highest rushing total of the season.

Central Michigan University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Michael Armstrong

Malik Fountain

Julian Hicks

Ryan Tice

Jonathan Ward

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