Football Preview: These Bears Have Some Bite

Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Don't sleep on Maine and don't take the Black Bears lightly.

Not that John Bonamego had even considered it.

Bonamego's Central Michigan football team returns to Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday for a nonconference game with the Maine. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.

The Chippewas (0-3) are coming off a 24-16 loss in their Mid-American Conference opener last week at Northern Illinois.

The big storyline from a CMU perspective in that game was the performance of backup quarterback Tommy Lazzaro, who replaced starter Tony Poljan midway through the third quarter and led CMU on two second-half scoring drives, pumping life into an offense when had struggled all season to that point.

More on Lazzaro, who will make his first career start on Saturday, and the Chippewas later.

The Black Bears are members of Football Championship Subdivision and are 2-0. They defeated New Hampshire, 35-7, in their season opener. New Hampshire was ranked ninth in the FCS Top 25 Preseason Poll.

Maine's second win, which came two weeks ago, was even more impressive as it came over Western Kentucky, 31-28, on the road. The Black Bears, who were unranked entering the season but are now 16^th in FCS, rallied from an early 21-0 deficit to beat the Hilltoppers.

"They have our full attention," Bonamego said. "They are a very good football team. They have weapons on offense. I'm impressed with what they do and how they do it."

• The Black Bears are first in FCS in rushing yards allowed at 13.5 per game. That's right, Maine is holding opponents to just 13.5 yards per game on the ground. It is 12^th among all FCS teams in total defense, surrendering 248.5 yards per game. FCS comprises 124 teams.

• Maine has recorded 12 sacks, which ties it for third in FCS.

• Maine runs a ball-control offense, averaging 172.5 yards per game on the ground and ranks sixth in FCS in time of possession. Runnng backs Joe Fitzpatrick and Ramon Jefferson combined are averaging 4.77 yards per carry.

• The quarterback is sophomore Chris Ferguson, who has completed 54.2 percent of his pass attempts for five touchdowns and has been intercepted just once through two games.

"He's a very good deep-ball thrower, he's accurate, gets the ball out, and doesn't make many mistakes," said Bonamego, who landed his first college-coaching job at Maine in 1988 and knows full well the caliber of talent that Maine, and so many other FCS programs in New England, possesses. "There is a lot of football played in that part of the country. The kids that don't go to Boston College or Rutgers or Buffalo all go to those FCS school. Everyone on their roster could play in the MAC. Players from Maine go on to have successful careers in the NFL. Those players feel like they have something to prove and have a chip on their shoulder."

TOMMY'S TIME
Lazzaro completed 13 of 22 pass attempts for 128 yards and a touchdown in his first game as a Chippewa last week at NIU. He also rushed for 55 yards and ran for a TD.

His 4-yard TD pass to Julian Hicks early in the fourth quarter drew CMU to 21-16. After a Huskie field goal, Lazzaro drove the Chippewas – needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion – from their own 19-yard line to the NIU 15 when he was intercepted with 17 seconds remaining.

Lazzaro clearly put a scare into NIU, and put some life into the Chippewas.

The last time Lazzaro had played in a game was in 2015 when he was a freshman at Dodge City (Kan.) Community College. He transferred to CMU for the 2016 season.

"He has a lot of moxie, has the ability to improvise, make plays with his feet," Bonamego said. "We decided to give him a shot and he made the most of it. It's great for our team, it definitely gave us a lift, gave us a lot of energy and we're hoping and expecting that will continue."

OTHER EMERGE
Lazzaro wasn't the only Chippewa to shine at NIU.

• Hicks, a redshirt freshman, made his first career catch on a 20-yard pass from Lazzaro shortly after Lazzaro entered the game with just over six minutes to play in the third quarter.

Hicks finished the day with seven catches for 63 yards, both team highs.

• Another redshirt freshman, Nick Follmer, saw extensive playing time at right tackle in place of starter Alex Neering.

"We tell the players all the time, 'Your role today is what it is, and roles change throughout the season for a variety of reasons -- sometimes it's injuries, performance, or outside factors. You have to be prepared for when your opportunity come on Saturday,'" Bonamego said.

FOUNTAIN IMPRESSES
Senior middle linebacker Malik Fountain became the second Chippewa this season to earn MAC West Defensive Player of the Week honors for his 18-tackle performance against NIU.

CMU redshirt freshman safety Devonni Reed earned the honor after CMU's season-opening 35-20 loss at Kentucky.

GROUNDING
The Chippeawa defense has allowed an average of 125.7 yards per game through the air through three games. That number ranks fourth in the nation.

NEXT
The Chippewas play at Michigan State on Saturday, Sept. 29 (noon) in their final nonconference game of the season. CMU returns home to entertain Buffalo on Saturday, Oct. 6, for homecoming.

MSU, which is ranked 24^th, is 1-1 and plays at Indiana on Saturday night in its Big Ten opener.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nick Follmer

Malik Fountain

Julian Hicks

Tommy Lazzaro

Alex Neering

Tony Poljan

Devonni Reed