Saturday, October 12
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
3 p.m.
Central Michigan University
vs
New Mexico State (Homecoming)
Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf
Chippewas Welcome New Mexico State, Eye Consecutive Victories
10/11/2019 4:33:00 PM | Football
Dormady back at QB for CMU
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – It was all to the good for the Central Michigan football team a week ago after its resounding 42-16 victory over Eastern Michigan, a win that got the program to .500 (3-3) for the first time since 2017 and was the strongest evidence yet that first-year coach Jim McElwain had it turning a corner.
Then, news broke on Tuesday that quarterback David Moore was suspended by the NCAA after he had tested positive for a banned substance. CMU has appealed. Until the appeal is resolved, Moore remains suspended.
The Chippewas are scheduled to take on New Mexico State in a nonconference game on Saturday (3 p.m.) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
"First and foremost you just feel for him," McElwain said of Moore. "We've all made mistakes, I know I've made a ton of mistakes. It's just something that you have to deal with. He's got good support here, he's got great support from our compliance office, from our administration, from his teammates. He's obviously devastated as you can imagine, and we are all surprised."
Moore, a junior in his first year at CMU after transferring from Garden City (Kan.) CC, had been solid in his three starts since replacing Quinten Dormady when the latter was injured in the Chippewas' second game of the season, at Wisconsin.
Now, it's Dormady's turn to step up in place of Moore.
Dormady returned to practice a week ago ahead of CMU's game with Eastern. Now's, he's ready to go and the timing is perfect.
"Quinten was our starter at the beginning of the season before he got hurt," McElwain said. "We won't put anybody out there without them feeling 100 percent or having total clearance from our doctors and our training staff, so in this case (Dormady's) ready to go."
As is backup Tom Lazzaro, a senior who last week scored a rushing touchdown in mop-up duty to cap the Chippewas' dominance of Eastern as they finished with nearly 600 yards in total offense.
"It doesn't change how we approach the game," McElwain said with regard to who is taking snaps. "We still need to push it down the field and make some explosives (plays) for us to be successful this weekend."
Big Plays
The Chippewas did indeed cash in last week with what McElwain likes to term "explosives," or, big plays.
Running back Jonathan Ward provided two of those as he scored on an 86-yard touchdown run, a career long for Ward and CMU's longest TD run since 2013, and on a 64-yard pass play, on which he took a short over-the-middle pass from Moore and simply outran the defense to the goal line. Another came courtesy of Kalil Pimpleton and Moore on an 80-yard pass play.
Ward, a senior, finished with 205 yards from scrimmage, earning the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week Award.
Ward, who the better part of three games with an injury, has rushed for 400 yards (a 7.4-yard-per-carry average) and caught nine passes for 156 yards. He has scored five touchdowns. He ranks sixth in the MAC in rushing and fifth in all-purpose yardage.
Scouting
• New Mexico State, which plays an independent schedule, is 0-6. The Aggies fell last week at home to Liberty, 20-13. Their schedule has been daunting. They opened with a 58-7 loss at No. 23 Washington State and then followed with a 62-10 loss at No. 2 Alabama. Among their other losses for a 55-52 track meet with rival New Mexico.
• Quarterback Josh Adkins has completed 63.1 percent of his passes for 1,475 yards and six touchdowns against 11 interceptions.
• New Mexico State has surrendered an average of 42.7 points per game, which ranks 129th of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. The Aggies rank 125th in rushing defense, 122nd in total defense, and 107th in total offense.
Nice to Meet You
It is the first meeting between the Chippewas and Aggies, and it marks the first time CMU has played an independent team since 2012 when entertained Navy. The Chippewas fell to the Midshipmen, 31-13.
It marks the fourth time this season that the Chippewas have played an opponent for the first time. CMU had never played Albany, Wisconsin or Miami (Fla.) before this season.
Homecoming History
The Chippewas are 58-33-1 on homecoming and have lost their last two. Prior to that, the Chippewas won three straight.
Home, Sweet Home
The Chippewas are 3-0 at home this season, marking the first time since 2009 that they are unbeaten at Kelly/Shorts after three games. The Chippewas have outscored their opponents, 125-61, in those three victories.
Solid D
The Chippewas are allowing just 50 yards rushing per game, an average of 1.9 yards per carry. CMU ranks No. 1 in the MAC and 21st nationally in rushing defense.
The Chippewas have recorded 18 sacks among 30 tackles-for-loss. They lead the MAC and rank 14th nationally in sacks.
Next
The Chippewas return to Mid-American Conference play next week when they go to Bowling Green on Saturday, Oct. 19 (2 p.m.). The Falcons are 1-4, 0-1 MAC and are scheduled to play host to Toledo in a conference game on Saturday.
Looking Ahead
After New Mexico State, each of the Chippewas' remaining games are in the MAC. Of CMU's last five regular-season opponents, only one, Toledo, has a winning record. The Rockets are 4-1, 1-0.
Then, news broke on Tuesday that quarterback David Moore was suspended by the NCAA after he had tested positive for a banned substance. CMU has appealed. Until the appeal is resolved, Moore remains suspended.
The Chippewas are scheduled to take on New Mexico State in a nonconference game on Saturday (3 p.m.) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
"First and foremost you just feel for him," McElwain said of Moore. "We've all made mistakes, I know I've made a ton of mistakes. It's just something that you have to deal with. He's got good support here, he's got great support from our compliance office, from our administration, from his teammates. He's obviously devastated as you can imagine, and we are all surprised."
Moore, a junior in his first year at CMU after transferring from Garden City (Kan.) CC, had been solid in his three starts since replacing Quinten Dormady when the latter was injured in the Chippewas' second game of the season, at Wisconsin.
Now, it's Dormady's turn to step up in place of Moore.
Dormady returned to practice a week ago ahead of CMU's game with Eastern. Now's, he's ready to go and the timing is perfect.
"Quinten was our starter at the beginning of the season before he got hurt," McElwain said. "We won't put anybody out there without them feeling 100 percent or having total clearance from our doctors and our training staff, so in this case (Dormady's) ready to go."
As is backup Tom Lazzaro, a senior who last week scored a rushing touchdown in mop-up duty to cap the Chippewas' dominance of Eastern as they finished with nearly 600 yards in total offense.
"It doesn't change how we approach the game," McElwain said with regard to who is taking snaps. "We still need to push it down the field and make some explosives (plays) for us to be successful this weekend."
Big Plays
The Chippewas did indeed cash in last week with what McElwain likes to term "explosives," or, big plays.
Running back Jonathan Ward provided two of those as he scored on an 86-yard touchdown run, a career long for Ward and CMU's longest TD run since 2013, and on a 64-yard pass play, on which he took a short over-the-middle pass from Moore and simply outran the defense to the goal line. Another came courtesy of Kalil Pimpleton and Moore on an 80-yard pass play.
Ward, a senior, finished with 205 yards from scrimmage, earning the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week Award.
Ward, who the better part of three games with an injury, has rushed for 400 yards (a 7.4-yard-per-carry average) and caught nine passes for 156 yards. He has scored five touchdowns. He ranks sixth in the MAC in rushing and fifth in all-purpose yardage.
Scouting
• New Mexico State, which plays an independent schedule, is 0-6. The Aggies fell last week at home to Liberty, 20-13. Their schedule has been daunting. They opened with a 58-7 loss at No. 23 Washington State and then followed with a 62-10 loss at No. 2 Alabama. Among their other losses for a 55-52 track meet with rival New Mexico.
• Quarterback Josh Adkins has completed 63.1 percent of his passes for 1,475 yards and six touchdowns against 11 interceptions.
• New Mexico State has surrendered an average of 42.7 points per game, which ranks 129th of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. The Aggies rank 125th in rushing defense, 122nd in total defense, and 107th in total offense.
Nice to Meet You
It is the first meeting between the Chippewas and Aggies, and it marks the first time CMU has played an independent team since 2012 when entertained Navy. The Chippewas fell to the Midshipmen, 31-13.
It marks the fourth time this season that the Chippewas have played an opponent for the first time. CMU had never played Albany, Wisconsin or Miami (Fla.) before this season.
Homecoming History
The Chippewas are 58-33-1 on homecoming and have lost their last two. Prior to that, the Chippewas won three straight.
Home, Sweet Home
The Chippewas are 3-0 at home this season, marking the first time since 2009 that they are unbeaten at Kelly/Shorts after three games. The Chippewas have outscored their opponents, 125-61, in those three victories.
Solid D
The Chippewas are allowing just 50 yards rushing per game, an average of 1.9 yards per carry. CMU ranks No. 1 in the MAC and 21st nationally in rushing defense.
The Chippewas have recorded 18 sacks among 30 tackles-for-loss. They lead the MAC and rank 14th nationally in sacks.
Next
The Chippewas return to Mid-American Conference play next week when they go to Bowling Green on Saturday, Oct. 19 (2 p.m.). The Falcons are 1-4, 0-1 MAC and are scheduled to play host to Toledo in a conference game on Saturday.
Looking Ahead
After New Mexico State, each of the Chippewas' remaining games are in the MAC. Of CMU's last five regular-season opponents, only one, Toledo, has a winning record. The Rockets are 4-1, 1-0.
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
QB
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WR
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RB
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