Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, October 19
Bowling Green, OH
2 p.m.
Central Michigan University
at
Bowling Green
Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf
Next Step: Winning On The Road
10/18/2019 4:08:00 PM | Football
Chippewas go to Bowling Green on Saturday
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Something to prove, and a lot of gain.
After back-to-back home victories during which the offense performed particularly well, it's back on the road for the Central Michigan football team.
The Chippewas, 0-3 away from Kelly/Shorts Stadium this season, go to Bowling Green on Saturday (2 p.m.) for a Mid-American Conference game at Doyt Perry Stadium.
If the Chippewas are to be taken seriously as a program that has turned the corner and is a contender for the MAC West title, it needs road wins.
And winning on the road is a big step for any program.
"We've got to learn how to do that as we build a program," first-year coach Jim McElwain said. "We'll find out a little more about this football team and what direction we're headed."
The Chippewas are 4-3, 2-1 MAC. They're unbeaten at home after a 42-28 win last week on homecoming over New Mexico State. That victory was preceded by a 42-16 victory over Eastern Michigan, also on the Kelly/Shorts turf.
CMU amassed 660 yards rushing – 352 against New Mexico State; 308 against Eastern -- and seven touchdowns on the ground in those two games after picking up 586 combined in its first five.
It marked the first time since 1994 that the Chippewas have rushed for at least 300 yards in back-to-back games, and the 352 against New Mexico State was the most for a CMU team since 2003.
The Chippewas ranked fourth in the MAC in rushing yards per game (178.0) and their defense is No. 1 in the league against the run, surrendering just 101.3 per.
Establishing the run, and stopping it, are cornerstones of a strong team on any level. The familiar coach's refrain is that's what good teams do.
They also win on the road.
"This team's still in the discovery phase, understanding what it takes every single day to be successful," McElwain said. "The consistency is really what it takes. To be able to go on the road and win, against a good football team in a tough environment, you have to be consistent in everything you do. Any mistake is multiplied. It's something we need to learn. We'll find out."
Where They Stand
The Chippewas are tied for second place in the MAC West with Western Michigan. Both are 2-1 in league play. Ball State, which is 3-3, leads the division at 2-0. Bowling Green is in a three-way tie for second place in the East with Ohio and Miami (Ohio). Kent State leads the division at 2-0.
Similar Circumstances
The Chippewas and the Falcons find themselves with first-year coaches looking to turn things around.
CMU is 4-3 under McElwain, the first time the Chippewas have been above .500 since late in the 2017 season. Bowling Green is 2-4 under Scot Loeffler, who got his coaching start at CMU in 2000-01 as the Chippewas' quarterbacks coach under Mike DeBord.
It is Loeffler's first head coaching job. CMU is the third head-coaching job for McElwain, who has also led programs at Colorado State and at Florida.
While the Chippewas have looked remarkably better under McElwain – "This team has come light years," he said two weeks ago after the Chippewas beat Eastern – the Falcons won just once in their first five games, albeit against a schedule that includes No. 8 Notre Dame, Kansas State of the Big 12, and a Louisiana Tech team that is now 5-1.
Last week, the Falcons showed signs that they, like the Chippewas, may be turning a corner as they upset Toledo, 20-7. The Rockets have been one of the MAC's marquee teams in the recent past. The win was Bowling Green's first since 2009 over the Rockets, who were picked to finish first in the MAC West in the preseason poll.
Big Change
Grant Loy, a 6-foot-5, 223-pound junior, drew his first start of the season for the Falcons against Toledo. He made a major difference, throwing for 185 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 137 yards and another TD.
"A team that rallied behind a guy, that's what I saw," McElwain said. "He was successful when he needed to throw it, he's obviously a big-bodied guy; you're going to have to do a heck of a job of wrapping him up; we didn't do a great job of wrapping up last week."
The Series
Bowling Green leads the all-time series with the Chippewas, 23-18. Saturday's game marks the Chippewas' first at Bowling Green since 2009, a 24-10 CMU win.
Under Center
Graduate student Quinten Dormady will start for the Chippewas at quarterback on Saturday. Dormady threw for 134 yards and two touchdowns on 14-of-24 passing last week in the win over New Mexico State. It was his first action since the Chippewas' 61-0 loss at Wisconsin in their second game of the season.
Dormady was injured in that game. David Moore started all four of CMU's games in the interim, but is now suspended by the NCAA for testing positive for a banned substance. Moore is appealing.
One-Two Punch
CMU sophomore Kobe Lewis ran for a career-high 161 yards and scored two touchdowns last week in the victory over New Mexico State. Senior Jonathan Ward ran for 131 yards and a TD, giving CMU two 100-yard rushers in a game for the first time since a 24-23 loss to Ball State on Oct. 13, 2018, a stretch of 12 games.
Ward, who missed the better part of three games with an injury, ranks sixth in the MAC with 531 yards rushing; Lewis (491) is seventh. Ward is averaging 106.2 yards rushing per game, which is third in the league, and is first with 144.6 all-purpose yards per game.
Next
The Chippewas go to Buffalo for a MAC game on Saturday, Oct. 26 (3:30 p.m.). The Bulls, 2-4, 0-2, play at Akron on Saturday.
After back-to-back home victories during which the offense performed particularly well, it's back on the road for the Central Michigan football team.
The Chippewas, 0-3 away from Kelly/Shorts Stadium this season, go to Bowling Green on Saturday (2 p.m.) for a Mid-American Conference game at Doyt Perry Stadium.
If the Chippewas are to be taken seriously as a program that has turned the corner and is a contender for the MAC West title, it needs road wins.
And winning on the road is a big step for any program.
"We've got to learn how to do that as we build a program," first-year coach Jim McElwain said. "We'll find out a little more about this football team and what direction we're headed."
The Chippewas are 4-3, 2-1 MAC. They're unbeaten at home after a 42-28 win last week on homecoming over New Mexico State. That victory was preceded by a 42-16 victory over Eastern Michigan, also on the Kelly/Shorts turf.
CMU amassed 660 yards rushing – 352 against New Mexico State; 308 against Eastern -- and seven touchdowns on the ground in those two games after picking up 586 combined in its first five.
It marked the first time since 1994 that the Chippewas have rushed for at least 300 yards in back-to-back games, and the 352 against New Mexico State was the most for a CMU team since 2003.
The Chippewas ranked fourth in the MAC in rushing yards per game (178.0) and their defense is No. 1 in the league against the run, surrendering just 101.3 per.
Establishing the run, and stopping it, are cornerstones of a strong team on any level. The familiar coach's refrain is that's what good teams do.
They also win on the road.
"This team's still in the discovery phase, understanding what it takes every single day to be successful," McElwain said. "The consistency is really what it takes. To be able to go on the road and win, against a good football team in a tough environment, you have to be consistent in everything you do. Any mistake is multiplied. It's something we need to learn. We'll find out."
Where They Stand
The Chippewas are tied for second place in the MAC West with Western Michigan. Both are 2-1 in league play. Ball State, which is 3-3, leads the division at 2-0. Bowling Green is in a three-way tie for second place in the East with Ohio and Miami (Ohio). Kent State leads the division at 2-0.
Similar Circumstances
The Chippewas and the Falcons find themselves with first-year coaches looking to turn things around.
CMU is 4-3 under McElwain, the first time the Chippewas have been above .500 since late in the 2017 season. Bowling Green is 2-4 under Scot Loeffler, who got his coaching start at CMU in 2000-01 as the Chippewas' quarterbacks coach under Mike DeBord.
It is Loeffler's first head coaching job. CMU is the third head-coaching job for McElwain, who has also led programs at Colorado State and at Florida.
While the Chippewas have looked remarkably better under McElwain – "This team has come light years," he said two weeks ago after the Chippewas beat Eastern – the Falcons won just once in their first five games, albeit against a schedule that includes No. 8 Notre Dame, Kansas State of the Big 12, and a Louisiana Tech team that is now 5-1.
Last week, the Falcons showed signs that they, like the Chippewas, may be turning a corner as they upset Toledo, 20-7. The Rockets have been one of the MAC's marquee teams in the recent past. The win was Bowling Green's first since 2009 over the Rockets, who were picked to finish first in the MAC West in the preseason poll.
Big Change
Grant Loy, a 6-foot-5, 223-pound junior, drew his first start of the season for the Falcons against Toledo. He made a major difference, throwing for 185 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 137 yards and another TD.
"A team that rallied behind a guy, that's what I saw," McElwain said. "He was successful when he needed to throw it, he's obviously a big-bodied guy; you're going to have to do a heck of a job of wrapping him up; we didn't do a great job of wrapping up last week."
The Series
Bowling Green leads the all-time series with the Chippewas, 23-18. Saturday's game marks the Chippewas' first at Bowling Green since 2009, a 24-10 CMU win.
Under Center
Graduate student Quinten Dormady will start for the Chippewas at quarterback on Saturday. Dormady threw for 134 yards and two touchdowns on 14-of-24 passing last week in the win over New Mexico State. It was his first action since the Chippewas' 61-0 loss at Wisconsin in their second game of the season.
Dormady was injured in that game. David Moore started all four of CMU's games in the interim, but is now suspended by the NCAA for testing positive for a banned substance. Moore is appealing.
One-Two Punch
CMU sophomore Kobe Lewis ran for a career-high 161 yards and scored two touchdowns last week in the victory over New Mexico State. Senior Jonathan Ward ran for 131 yards and a TD, giving CMU two 100-yard rushers in a game for the first time since a 24-23 loss to Ball State on Oct. 13, 2018, a stretch of 12 games.
Ward, who missed the better part of three games with an injury, ranks sixth in the MAC with 531 yards rushing; Lewis (491) is seventh. Ward is averaging 106.2 yards rushing per game, which is third in the league, and is first with 144.6 all-purpose yards per game.
Next
The Chippewas go to Buffalo for a MAC game on Saturday, Oct. 26 (3:30 p.m.). The Bulls, 2-4, 0-2, play at Akron on Saturday.
Players Mentioned
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/ FootballFootball Insider - 10.24.25
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