Chippewa Notebook: Numbers Tell The Tale Of Dominance

CMU coach Jim McElwain is doused by his players in the waning moments of Friday's 49-7 victory over Toledo at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

Photo by: Robert Barclay

11/29/2019 8:36:00 PM | Football

Ward surpasses 1,000-yard mark; Lewis on the doorstep

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Any coach's desire is to have his team playing its best at the end of the season, when it most counts.

As good as the Central Michigan football team has increasingly been throughout the 2019 season, it would be hard to argue that it has been any better than it was on Friday in its 49-7 trouncing of Toledo at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in the regular-season finale.

• CMU outgained the Rockets by nearly 300 yards in total offense

• It held a 2-to-1 edge in first downs, and allowed Toledo to convert on just three of its 12 third downs.

• Toledo's Bryant Roback, who entered the game with 1,143 rushing yards and averaging more than six yards per carry, finished with just 22 yards.

• The Rockets entered the game leading the MAC with 237.4 yards rushing per game. They finished with 83, their lowest total of the season.

"Not going to run the ball on the Chippewa defense like that," CMU middle linebacker Michael Oliver said.

It was indeed a dominant performance, on both sides of the ball, by a Chippewa team that has won six of its last seven starts and now has its first outright Mid-American Conference West Division championship since 2009.

The tone was set when Jim McElwain met with the players shortly after being named to head the program last December, senior running back Jonathan Ward said.

"It feels good to be the MAC West champions, but we didn't expect anything less than that," Ward said. "The day coach Mac stepped foot in this room, as soon as he came in here, we loved his demeanor, we loved his message to the team, we loved that he was about business, so we bought in. … We just needed to go out and execute the plan.

"We accomplished another milestone, but we still have another to accomplish, so you know the next milestone is winning the MAC championship."

The RedHawks
CMU will play Miami (Ohio) in the MAC Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 7 (noon) at Ford Field in Detroit. It is CMU's first appearance in the MAC title game since 2009, when it defeated Ohio, 20-10, and then went on to beat Troy, 44-41, in double overtime in the GMAC Bowl to finish 12-2.

The RedHawks won the East with a 6-2 league record, dropping their regular-season finale on Friday at Ball State, 41-27. They led the game 27-14 at halftime. Miami, which is 7-5 overall, had already wrapped up the East crown before the game.

Ward's Milestone
Ward carried 13 times for 88 yards and a touchdown as he surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in his career. He has 1,056 yards this season, a remarkable achievement considering that he missed the better part of three games with an injury.

It marks the 38^th time that a Chippewa has rushed for 1,000 yards in a season, and Ward is just the eighth in program history to accomplish the feat twice in his career. He ran for 1,019 yards as a sophomore in 2017. The last Chippewa to have two 1,000-yard seasons was Jerry Seymour in 2003 and in 2004.

Sophomore Kobe Lewis led the Chippewas with 131 yards and two TDs on Friday, bringing his season rushing total to 955. If he passes the 1,000-yard plateau, it would mark the first time in history that CMU has had two 1,000-yard rushers in a single season.

The Defense
Oliver led the Chippewa defense with eight tackles, while Da'Quaun Jamison and Chuck Jones recorded six stops each.

The Chippewas posted 10 tackles-for-loss including one sack, by Robi Stuart, his third of the season. CMU also forced two fumbles and Jamison recorded two of CMU's four pass breakups.

Efficiency at QB
CMU quarterback Quinten Dormady was about as efficient as could be, completing 15 of his 19 pass attempts for 250 yards and two scores.

The Chippewas' unique one-two quarterback combination of Dormady and Tommy Lazzaro was put on full display in the game. Lazzaro scored two TDs, the first on a 1-yard run and the second on an 8-yarder. Both came in the first half as CMU jumped to a 28-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

Lazzaro generally enters the game in short-yardage and goal-line situations. He carried five times for 32 yards on Friday, giving him 76 yards on 22 attempts with four TDs this season.

"I think that personally I'm probably the best quarterback to get us inside the 5 (yard line) and he gets to get all the touchdowns, that's kind of the running joke," Dormady quipped.

Spreading the Wealth
Dormady spread the ball to six different receivers. JaCorey Sullivan led the Chippewas with five receptions for 83 yards, while Kalil Pimpleton had four catches for 33.

Pimpleton leads the MAC in both receptions (73) and receiving yardage (711). Sullivan is eighth with 47 catches and is fourth with 712 yards.

Big Numbers
The Chippewas scored a program-record 264 points in their six home games this season. The previous mark was 253 by the 2009 squad, which played five home games.

CMU allowed just 106 points at Kelly/Shorts this season, winning all six of its home games by an average of 28.4 points. The Chippewas allowed just 17 points in their final two home games, a 48-10 win over Northern Illinois and Friday's victory over Toledo.

"I think each week we get a little bit better," said McElwain, who has spoken frequently about getting stronger, physically, as the season progresses. "We are discovering more about ourselves and that is important. Credit our guys and what our administration has been able to do for us as far as the nutrition piece, feeding our guys and staying strong. I think that is starting to show as we get later in the season.

"One goal that we had was to make this stadium a place that not a lot of people want to come play in. We had six opportunities in this stadium and we won them all, and that's really an important goal and that is something we set fourth at the beginning. It was great to see our guys accomplish that goal."

Fallen Teammate
The Chippewas lost starting offensive lineman Oge Udeogu to a broken arm in Friday's game. He was to undergo surgery on Friday night, McElwain said.

Udeogu, a senior from Nigeria, transferred to CMU before the season from Iowa State. He started all 12 games at right guard.

"He's a great teammate the guys love him, we love him and we'll get that thing fixed and get him ready for pro day (in the spring)," McElwain said. "But that's obviously a big loss and I just feel for him, since he's come here he's really invested in being a Chippewa and that's pretty awesome. Look, this guy is going to be successful in whatever he chooses to do. I'm just glad he let us to be a part of his senior year and to come here and help the Chippewas."

It is the first significant injury among the Chiippewas' starting offensive line. Udeogu, tackles Clay Walderzak and Luke Goedeke, center Steve Eipper, and guard Derek Smith started all 12 regular-season games.

Motivation
As has been well documented, the Chippewas were picked to finish sixth in the six-team MAC West in the preseason poll in July.

Certainly, that served as motivation.

"I've got one sign in my office, it says 'dead last,'" McElwain said. "That's what people think of you; let's go out and prove them different."