Inside the Numbers: CMU Offense

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The numbers, it's said, tell the story.

And the story of the 2019 Central Michigan football team? Awfully good, relatively speaking, by comparison.

The Chippewas are 6-4, have reached bowl eligibility, are 4-2 in the Mid-American Conference and very much in the hunt for the West Division championship and are alive for a berth in the MAC Championship Game.

Two division games remain, at Ball State on Nov. 16 and at home against Toledo on Nov. 29. If the Chippewas win both, they will guarantee themselves a share the division crown. In order to reach the MAC title game, Western Michigan, also 4-2 in league play, would need to lose one of its final two conference games. The Broncos hold the tie-breaker over the Chippewas.

Any way you look at it, and there are myriad ways, it's remarkable for a Chippewa program that won just one game a year ago.

First-year coach Jim McElwain has re-energized the program and clearly put it on the right track and, with a few notable exceptions, the turnaround has come with much the same personnel that he inherited, particularly on offense, which is led by coordinator/quarterbacks coach Charlie Frye.

"Proud of what our offensive staff has done with a lot of the same pieces, and being able to push the ball, become more explosive …. That obviously really helps you," McElwain said, adding that as the offense has continued to consistently produce, it has grown more confident.

"But what causes the confidence?" he said. "What they are finally starting to see is (that) what they do in practice during the week, the preparation that goes into it, that's what helps them with that confidence come Saturday, and I've been really proud of how these guys practice."

The numbers don't lie:

• CMU has scored 300 points through 10 games after scoring 180 last season. The Chippewas are averaging 30 points per game. Last year, they averaged 15.

• The Chippewas have amassed 221 first downs (they had 181 last year) and rank eighth nationally in that category.

• They rank third in the MAC in total offense with 4,391 yards after finishing with 3,056 a year ago. CMU is a very respectable 38^th nationally; a year ago, the Chippewas were second-to-last at 129.

• Individually, Jonathan Ward and Kobe Lewis have rushed for 863 and 788 yards, respectively, and the Chippewas have gained 1,900 on the ground. Last season, they rushed for 1,442 yards and the leading rusher finished with a 12-game total of 402.

• The passing game has shown drastic improvement, with 2,491 yards compared to 1,614 a year ago.

Yes, the Chippewas' top two quarterbacks, Quinten Dormady and David Moore, are transfers who came into the program prior to the 2019 season; and, yes, wide receiver Kalil Pimpleton – who leads the Chippewas and ranks in the top 25 nationally with 62 receptions – sat out last season after transferring; and, yes, the impact of moving Tony Poljan from quarterback to tight end has been immense.

Ceratinly, there are some new parts in the engine, and there is a new driver. But the vehicle has remained largely the same, on the whole. And McElwain, who has been in the coaching business for nearly 30 years, knows where to give the initial credit.

"It really starts up front, that's what really allows you to do some things, be creative in both the run game and the pass game," he said.

The Chippewas have started the same five across the offensive line in all 10 of their games: center Steve Eipper, guards Uge Udeogu and Derek Smith, and tackles Clay Walderzak and Luke Goedeke.

"Their communication, understanding what the guy next to you is going to do, and since we've been here we have really harped on that piece of it," McElwain said. "We haven't had a lot of missed declarations, that's a credit to film study and our guys knowing what to do."

Having backs like Ward and Lewis helps. Both possess the shiftiness to make defenders miss and "finishing speed" as McElwain terms it. Ward's longest run of the season is 86 yards, Lewis' is 75. Those two plays are among countless game-changing explosives the Chippewas have produced in 2019.

"If we can get some bodies on (defenders), even if you leave a guy unblocked, our runners are good enough that if we can just get a guy in space you've got a chance of making the guy miss," he said.

The defense has done its part as well. The Chippewas rank third in the MAC in total defense, and their performance has helped in possession time, an often-ignored statistic that is telling about how good a team is on both sides of the ball.

The Chippewas are possessing the ball for nearly 31 minutes per game and rank fourth in the MAC in that category. Last year, they were last in the 12-team league at just under 27 minutes. The difference may not seem significant, on paper, but it plays a major role in any given game and over the course of the season.

"I think the defense's ability to get the ball back helps in that, and obviously your special teams allows you to get field position which now you can be a little more aggressive," McElwain said. "So there a lot of things that go into that."

McElwain pointed to last week's 48-10 home win over Northern Illinois. The Chippewas simply dominated from start to finish as the offense amassed a season-high 615 total yards and the defense held the Huskies to 215, pitching a shutout in the second half after CMU led at the break, 38-10.

"I think in that last game we had close to 20 explosive plays and that obviously really helps you," McElwain said. "It's your players, and understanding the plan. I think we play much better situational football, I think we are understanding what the situations are and the guys practicing every week, I see a comfort in them knowing what's coming, and that's really helped."

Central Michigan University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Quinten Dormady

Steve Eipper

Luke Goedeke

Kobe Lewis

David Moore

Kalil Pimpleton

Tony Poljan

Derek Smith

Clay Walderzak

Jonathan Ward

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