Back Home, And Back To The MAC

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – CMU's first two football games of 2019 were important and attention-grabbing on several fronts, both for the buildup and the results.

Saturday's Mid-American Conference opener against Akron at Kelly/Shorts Stadium may, in fact, reveal more about where the program stands and where it is headed than either of the Chippewas' first two games, a 38-21 win over Albany in Jim McElwain's CMU coaching debut, and a 61-0 loss at Wisconsin.

"Our zero-in focus has been, from the get-go, obviously winning our home games," McElwain said. "I look at this truly as a measure to see where we're at from where we started."

Saturday's game (3 p.m. kickoff) is CMU's first apples-to-apples game of the season. Albany is a Football Championship Subdivision team, while Wisconsin is a top-20 team out of the Big Ten.

The loss at Wisconsin, while certainly decisive, wasn't devastating. A week-two loss, no matter how bad, should not ruin a season. The Chippewas have plenty to play for.

"I think we just focus on our jobs and come in every day, ready to work," junior guard Derek Smith said. "That's the big thing, that's how you bounce back; you just have to come back in and grind. We've put it in the rearview mirror and said let's go. We've got the conference (opener) this week. We're going to focus on us and do our jobs."

Out
The Chippewas will be without two of their most high-profile players, at least for Saturday and likely beyond.

Quarterback Quinten Dormady and running back Jonathan Ward were both injured at Wisconsin and neither will play against Akron. McElwain said there is no definitive timetable for the return of either player.

"Significantly more than two (weeks), hopefully not as many as eight," McElwain said when asked how long either player might be out. "Right now it's all in the doctors hands; … Time will tell; I would hope we get (them) back sooner than later."

Junior David Moore will start at quarterback for the Chippewas with senior Tommy Lazzaro serving as the backup. Moore is a transfer from Garden City (Kan.) C.C. Moore completed three of his 11 pass attempts for one net yard after replacing Dormady in the first half last week at Wisconsin. Lazzaro also played last week at Wisconsin and led the Chippewas with 11 rushing yards.

"We've got total confidence in David," McElwain said. "Nothing changes in the game plan; he can execute everything we want from him and he's excited about it and he'll go out and play well."

Kobe Lewis will start at running back in place of Ward, who appeared against Albany to have recaptured the explosiveness he put on display two years ago as a sophomore, when he gained nearly 1,500 yards from scrimmage. He rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns against the Great Danes.

Lewis, a sophomore, had 50 yards on 13 attempts against Albany; he had seven yards on three attempts against Wisconsin.

Silver Lining
Nobody – no coach, no player, no fan – likes enduring a game such as the Chippewas did last week at Wisconsin.

Still, there were things to learn from it, McElwain said, including the fact that his coaching staff got an opportunity to take a long look at their entire traveling roster under game conditions against perhaps the best opponent that CMU will see this season.

"Obviously we are not proud at all about how we played a week ago, and yet there are some things that we can build on and actually learn from more importantly," he said. "Every guy that was on the trip played significant snaps, so we were able to see some guys that truly want to go compete. That was a good thing."

Scouting
The Zips are 0-2 after opening with a 42-3 loss at Illinois and then falling last week, at home, to Alabama-Birmingham, 31-20.

Tom Arth is in his first season as Akron's coach. Arth, a quarterback who played in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts, coached Tennessee Chattanooga to a combined 9-13 record over the past two seasons. He spent four years at Division III John Carroll, just outside Cleveland, where he compiled a 40-8 mark.

Dual-threat quarterback Kato Nelson leads the Akron offense. He ranks fifth in the MAC with 481 yards passing.

"What I'm impressed with with him is that he takes what the defense gives him," McElwain said. "Where we have been struggling is probably their strengths. Let's call it the way it is. Our (pass) coverage and pass rush ability is something that's got to get better.

"(Nelson will) take off and beat you with his feet; those are the guys that are scary."

The Series
CMU leads the series with Akron, 16-10-1. The Zips won last season, 17-10, in Akron. The Chippewas are 9-4 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium against Akron and have won 11 of the last 13 meetings overall.

Connections
• CMU offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Charlie Frye is one of the top quarterbacks to have ever played at Akron. He is the program's career leader in passing yards (11,049), one of 54 Akron records he set. He was inducted into the Akron Hall of Fame in 2014.

Next
The Chippewas go to Miami (Fla.) on Saturday, Sept. 21 (4 p.m.). The Hurricanes (0-2) play host to Bethune-Cookman on Saturday. Miami, which has not started 0-2 since 1978, has lost to Florida, 24-20; and to North Carolina, 28-25.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Quinten Dormady

Tommy Lazzaro

Kobe Lewis

David Moore

Derek Smith

Jonathan Ward