Chippewas Go Down Swinging In Miami

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Just about everything but a win.

And in the long run, the Central Michigan football program may look back on the first month of the 2019 season as one where it went from crawling to walking.

The Chippewas stood toe-to-toe with Atlantic Coast Conference member Miami (Fla.) on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium, never backing down in what turned into a battle of defenses.

The Hurricanes got a 17-12 win; the Chippewas, perhaps, some respect and a level of self-discovery – maybe belief -- as they head into next weekend's battle with archrival Western Michigan in Kalamazoo.

"I'm really proud of those kids in that locker room," first-year CMU coach Jim McElwain said. "They made a decision and a choice this week to go out and really play hard, and I'll tell you what, we played hard, which was great to see.

"Anytime you lose it hurts; for the first time I kind of felt in that locker room there was a little bit of pain and that's not a bad thing."

It was, perhaps, a barometer for how far the Chippewas have come in McElwain's four games in charge of the program. They lost in their last game with a Power 5 opponent, Wisconsin, 61-0, two weeks ago.

No, Miami is not Wisconsin, which is a top-10 team and certainly in the national-championship conversation. But Miami is out of a Power 5 conference and the Hurricanes certainly have the pedigree and the talent to rate among college football's storied programs.

"I think the biggest piece that we took from it is if you really go make your mind up you've got an opportunity to do anything you want," McElwain said. "I think at the end of the day, when it's all said and done, I asked our guys to do one thing, when the game was over be able to look yourself in the mirror and say, you know what, I gave everything I had.

"We had about 63 guys on the trip that gave everything they had and as a staff, as a coach, I'm really proud of them. They're starting to understand that people around them rely on them. We had some guys playing together today; it was good to see."

Miami (2-2) scored touchdowns on its first possession of the game and its first of the third quarter and then added a field goal in building a 17-5 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The Chippewas (2-2), who got a first-half safety and then a career-long 53-yard field goal from Ryan Tice, never packed it in against a stubborn Miami defense ranked among the best in the nation.

CMU finally broke through with a touchdown on a David Moore quarterback sneak, pulling to within 17-12 with just over three minutes to play and keeping them one play away from taking the lead.

Miami had enough in its offensive tank to milk the clock and leave the Chippewas with just 39 seconds to go 95 yards for the game-winning score. That proved too tall a task, and the end came on an interception with 6 seconds remaining, the Chippewas still swinging.

"That was a great effort," defensive tackle Robi Stuart said. "We really looked inside ourselves and really saw what we had to do. I respect every single one of the guys on my team. They all put everything they had out on the line today. Proud to call them my teammates."

Next Event

Team Stats

David Moore

Tommy Lazzaro

Players Mentioned

David Moore

Robi Stuart

Ryan Tice

Players Mentioned

David Moore

Robi Stuart

Ryan Tice