CMU linebacker George Douglas (17) eyes Ohio quarterback Armani Rogers during the Chippewas' 30-27 victory on Wednesday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf
Chippewa Notebook: Defense Stands Tall
11/5/2020 9:20:00 AM | Football
CMU forces 2 second-half turnovers, posts 5 sacks
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – It looked for two quarters like a shootout.
Then, the Central Michigan defense turned the tables.
The Chippewa defense turned stingy in the second half on Wednesday as CMU posted a 30-27 Mid-American Conference victory over Ohio at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
After Ohio scored late in the first half and then returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown to seize a 27-20 lead, the Chippewas swung the game in their favor forcing two turnovers, the first of which led to the game-tying TD in the third quarter.
"They gave up two big passes (in the first half)," CMU coach Jim McElwain said. "Other than that, I thought they played lights out and I'm really proud of the plan the defensive coaches put together, but more than that, the way our guys played every down. They didn't let it bother them. It was 'just go win this down,' and I thought they did that a lot."
• Linebacker George Douglas led CMU's defense with nine tackles, eight of them solo, and a fumble recovery.
• Safety Devonni Reed added eight stops, seven of them solo.
• End Troy Hairston had seven tackles including a career-high three sacks. Hairston also forced a fumble.
• Amir Siddiq posted two sacks, giving the Chippewas five on the night.
"When you talk about the sacks, one word comes to mind – interior," Hairston said. "Dudes in the middle pushing the pocket and collapsing the pocket, making those guards and centers scared."
The Chippewas tied the game on a Kobe Lewis 8-yard TD run early in the third quarter and then went ahead for good on a 22-yard Marshall Meeder field goal with 9:05 to play.
CMU had a chance to seal the game, but turned the ball over on downs at the Ohio 42-yard line with 3:12 remaining.
The Chippewa defense then delivered as Troy Brown batted down a pass at the CMU 20 on the Bobcats' final offensive play of the game with 28 seconds remaining.
"We had a chance to ice it offensively and didn't," McElwain said. "And yet (the defense) didn't even blink. Our defense went back out and took care of business. That's what good teams do. When one side needs a pickup the other side's there to help."
Nice Debuts
While redshirt freshman quarterback Daniel Richardson rightfully garnered much of the attention in his first start as a Chippewa, several other CMU youngsters made the most of their first opportunities.
Meeder, a freshman from Eaton Rapids, kicked his first career field goal in his first game in a CMU uniform, and it turned out to be the game-winner.
Punter Luke Elzinga, a redshirt freshman from Grand Rapids, was sterling in his CMU debut. He averaged 47.2 yards on five punts with a long of 76 yards – that came on his first collegiate punt – and three of his punts were downed inside the Ohio 20-yard line.
Team Effort
Lewis finished with 112 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, and he earned every yard. His longest rush of the night went for 11 yards.
Lew Nichols added 31 yards on nine carries, and Darius Bracy had 28 on just three carries. All three of Bracy's carries came from the wildcat formation, and several of Lewis' did.
The Chippewas finished with 184 rushing yards, a good percentage of which came in the second half.
They ran behind an offensive line, several members of which were starting or playing full time for the first time in their respective careers. Richardson was never sacked despite attempting 41 passes.
"I think that's a group that we're going to be able to lean on a little bit," said McElwain of the Lewis-Nichols-Bracy combination. "Let's not forget that O line that is kind of new. They hung in there most of the game in keeping guys off of D-Rich and giving us a little bit of running room."
There was a veteran presence along the offensive line in the likes of senior right tackle Derek Smith, who made his 24th career start (16th consecutive) and junior center Jamezz Kimbrough, who was making his 13th start though it was it first since 2018.
It was the third career start for sophomore right guard Danny Motowski and the first for right guard Deiyantie Powell-Woods, also a sophomore. It was the first career start at tackle for junior Bernhard Raimann, who moved over from tight end prior to the season.
Telling of how solid CMU's offense was the fact that the Chippewas finished with 24 first downs to Ohio's 16, and CMU ran 88 offensive plays to the Bobcats' 58.
100-yard milestone
It was the sixth career 100-yard game for Lewis, and his 28 carries marked a career high.
"Personally, I'm not satisfied," Lewis said. "I know we can be a lot better than what we showed today, but we did come out on top and with us getting this win that's a big confidence booster. It lets a lot of us know where we're at and what we have to work on. The confidence level is high, the expectations are high."
Lewis also caught five passes, tying for the team lead with Kalil Pimpleton, for 34 yards, giving him 146 all-purpose yards on the night.
On the Receiving End
Pimpleton finished with five catches for a team-high 43 yards while Lewis had four receptions for 29.
Two other Chippewas, JaCorey Sullivan and Dallas Dixon, a transfer from Northern Michigan playing his first game at CMU, had three receptions apiece.
Lights Out
With just over a minute remaining in the first half, the Kelly/Shorts Stadium lights went out with Ohio at the CMU 10-yard line.
The officials made the decision to send the teams to their respective locker rooms for the 20-minute halftime.
When the teams returned, the Bobcats capped the drive with a TD to tie the game, 20-20. When time expired on the second quarter, the game went immediately to the third, and Ohio returned the second-half kickoff for a TD and a 27-20 lead.
"I haven't had the lights go out in a game before," McElwain said, adding that "I thought (the players) handled it really well. Here's the good thing about this football team: they didn't blink (with Ohio's two quick scores). Even when that happened, they stayed positive, they stayed involved and that was huge."
The Series
Wednesday's victory was CMU's ninth in its last 10 meetings with Ohio. The Chippewas are 26-5-2 all-time against the Bobcats, and 15-2-1 in Mount Pleasant.
Home Sweet Home
The Chippewas have won seven-consecutive homes games. They went 6-0 at Kelly/Shorts in 2019, when they won the MAC West title.
Back to 'Normal'
Simply getting the opportunity to play a football game was an achievement in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine.
McElwain, as he has maintained since the MAC reinstated football in August, was philosophical.
"You learn not to take things for granted and to be grateful for your opportunities because there was a time where it was taken away," he said. "I really think all of us learned how important it is, and how important it is to everybody on the team to go out and play. My hat's off to this conference, our president, and this university for letting us follow through and do this. I'm really happy and proud of those kids."
Next
The Chippewas go to Northern Illinois for a MAC game on Wednesday, Nov. 11 (8 p.m. ET/ESPNU). The Huskies fell to Buffalo, 49-30, in their season opener.
Ohio was CMU's lone MAC East regular-season opponent in the abbreviated 2020 season. The remainder are MAC West foes. The other two MAC West teams to win their openers were Toledo and Western Michigan.
CMU entertains the Broncos on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
Then, the Central Michigan defense turned the tables.
The Chippewa defense turned stingy in the second half on Wednesday as CMU posted a 30-27 Mid-American Conference victory over Ohio at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
After Ohio scored late in the first half and then returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown to seize a 27-20 lead, the Chippewas swung the game in their favor forcing two turnovers, the first of which led to the game-tying TD in the third quarter.
"They gave up two big passes (in the first half)," CMU coach Jim McElwain said. "Other than that, I thought they played lights out and I'm really proud of the plan the defensive coaches put together, but more than that, the way our guys played every down. They didn't let it bother them. It was 'just go win this down,' and I thought they did that a lot."
• Linebacker George Douglas led CMU's defense with nine tackles, eight of them solo, and a fumble recovery.
• Safety Devonni Reed added eight stops, seven of them solo.
• End Troy Hairston had seven tackles including a career-high three sacks. Hairston also forced a fumble.
• Amir Siddiq posted two sacks, giving the Chippewas five on the night.
"When you talk about the sacks, one word comes to mind – interior," Hairston said. "Dudes in the middle pushing the pocket and collapsing the pocket, making those guards and centers scared."
The Chippewas tied the game on a Kobe Lewis 8-yard TD run early in the third quarter and then went ahead for good on a 22-yard Marshall Meeder field goal with 9:05 to play.
CMU had a chance to seal the game, but turned the ball over on downs at the Ohio 42-yard line with 3:12 remaining.
The Chippewa defense then delivered as Troy Brown batted down a pass at the CMU 20 on the Bobcats' final offensive play of the game with 28 seconds remaining.
"We had a chance to ice it offensively and didn't," McElwain said. "And yet (the defense) didn't even blink. Our defense went back out and took care of business. That's what good teams do. When one side needs a pickup the other side's there to help."
Nice Debuts
While redshirt freshman quarterback Daniel Richardson rightfully garnered much of the attention in his first start as a Chippewa, several other CMU youngsters made the most of their first opportunities.
Meeder, a freshman from Eaton Rapids, kicked his first career field goal in his first game in a CMU uniform, and it turned out to be the game-winner.
Punter Luke Elzinga, a redshirt freshman from Grand Rapids, was sterling in his CMU debut. He averaged 47.2 yards on five punts with a long of 76 yards – that came on his first collegiate punt – and three of his punts were downed inside the Ohio 20-yard line.
Team Effort
Lewis finished with 112 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, and he earned every yard. His longest rush of the night went for 11 yards.
Lew Nichols added 31 yards on nine carries, and Darius Bracy had 28 on just three carries. All three of Bracy's carries came from the wildcat formation, and several of Lewis' did.
The Chippewas finished with 184 rushing yards, a good percentage of which came in the second half.
They ran behind an offensive line, several members of which were starting or playing full time for the first time in their respective careers. Richardson was never sacked despite attempting 41 passes.
"I think that's a group that we're going to be able to lean on a little bit," said McElwain of the Lewis-Nichols-Bracy combination. "Let's not forget that O line that is kind of new. They hung in there most of the game in keeping guys off of D-Rich and giving us a little bit of running room."
There was a veteran presence along the offensive line in the likes of senior right tackle Derek Smith, who made his 24th career start (16th consecutive) and junior center Jamezz Kimbrough, who was making his 13th start though it was it first since 2018.
It was the third career start for sophomore right guard Danny Motowski and the first for right guard Deiyantie Powell-Woods, also a sophomore. It was the first career start at tackle for junior Bernhard Raimann, who moved over from tight end prior to the season.
Telling of how solid CMU's offense was the fact that the Chippewas finished with 24 first downs to Ohio's 16, and CMU ran 88 offensive plays to the Bobcats' 58.
100-yard milestone
It was the sixth career 100-yard game for Lewis, and his 28 carries marked a career high.
"Personally, I'm not satisfied," Lewis said. "I know we can be a lot better than what we showed today, but we did come out on top and with us getting this win that's a big confidence booster. It lets a lot of us know where we're at and what we have to work on. The confidence level is high, the expectations are high."
Lewis also caught five passes, tying for the team lead with Kalil Pimpleton, for 34 yards, giving him 146 all-purpose yards on the night.
On the Receiving End
Pimpleton finished with five catches for a team-high 43 yards while Lewis had four receptions for 29.
Two other Chippewas, JaCorey Sullivan and Dallas Dixon, a transfer from Northern Michigan playing his first game at CMU, had three receptions apiece.
Lights Out
With just over a minute remaining in the first half, the Kelly/Shorts Stadium lights went out with Ohio at the CMU 10-yard line.
The officials made the decision to send the teams to their respective locker rooms for the 20-minute halftime.
When the teams returned, the Bobcats capped the drive with a TD to tie the game, 20-20. When time expired on the second quarter, the game went immediately to the third, and Ohio returned the second-half kickoff for a TD and a 27-20 lead.
"I haven't had the lights go out in a game before," McElwain said, adding that "I thought (the players) handled it really well. Here's the good thing about this football team: they didn't blink (with Ohio's two quick scores). Even when that happened, they stayed positive, they stayed involved and that was huge."
The Series
Wednesday's victory was CMU's ninth in its last 10 meetings with Ohio. The Chippewas are 26-5-2 all-time against the Bobcats, and 15-2-1 in Mount Pleasant.
Home Sweet Home
The Chippewas have won seven-consecutive homes games. They went 6-0 at Kelly/Shorts in 2019, when they won the MAC West title.
Back to 'Normal'
Simply getting the opportunity to play a football game was an achievement in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine.
McElwain, as he has maintained since the MAC reinstated football in August, was philosophical.
"You learn not to take things for granted and to be grateful for your opportunities because there was a time where it was taken away," he said. "I really think all of us learned how important it is, and how important it is to everybody on the team to go out and play. My hat's off to this conference, our president, and this university for letting us follow through and do this. I'm really happy and proud of those kids."
Next
The Chippewas go to Northern Illinois for a MAC game on Wednesday, Nov. 11 (8 p.m. ET/ESPNU). The Huskies fell to Buffalo, 49-30, in their season opener.
Ohio was CMU's lone MAC East regular-season opponent in the abbreviated 2020 season. The remainder are MAC West foes. The other two MAC West teams to win their openers were Toledo and Western Michigan.
CMU entertains the Broncos on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
P
/ Football
OL
/ Football
RB
/ Football
K
/ Football
OL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
OL
/ Football
DB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
WR
/ FootballCoach Drinkall Press Conference Vs. Wagner
Saturday, September 20
Cochran Press Conference Vs. Wagner
Saturday, September 20
Labas Press Conference Vs. Wagner
Saturday, September 20
FB v. Wagner Broadcast Melt
Saturday, September 20