Chippewa Notebook: Chippewas Look Ahead To 2021

Freshman placekicker Marshall Meeder kicked a career-long 53-yard field goal on Saturday in the Chippewas' loss at Toledo.

Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf

12/13/2020 11:23:00 AM | Football

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

TOLEDO, Ohio – With the season in the rearview mirror, the Central Michigan football program is looking ahead.

The Chippewas closed the 2020 season with a 24-23 Mid-American Conference loss to Toledo on Saturday at the Rockets' Glass Bowl. CMU finished 3-3 in the COVID-19-shortened season.

"My hat's off to the program and the people involved in just getting through this and how we got through it," second-year coach Jim McElwain said. "All the testing. The kids basically bubbling themselves. They did a fantastic job with that. Proud of them for that."

The Chippewas will reconvene in early January and will welcome a slew of new faces – student-athletes who would have been freshmen members of the team this fall but were kept out because of COVID.

In addition, CMU will in 2021 welcome a new class of recruits who are expected to sign next week. All of those newcomers will join a group that will include a number of players who are seniors this year and could return to the program next season should they choose to exercise that option.

The Chippewas will have upwards of 50 new faces by the time they open fall camp next August.

"I guarantee this offseason is going to test some guys," McElwain said. "We really didn't get (an offseason) a year ago. We get back we'll find out who really wants to be here."

The Defense
Outside linebacker Troy Brown posted a career-high 14 tackles in the Chippewas' loss at Toledo. He also had two of CMU's six sacks. His two sacks were among his four tackles-for-loss.

Brown's previous career best tackle total was 12, and he posted that total twice, the last time a week ago in CMU's loss to Ball State.

Troy Hairston II made two sacks on Saturday to finish the six-game season with 5.5, which leads the MAC.

The Chippewas finished the game with six sacks, tying for the second most by a MAC team in a game this season.

CMU recorded three interceptions for the second-consecutive week. In all, CMU forced four turnovers, interceptions by Willie Reid, David Bowens III and Dishon McNary, and a fumble forced by George Douglas and recovered by McNary.

It was Reid's MAC-leading third interception of the season, and it was the first career pick for both McNary and Bowens.

CMU leads the MAC with eight interceptions and ranks second with 18 sacks.

Run Game
The Chippewas rushed for 197 yards against the Rockets. Redshirt freshman Lew Nichols III led CMU with 101 yards and finished the season with 508 yards and a 6.5-yard average. His backfield mate, junior Kobe Lewis, ran for 58 yards on 18 carries against the Rockets and finished the year with 468 yards and a 4.5-yard average.

Kicking Game
CMU placekicker Marshall Meeder kicked three field goals, including a career-long 53-yarder, and finished his freshman season a perfect 8-for-8 in field goal tries. He had a 51-yarder last week in the Chippewas' win at Eastern Michigan.

Luke Elzinga, a redshirt freshman, punted nine times for an average of 41.3 yards against the Rockets. Three of his punts were downed inside the Toledo 20-yard line and his longest punt of the game covered 53 yards.

Elzinga ranks second in the MAC in punting average (43.2 yards per) and six of his 33 punts this season traveled 50 yards or more. His first career punt, which came in the Chippewas' season-opener at home against Ohio, traveled 76 yards and ranks as the longest punt this season in the MAC.

"I think the future's real bright with both of those kids," McElwain said. "We've obviously got to get better on kickoff cover plays because we're just giving teams too good of starting spots on that."

Meeder and Elzinga shared the kickoff duties this season, averaging 53.4 yards per, ranking 11^th in the 12-team league in that category.