Football Notebook: Nichols Continues To Dazzle

CMU linebacker George Douglas (17) celebrates a big play in the Chippewas' win on Wednesday at Ball State.

Photo by: Keara Chaperon '22

11/18/2021 12:45:00 AM | Football

CMU defense stands tall, puts the hammer down on Cardinals

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MUNCIE, Ind. – Surely, Lew Nichols III must get tired at some point, right?

Don't count on it.

The Central Michigan running back continued his remarkable 2021 season on Wednesday, rushing for a career-high 219 yards on 32 carries in leading the Chippewas to their third consecutive dominant victory, this one an oh-so-satisfying 37-17 pasting of Ball State in the rain at the Cardinals' Scheumann Stadium.

Nichols' performance came one week after his 215-yard, four-TD, 43-carry performance in a 54-30 victory over Kent State.

"Starting every week with good treatment and recovery," Nichols said in explaining his ability to remain fresh and ultra productive despite the workload against defenses that are designed to stop him. "And just the whole offseason, just working out. You train and practice for moments like this. This is the moment when we get stronger. Doing fine."

How about better than just fine?

Nichols, the reigning Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year, upped his season rushing total to 1,516 yards and 14 TDs on 267 attempts. He caught one pass for 17 yards on Wednesday, giving him 36 receptions for 261 yards and two TDs through the air this season.

He has 1,777 yards and 16 TDs on 303 touches.

His rushing total is the third best in program history behind Brian Pruitt's 1,890 yards in 1994 and Silas Massey's 1,544 in 1996. His 267 rushing attempts tie him for seventh in a single season and his 14 rushing TDs tie him eighth. His 16 total TDs are tied for sixth.

Savor It
CMU coach Jim McElwain said he was embarrassed last season after the Chippewas lost, 45-20, at home to the Cardinals. Ball State dominated that game en route to winning the MAC championship.

Beating the Cardinals on Wednesday in the manner that the Chippewas did – they rolled up a whopping 567 yards in total offense – was particularly satisfying for the maroon and gold, which has won each of its last four trips to Ball State.

"I really felt like we should have got 50 (points) to be honest," McElwain said. "At the end of the day, we wanted to try to have a dominant win and I felt we did. Last year obviously they just kicked our tails. Felt good (tonight)."

Said Nichols: "Last year they came in and they spanked us on the way to winning the MAC. It definitely made it personal for the whole team, coming out here on their field and doing what we had to do."

'Restoring Order'
The victory over Ball State gave CMU wins over the three teams it lost to in the 2020 season, including Western Michigan and Toledo.

"I think you call it restoring the order," McElwain said. "Problem is we lost to Northern Illinois and Miami of Ohio."

And while the Chippewas are now 7-4 and 5-2 MAC, they cannot win the West Division because they trail Northern Illinois, which clinched the division with a 33-27 overtime win at Buffalo on Wednesday. The Huskies are 6-1 in league play and hold the tie-breaker over the Chippewas, the result of their 39-38 win in Mount Pleasant on Oct. 23. CMU's other league loss came at Miami (Ohio). The RedHawks lead the East at 5-2 in conference play.

Plenty Ahead
The Chippewas solidified their bowl eligibility with their seventh win, and they close the regular season at Kelly/Shorts Stadium against Eastern Michigan on Friday, Nov. 26 (noon).

The Eagles are 7-4, 4-3 after a 22-21 win over Western Michigan on Tuesday.

CMU and EMU will play for the Michigan MAC Trophy, which goes to the Michigan-based MAC member with the best record among CMU, EMU and WMU. The last time the Chippewas held the trophy was in 2017.

The Defense
McElwain had high praise – as well he should – for his defense after Wednesday's victory.

Outside of two long Ball State scoring drives, CMU's defense delivered plenty of big plays at crucial times to keep the Cardinals at bay, just as it did in previous wins over Western Michigan and Kent State.

"I was really proud of the way our guys played and I was most proud of our defense," McElwain said. "We affected the passer and he's a really good quarterback. Just really happy about the way our guys played."

The Chippewa defensive front kept steady pressure on Ball State quarterback Drew Plitt, a fifth-year senior in his third year as the Cardinals' starter, and the defense as a whole was credited with eight pass breakups, several of which were bat-downs from defensive linemen at the line of scrimmage.

"Our D line, we work on that every day, literally every day," said defensive tackle Jacques Bristol, who was credited with two pass breakups. "That was a key thing for us coming into this game. Basically getting your hands up will affect the game a lot, which it did."

Devonni Reed recorded an interception and was one of six Chippewas to lead the defense with six tackles each. Troy Brown, Troy Hairston, Rolliann Sturkey, Kyle Moretti and Kumehnnu Gwilly were the others.

Tyrece Woods Jr., a sophomore in his first season at CMU after transferring from Buffalo, had both of the Chippewas' sacks.

Game Changer
Bristol made one of the biggest plays of the night when he stuffed Ball State running back Carson Steele for a 2-yard loss on fourth down at the CMU 32-yard line midway through the second quarter. The Chippewas led, 21-10, at the time.

Bristol's stop gave CMU possession at its own 34. On the next play, Nichols raced 66 yards for a TD to increase the lead to 28-10.

"That was a great moment," Bristol said. "I give the credit to my teammates because the linebackers called out the play."

Pimpleton Electrifies
While Nichols garnered the spotlight as he has increasingly done in recent games, wide receiver Kalil Pimpleton did more than his share of damage.

The speedy and diminutive junior finished with seven catches for a career-high 144 yards and a touchdown. The reception total is one shy of his season high.

His TD came when he took a short flip behind the line of scrimmage and sprinted around the left end and down the sideline, streaking untouched to the end zone. The play came early in the second quarter and increased CMU's lead to 21-10. Ball State never got closer the rest of the way.

Pimpleton has 54 catches for 891 yards and four TDs on the season. He also has two rushing TDs and two punt returns for TDs.

Richardson's Night
CMU quarterback Daniel Richardson completed 20 of his 25 pass attempts for 283 yards and two scores. He was also intercepted twice, which doubled his season total to four against 21 TD passes, a remarkable ratio.

Richardson completed 80 percent of passes against the Cardinals a week after completing 77.8 percent against Kent State.

Both interceptions came in the first half. The second came with the Chippewas, leading 28-17, at Ball State's 11-yard line and threatening to put the Cardinals into a deep hole just before halftime.

"The one right before half he probably felt like he should have just run it in," McElwain said. "He's a guy that beats you more with his arm than his feet. He'll learn."