Football Opens With A Heavyweight

Thursday, September 1

Stillwater, Okla./Boone Pickens Stadium

7 p.m. ET

Central Michigan University

No. 12/11 Oklahoma State

Year 4 of Jim McElwain's tenure as Central Michigan's football coach begins on Thursday night at Oklahoma State.

Photo by: Keara Chaperon '22

8/31/2022 8:56:00 AM | Football

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Never one to shy away from a fight, Central Michigan certainly has one at hand in its season opener.

The Chippewas open the 2022 football season on Thursday (7 p.m. ET) at 12^th-ranked Oklahoma State, a team coming off a 12-2 season, a trip to the Big 12 championship game, a Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame, and final ranking of No. 7 in the Associated Press poll.

"Can't say enough good things about them," said Jim McElwain, who kicks off his fourth season in charge of the Chippewas. "They've got really good players and it's going to be everything we can do to go in there and try to play with them."

The Chippewas have certainly played with – and beaten – Power 5 opponents in the past. CMU finished 9-4 a year ago and topped Washington State in the Sun Bowl.

Certainly, CMU under McElwain has been solid to very good. The Chippewas shared the MAC West title a year ago and won in McElwain's first season in 2019.

But there are as many question marks as there are sure-fire proofs about the '22 Chippewas.

CMU returns the nation's leading rusher in Lew Nichols III along with quarterback Daniel Richardson, who is firmly entrenched as QB1. The offensive line returns three starters including solid center Jamezz Kimbrough. The defense looks to be solid up front and there are at least two budding stars in sophomore linebackers Kyle Moretti and Justin Whiteside.

But CMU has plenty of new faces and has big shoes to fill, particularly on the offensive line, at wide receiver, and in the secondary.

"Obviously, a ton of new faces and I'm kind of excited just to see how they're going to perform under the lights," McElwain said. "I feel really good about the guys who are returning. We have a lot of holes to fill and yet, you know what, everybody does this time of year. We're no different than the rest of the teams.

"it's that time of year. They've had a really good camp, I'm proud of them. Excited to just see how our guys run out of the tunnel and play the game of football."

On offense, the Chippewas will break in a pair of tackles in redshirt freshman Davis Heinzen and sophomore Brayden Swartout.

At receiver, Dallas Dixon proved to be an excellent complement to departed stars Kalil Pimpleton and JaCorey Sullivan, but now he is, on paper at least, CMU's top wideout.

Joel Wilson returns as the starting tight end. The junior has improved steadily throughout his career and could be poised to break through and become a legitimate threat in the passing game.

The Chippewas have added a number of transfers, including receivers Jalen McCaughy (Ball State) and Carlos Carriere (Maryland). McGaughy is listed at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds; Carriere at 6-5, 203.

The defensive front may be among CMU's deepest and most experienced units with the likes of Thomas Incoom, Jacques Bristol, Tyrece Woods and John Wesley Whiteside returning. Robi Stuart also returns after missing last season with an injury.

The secondary includes sophomore Donte Kent, a freshman All-American a year ago, and veteran Rolliann Sturkey on the corners and up-and-coming Trey Jones at safety. Jayden Davis, a junior college transfer, along with converted running back De'Javion Stepney also figure into the mix.

The Chippewa special teams feature two of the best at their respective positions in the Mid-American Conference in punter Luke Elzinga and place kicker Marshall Meeder.

"I really like this football team," McElwain said. "We've got really good leadership, guys who are really working at doing what's right."

The last time the Chippewas went to Stillwater, they knocked off the Cowboys, 30-27, on a Hail Mary pass with no time remaining. That loss is still on the minds of the Oklahoma State faithful.

Not so much when it comes to the Chippewas, none of whom – including McElwain – were with the program at the time.

"Honestly, we haven't looked too much into that," said Kimbrough, who arrived in Mount Pleasant one year after that memorable victory. "We just focus on us and the things we can do to prepare for Oklahoma State. Of course, it's out there, the media talks about it, it's something you can act like you don't see. But we don't focus on that stuff. We just focus on us.

"There's confidence going into a game regardless of who the opponent is. It's about us, it's about what we do and how we dictate the game, how we execute our game plan, how we communicate. Oklahoma State's a very good team … but it's always about us and what we do and we control the stuff that we do."

If Kimbrough and his teammates do choose to focus on the Cowboys, there is plenty to see, beginning with quarterback Spencer Sanders, an All-Big 12 First Team selection and the Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP a year ago.

The Cowboys ranked fifth in the nation in total defense a year ago and ninth in scoring defense.

"They've just got really, really, really good players from top to bottom," McElwain said. "Obviously their quarterback's unbelievable, makes great decisions, he makes the thing go for them. You wish in an opener you were playing a team that maybe was trying to break a guy in. This guy's looking to break us in."