Central Michigan University Athletics
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Football Notebook: Defense Shines; Youngsters Step Up
9/17/2022 7:10:00 PM | Football
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – There were plenty of pats on the back to go around on Saturday.
The rushing of Lew Nichols III and the offensive line, certainly; signs of maturity and growth from a young corps of receivers and the secondary, no question.
But the Central Michigan defense on the whole deserves to take a bow – a big one -- and soak it in after the Chippewas' 41-0 nonconference victory over Bucknell on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
CMU held the Bison to 21 rushing yards and 174 yards total in pitching its first shutout since a 45-0 victory over Robert Morris on Sept. 11, 2021.
"I really think as time goes on, we've got a chance defensively to really make some statements," CMU coach Jim McElwain said. "But there again we've got to keep playing with communication. Today the communication was actually excellent.
"Our line, one of the things we wanted to do was impose our will up front and I thought for the most part we got after them pretty good."
The Chippewas limited the Bison (0-3) to an average of 2.6 yards per play, forced two turnovers, allowed Bucknell to cross midfield just once in the second half, and forced eight punts as CMU turned a 7-0 halftime lead into a rout.
Kyle Moretti, Jayden Davis and Michael Heldman led CMU with five tackles apiece. Heldman, a redshirt freshman lineman, accounted for 3 ½ of CMU's 13 tackles-for-loss and he forced a fumble. He had 1 ½ of CMU's three sacks.
"We just watch film, and we know what we're good at," said defensive lineman Thomas Incoom, who recorded one sack. "It doesn't matter who we play, we're just going to play the same way. We're just going to play hard, physical, play in and play out. That was the mindset."
The Chippewas limited Bucknell to 153 passing yards and that was a credit to a young secondary – no doubt buoyed by a strong pass rush – with several players seeing extended playing time for the first time in a Chippewa uniform with starters Donte Kent and Trey Jones sidelined.
"Well, maybe they should have been in there before," McElwain said of the younger players. "They did a pretty darned-good job. We had a couple guys down with some injuries. It's all about opportunities and next man up and I thought those guys … they're going to learn a lot from it. You know I was proud of them."
Through the Air
CMU quarterback Daniel Richardson completed 15 of his 32 pass attempts for 198 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Several of his first-half pass attempts were dropped by open receivers, but they redeemed themselves later in the game.
Jalen McGaughy, a first-year transfer from Ball State, and redshirt freshman Finn Hogan, led the Chippewas with four catches each. McGaughy amassed a team-high 69 yards in receptions.
The Chippewas were without two starting wideouts, Carlos Carriere and Dallas Dixon. Carriere is set to return next week against Penn State, while Dixon – CMU's No. 1 returning pass catcher entering the season – is out for the season with an injury he suffered last week in CMU's loss to South Alabama.
"We had some big drops that obviously took some chunk plays away and yet some of those drops, guys came back and made plays and I think that's really good," McElwain said.
"We've got some talent in that room; we've got to keep coaching them and getting them in the right spots. I thought (Hogan) did a pretty good job for really the first extensive play he's had. (He had) some big third-down, fourth-down catches.
"Overall we knew we were young (at wide receiver). We knew we were replacing some quality guys. … We've got to grow up and we've got to grow up in a hurry."
A Day of Firsts
Two Chippewas playing in their respective first collegiate game scored touchdowns on Saturday.
Backup quarterback Jace Bauer, a redshirt freshman, saw extensive playing time in the fourth quarter and scored on runs of 10 and 8 yards. Freshman wide receiver Langston Lewis, pressed into duty because of injuries at the position, took a short pass from Richardson and streaked 45 yards for a TD on his first catch as a collegian.
Nichols Cranks Up
CMU running back Lew Nichols III broke out to the tune of 166 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. He also caught one pass for 17 yards, giving him 183 yards from scrimmage on 31 touches.
He sat out the vast majority of the fourth quarter after the Chippewas had the game in hand.
The sophomore, who led the nation in rushing a year ago, entered the game with a combined 92 rushing yards in CMU's first two games of the season.
Nichols set up his first TD run with a 31-yard gallop to the Bucknell 3-yard line. The 31-yarder is his longest run of the season. He leads the Chippewas with five touchdowns on the season.
"Total credit goes to the guys up front any time your running back's doing that," McElwain said. "I was determined to make sure that Lew Nichols was going to get going and he did, and it was great to see."
Kicking Game
The Chippewas led, 7-0, after a sluggish first half during which place kicker Marshall Meeder missed field goal attempts from 48 and 50 yards. Josh Rolston then missed a 44-yard try early in the third quarter. Rolston also missed an extra-point attempt.
CMU punter Luke Elzinga punted just twice on Saturday and averaged 46 yards.
Next
The Chippewas take a step up in competition with a trip to 22nd-ranked Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 24 (noon). The Nittany Lions are 3-0 after an impressive 41-12 win at Auburn.
Penn State opened with a 35-31 win at Purdue and last week downed Ohio, 46-10. The Nittany Lions finished third in the Big Ten East preseason poll behind Ohio State and Michigan.
The rushing of Lew Nichols III and the offensive line, certainly; signs of maturity and growth from a young corps of receivers and the secondary, no question.
But the Central Michigan defense on the whole deserves to take a bow – a big one -- and soak it in after the Chippewas' 41-0 nonconference victory over Bucknell on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
CMU held the Bison to 21 rushing yards and 174 yards total in pitching its first shutout since a 45-0 victory over Robert Morris on Sept. 11, 2021.
"I really think as time goes on, we've got a chance defensively to really make some statements," CMU coach Jim McElwain said. "But there again we've got to keep playing with communication. Today the communication was actually excellent.
"Our line, one of the things we wanted to do was impose our will up front and I thought for the most part we got after them pretty good."
The Chippewas limited the Bison (0-3) to an average of 2.6 yards per play, forced two turnovers, allowed Bucknell to cross midfield just once in the second half, and forced eight punts as CMU turned a 7-0 halftime lead into a rout.
Kyle Moretti, Jayden Davis and Michael Heldman led CMU with five tackles apiece. Heldman, a redshirt freshman lineman, accounted for 3 ½ of CMU's 13 tackles-for-loss and he forced a fumble. He had 1 ½ of CMU's three sacks.
"We just watch film, and we know what we're good at," said defensive lineman Thomas Incoom, who recorded one sack. "It doesn't matter who we play, we're just going to play the same way. We're just going to play hard, physical, play in and play out. That was the mindset."
The Chippewas limited Bucknell to 153 passing yards and that was a credit to a young secondary – no doubt buoyed by a strong pass rush – with several players seeing extended playing time for the first time in a Chippewa uniform with starters Donte Kent and Trey Jones sidelined.
"Well, maybe they should have been in there before," McElwain said of the younger players. "They did a pretty darned-good job. We had a couple guys down with some injuries. It's all about opportunities and next man up and I thought those guys … they're going to learn a lot from it. You know I was proud of them."
Through the Air
CMU quarterback Daniel Richardson completed 15 of his 32 pass attempts for 198 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Several of his first-half pass attempts were dropped by open receivers, but they redeemed themselves later in the game.
Jalen McGaughy, a first-year transfer from Ball State, and redshirt freshman Finn Hogan, led the Chippewas with four catches each. McGaughy amassed a team-high 69 yards in receptions.
The Chippewas were without two starting wideouts, Carlos Carriere and Dallas Dixon. Carriere is set to return next week against Penn State, while Dixon – CMU's No. 1 returning pass catcher entering the season – is out for the season with an injury he suffered last week in CMU's loss to South Alabama.
"We had some big drops that obviously took some chunk plays away and yet some of those drops, guys came back and made plays and I think that's really good," McElwain said.
"We've got some talent in that room; we've got to keep coaching them and getting them in the right spots. I thought (Hogan) did a pretty good job for really the first extensive play he's had. (He had) some big third-down, fourth-down catches.
"Overall we knew we were young (at wide receiver). We knew we were replacing some quality guys. … We've got to grow up and we've got to grow up in a hurry."
A Day of Firsts
Two Chippewas playing in their respective first collegiate game scored touchdowns on Saturday.
Backup quarterback Jace Bauer, a redshirt freshman, saw extensive playing time in the fourth quarter and scored on runs of 10 and 8 yards. Freshman wide receiver Langston Lewis, pressed into duty because of injuries at the position, took a short pass from Richardson and streaked 45 yards for a TD on his first catch as a collegian.
Nichols Cranks Up
CMU running back Lew Nichols III broke out to the tune of 166 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. He also caught one pass for 17 yards, giving him 183 yards from scrimmage on 31 touches.
He sat out the vast majority of the fourth quarter after the Chippewas had the game in hand.
The sophomore, who led the nation in rushing a year ago, entered the game with a combined 92 rushing yards in CMU's first two games of the season.
Nichols set up his first TD run with a 31-yard gallop to the Bucknell 3-yard line. The 31-yarder is his longest run of the season. He leads the Chippewas with five touchdowns on the season.
"Total credit goes to the guys up front any time your running back's doing that," McElwain said. "I was determined to make sure that Lew Nichols was going to get going and he did, and it was great to see."
Kicking Game
The Chippewas led, 7-0, after a sluggish first half during which place kicker Marshall Meeder missed field goal attempts from 48 and 50 yards. Josh Rolston then missed a 44-yard try early in the third quarter. Rolston also missed an extra-point attempt.
CMU punter Luke Elzinga punted just twice on Saturday and averaged 46 yards.
Next
The Chippewas take a step up in competition with a trip to 22nd-ranked Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 24 (noon). The Nittany Lions are 3-0 after an impressive 41-12 win at Auburn.
Penn State opened with a 35-31 win at Purdue and last week downed Ohio, 46-10. The Nittany Lions finished third in the Big Ten East preseason poll behind Ohio State and Michigan.
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