Saturday, September 17
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
1 p.m. ET
Central Michigan University
1-2 , 0-0
41
vs
0
Bucknell
0-3 , 0-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Bucknell
0
0
0
0
0
Central Michigan
0
7
13
21
41
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Football Rides Second-Half Surge To Dominant Victory
9/17/2022 6:15:00 PM | Football
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Lew Nichols III busted out and the defense was dominant.
Felt good, really good, for the Central Michigan football team on Saturday before 21,554 on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Nichols ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns and the Chippewas turned on the jets in the second half in downing Bucknell, 41-0, for their first victory of the season.
"I told them afterwards, 'Man enjoy the feeling,'" CMU coach Jim McElwain said after his team improved to 1-2 and posted its first shutout since Sept. 11, 2021. "I don't care who it is, getting a win is hard.
"When you get it, enjoy it, reflect on it. Make sure you really know what that feeling is and hopefully it becomes contagious moving forward."
The Chippewas rolled up 529 yards in total offense and held the Football Championship Subdivision Bison (0-3) to 174.
Yet for as overwhelming as CMU's performance looks based on the final score, the Chippewas led just 7-0 at halftime after they missed two field goals and threw an interception in the first 30 minutes.
"I guarantee (it was) not a raise-the-roof speech with me," McElwain said. "I'm not one of those. Let's credit the defense, what they did in that game. I don't care if you're playing air; it's tough to do what they did and have a performance as dominating as that. That was really a good thing."
The Chippewas got a 10-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Richardson to Joel Wilson with under 5 minutes to play in the half to take a 7-0 lead.
They then scored on their final five possessions of the game to win going away.
Nichols, the nation's leading rusher a year ago, entered the game with 92 total rushing yards in CMU's first two games this season. He had nearly that by halftime on Saturday, and in the third quarter he scored on a 3-yard run and then a 15-yarder to extend the Chippewas' lead to 20-0.
Nichols carried 30 times – about his average in the 2021 season – and averaged 5.5 yards per carry. He, and the entire CMU team, appeared to get stronger as the game wore on.
"Offensive line did an outstanding job," Nichols said. "It started early in the week with practice, just the mentality of understanding what we have to do and then come game day they just made it happen. From beginning 'til the end, they just knocked guys off the ball."
Richardson connected with Langston Lewis on a 45-yard TD pass-play early in the fourth quarter and then backup quarterback Jase Bauer scored on runs of 10 and 8 yards.
The Chippewas go to No. 22 Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 24 (noon).
"We started the season 0-2 and this win gets a little of the salty taste out of our mouths," defensive lineman Thomas Incoom said. "It's the same guys doing the right stuff and it gives us confidence stepping into the next game. Everybody's doing their job and I feel like everything's clicking now."
Felt good, really good, for the Central Michigan football team on Saturday before 21,554 on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Nichols ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns and the Chippewas turned on the jets in the second half in downing Bucknell, 41-0, for their first victory of the season.
"I told them afterwards, 'Man enjoy the feeling,'" CMU coach Jim McElwain said after his team improved to 1-2 and posted its first shutout since Sept. 11, 2021. "I don't care who it is, getting a win is hard.
"When you get it, enjoy it, reflect on it. Make sure you really know what that feeling is and hopefully it becomes contagious moving forward."
The Chippewas rolled up 529 yards in total offense and held the Football Championship Subdivision Bison (0-3) to 174.
Yet for as overwhelming as CMU's performance looks based on the final score, the Chippewas led just 7-0 at halftime after they missed two field goals and threw an interception in the first 30 minutes.
"I guarantee (it was) not a raise-the-roof speech with me," McElwain said. "I'm not one of those. Let's credit the defense, what they did in that game. I don't care if you're playing air; it's tough to do what they did and have a performance as dominating as that. That was really a good thing."
The Chippewas got a 10-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Richardson to Joel Wilson with under 5 minutes to play in the half to take a 7-0 lead.
They then scored on their final five possessions of the game to win going away.
Nichols, the nation's leading rusher a year ago, entered the game with 92 total rushing yards in CMU's first two games this season. He had nearly that by halftime on Saturday, and in the third quarter he scored on a 3-yard run and then a 15-yarder to extend the Chippewas' lead to 20-0.
Nichols carried 30 times – about his average in the 2021 season – and averaged 5.5 yards per carry. He, and the entire CMU team, appeared to get stronger as the game wore on.
"Offensive line did an outstanding job," Nichols said. "It started early in the week with practice, just the mentality of understanding what we have to do and then come game day they just made it happen. From beginning 'til the end, they just knocked guys off the ball."
Richardson connected with Langston Lewis on a 45-yard TD pass-play early in the fourth quarter and then backup quarterback Jase Bauer scored on runs of 10 and 8 yards.
The Chippewas go to No. 22 Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 24 (noon).
"We started the season 0-2 and this win gets a little of the salty taste out of our mouths," defensive lineman Thomas Incoom said. "It's the same guys doing the right stuff and it gives us confidence stepping into the next game. Everybody's doing their job and I feel like everything's clicking now."
Team Stats
BUC
CMU
Total Yards
174
529
Pass Yards
153
242
Rushing Yards
21
287
Penalty Yards
24
35
1st Downs
12
29
3rd Downs
2
6
4th Downs
0
2
TOP
31:30
28:30
2nd Quarter
BUC 0, CMU 7
CMU - Wilson,Joel 10 yd pass from Richardson,Daniel (Rolston,Josh kick) 12 plays, 80 yards, TOP 04:49
3rd Quarter
BUC 0, CMU 13
CMU - Nichols,Lew 3 yd run (), 2 plays, 34 yards, TOP 00:17
BUC 0, CMU 20
CMU - Nichols,Lew 15 yd run (Meeder,Marshall kick), 6 plays, 43 yards, TOP 01:46
4th Quarter
BUC 0, CMU 27
CMU - Lewis,Langston 45 yd pass from Richardson,Daniel (Meeder,Marshall kick) 7 plays, 71 yards, TOP 02:54
BUC 0, CMU 34
CMU - Bauer,Jase 10 yd run (Meeder,Marshall kick), 5 plays, 72 yards, TOP 01:49
BUC 0, CMU 41
CMU - Bauer,Jase 8 yd run (Meeder,Marshall kick), 8 plays, 67 yards, TOP 02:59
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
15
TD
2
YDS
198
INT
1
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
44
INT
0
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
TE
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