Saturday, October 14
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
3:30 p.m.
Central Michigan University
vs
Akron
Photo by: Nicholas T. LoVerde/Special to Central Michigan
Football Preview: Chippewas Look to Bounce Back on Homecoming
10/13/2023 9:09:00 AM | Football
Watch Game Live on ESPN+Listen Live (Chippewa Sports Network)Live StatsFlip Card (PDF)Digital Game Day Program (PDF)GameDay PageCentral Michigan Game Notes (PDF)Akron Game Notes (PDF)Homecoming CentralTicket Central2023 CMU Roster2023 CMU ScheduleMAC Weekly Preview
Kickoff for Saturday's Homecoming game vs. Akron is at 3:30 p.m.; Fans urged to wear gold for Gold Out!
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – They say it isn't about what happens to you, but how you respond to it.
Central Michigan will look to respond on Saturday when it entertain Akron in its homecoming game (3:30 p.m.) on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
The Chippewas are 3-3, 1-1 Mid-American Conference after a 37-13 loss last week at Buffalo. CMU committed four turnovers, two of which were interceptions that were returned by the Bulls for touchdowns. The other two turnovers – an interception and a fumble – led directly to 10 Buffalo points.
If you're scoring at home, that's 24 points the Chippewas gave away in turnovers.
"That was a quiet locker room and a quiet trip home and a quiet Sunday meal and a quiet meeting room (on Monday)," fifth-year CMU coach Jim McElwain said. "Which tells me they understand and that's important."
The Chippewas actually finished with more total yardage, 360-355, and more first downs, 21-18, than did the Bulls. But no matter how it's colored or how much sugar is added to the mix, the Chippewas lost the game and now have little room for error in their quest for the MAC West championship.
CMU is in a four-way tie for second place in the division behind Toledo, which is 2-0 in league play. Akron is 1-5, 0-2 and coming off a 55-14 home loss to Northern Illinois. One week prior, the Zips fell at home to Buffalo, 13-10, in overtime.
"It makes each game more important and each day that we prep for the game that much more important," junior safety Trey Jones said. "We know when we go into the meeting room, when we go to practice, we've got to be laser focused and that's happening.
"I do think that we are a better team than what we showed last week. Do we have something to prove? I think we always have something to prove."
The Chippewas are 2-0 at home with both victories coming by slim margins. They kicked a field goal as time ran out in a 45-42 win over New Hampshire and then held off Eastern Michigan, 26-23, to take their MAC opener when the Eagles missed a potential game-tying field goal with under a minute to play.
Quarterback Jase Bauer, the interceptions notwithstanding, posted career-best numbers last week with 28 completions and two touchdowns on 49 attempts for 280 yards.
"The beautiful thing about playing the quarterback position, as I'm well aware of, when things are going well everybody loves you," said McElwain, who played quarterback at Eastern Washington. "When things fall apart, you're the one they blame. That goes with the territory of playing the position.
"The important thing is to understand what maybe caused some of those plays and (ask), was it all driven from that position or were there things other guys could have done in doing their job the way they've been coached, the way they've practiced it."
Regardless, the Chippewas can't dwell on Buffalo. They can only look ahead and be mindful that they need victories to remain in the hunt with the most important part of the season in front of them.
"Really, the message is, it happened, it's in the past, can't do anything about it now," Jones said. "Learn from it, fix it, and get ready for Akron."
Central Michigan will look to respond on Saturday when it entertain Akron in its homecoming game (3:30 p.m.) on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
The Chippewas are 3-3, 1-1 Mid-American Conference after a 37-13 loss last week at Buffalo. CMU committed four turnovers, two of which were interceptions that were returned by the Bulls for touchdowns. The other two turnovers – an interception and a fumble – led directly to 10 Buffalo points.
If you're scoring at home, that's 24 points the Chippewas gave away in turnovers.
"That was a quiet locker room and a quiet trip home and a quiet Sunday meal and a quiet meeting room (on Monday)," fifth-year CMU coach Jim McElwain said. "Which tells me they understand and that's important."
The Chippewas actually finished with more total yardage, 360-355, and more first downs, 21-18, than did the Bulls. But no matter how it's colored or how much sugar is added to the mix, the Chippewas lost the game and now have little room for error in their quest for the MAC West championship.
CMU is in a four-way tie for second place in the division behind Toledo, which is 2-0 in league play. Akron is 1-5, 0-2 and coming off a 55-14 home loss to Northern Illinois. One week prior, the Zips fell at home to Buffalo, 13-10, in overtime.
"It makes each game more important and each day that we prep for the game that much more important," junior safety Trey Jones said. "We know when we go into the meeting room, when we go to practice, we've got to be laser focused and that's happening.
"I do think that we are a better team than what we showed last week. Do we have something to prove? I think we always have something to prove."
The Chippewas are 2-0 at home with both victories coming by slim margins. They kicked a field goal as time ran out in a 45-42 win over New Hampshire and then held off Eastern Michigan, 26-23, to take their MAC opener when the Eagles missed a potential game-tying field goal with under a minute to play.
Quarterback Jase Bauer, the interceptions notwithstanding, posted career-best numbers last week with 28 completions and two touchdowns on 49 attempts for 280 yards.
"The beautiful thing about playing the quarterback position, as I'm well aware of, when things are going well everybody loves you," said McElwain, who played quarterback at Eastern Washington. "When things fall apart, you're the one they blame. That goes with the territory of playing the position.
"The important thing is to understand what maybe caused some of those plays and (ask), was it all driven from that position or were there things other guys could have done in doing their job the way they've been coached, the way they've practiced it."
Regardless, the Chippewas can't dwell on Buffalo. They can only look ahead and be mindful that they need victories to remain in the hunt with the most important part of the season in front of them.
"Really, the message is, it happened, it's in the past, can't do anything about it now," Jones said. "Learn from it, fix it, and get ready for Akron."
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
DB
/ FootballJordan Kwiatkowski Post-Game Press Conference at Pitt
Saturday, September 06
Joe Labas Post-Game Press Conference at Pitt
Saturday, September 06
Matt Drinkall Post-Game Press Conference at Pitt
Saturday, September 06
Trey Cornist Insider 9.4.25
Thursday, September 04