Central Michigan University Athletics
CMU defensive linemen Michael Heldman (97) and Jason Williams celebrate a stop in the Chippewas homecoming victory on Saturday on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Football Notebook: Chalk One Up to Grit as Chippewa Defense Stands Tall
10/14/2023 11:12:00 PM | Football
Game RecapVideo: Jim McElwain Post-Game Press ConferenceVideo: Tristan Mattson Post-Game Press ConferenceVideo: Trey Jones Post-Game Press ConferenceVideo: Jase Bauer Post-Game Press Conference
Mattson boots record 58-yard field goal to help spark Chippewas in 17-10 victory
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Still a long, long way to go in the quest for a Mid-American Conference championship.
But if Central Michigan is to be out front in the pack, it can point to Saturday's 17-10 win over Akron as a crucial step.
The Chippewas leaned heavily on their ever-improving defense in holding the Zips to 193 total yards and 10 first downs, both season lows for a CMU opponent.
And, CMU made a season-high two interceptions in holding the Zips to 10 points, a season low for a Chippewa opponent.
No, playing good defense doesn't carry with it the glitz and glamor of an explosive offense, but it most often produces wins, and sometimes they come with some grit.
"I think it just comes down to our film study and our prep that we do throughout the week," said safety Trey Jones, who had one of the two picks. "We know that we have a good group of guys throughout the D line, the linebackers and the (defensive backs).
"The D line played tremendously today. They really helped us on the back end (to) create quarterback scrambles, flushing the quarterback from the pocket."
The Zips put together just one sustained drive, an eight-play, 70-yarder that ended in a touchdown to open the fourth quarter that cut CMU's lead to 17-10.
The defensive performance was perhaps a carryover from last week, when the Chippewas lost, 37-13, at Buffalo. While the final score may not indicate it, CMU's defense played well in that game in trying to hold the fort while the Chippewa offense committed four turnovers that led to 24 Buffalo points. Two Bull touchdowns came on interceptions returned for touchdowns.
"You can tell they're playing with confidence and they're not letting a bad play carry over," CMU coach Jim McElwain said of his defense. "So what; tear off the rearview mirror and let's go win the next one and they've been doing that and it's great to see."
The Chippewas tied their season high with six pass breakups on Saturday, and it was the first time they recorded multiple interceptions in a game since they made three in the final game of the 2020 season against Toledo.
With nine returning starters coming into the season, defense figured to be a strength for the Chippewas.
"I really think we do a great job of playing together," Jones said. "When we think we are unstoppable, we can be unstoppable.
"When we do everything we're supposed to do – our correct assignments, correct technique, correct eyes – everything that we are taught to do, we can do what we did today."
Big Loss
Junior linebacker Kyle Moretti, CMU's leading tackler and its defensive leader, left the game early in the second half with an injury and did not return. He later appeared on the sideline in crutches.
"One of the guys who's the heart and soul of our defense and more so our football team, is on crutches," McElwain said, adding that Moretti will be assessed on Sunday. "He's a great leader. He's a guy that this team really looks up to."
With Moretti out, the Chippewas did exactly what good teams do.
"I saw some resolve in some guys' eyes who stepped in there and made some plays for us knowing that he was out. Now it's somebody else who has got to pick that up a little bit. The guys stepped up and kind of rallied around that a little bit."
The likes of Justin Whiteside, Dakota Cochran and Lawai'a Brown stepped up in Moretti's absence.
Cochran led the Chippewas with a career-high 10 tackles.
"Seeing him go down was really sad for us because we know that he's a leader on this team and on this defense," Jones said. "We know that he's really important to us.
"But we have a next-man-up mentality. Once he went down, I kind of just went and told (the others), 'Look it's your time to play now, so when you get in there, don't be scared, play."
Here's the Kicker
Placekicker Tristan Mattson gave the Chippewas a huge lift when he booted a 58-yard field goal to tie the game, 3-3, with 1:01 to play in the first half.
The kick is a program and stadium record. He eclipsed the previous CMU mark (57 yards) set in 1975 by Rade Savich and the previous stadium record (56) set in 1998 by Western Michigan's Brad Selent.
Mattson's kick came with a northerly wind at his back toward the south (scoreboard) end zone. And it came after he had missed his first two field goal tries, a 49-yarder into the wind toward the north goal post and a 52-yarder to the south.
Yes, the redshirt junior transfer from Arkansas State was aware when he walked onto the field what the Chippewa record was.
"I took a peek at it, I took a peek at it when I first committed here," said the Clarkston High School graduate. "I was excited, really excited about getting out there. I was looking forward to it all game. I was like, alright, we've got the wind, the right setting, got the holder, got the snapper.
"We were running low on time on the (play) clock. I did a little skip to the left, and just went out there and kicked it as hard as I could."
The snap from Ben Pratt and the hold from Jake Walrath were perfect.
"They're amazing," Mattson said. "You've got Ben Pratt, throws perfect laces all the time; Jake does a great job holding. Sometimes we'll talk, like 'You're going too fast or the hold's just a little off,' but we correct it instantly."
Mattson said he hit his first field goal try, into the wind, "fat," and the "second one, killed it straight, right down the hash. Nothing you can do about it. Just change your aiming point.
"I tell myself, you're only allowed to be mad (momentarily). When you kick it, you've got to clear your head as soon as you get off the field. It's frustrating missing, but you've just got to clear it."
The Offense
In the final analysis, the Chippewa offense moved efficiently enough, particularly when one considers how well the defense played.
CMU collected 21 first downs and held a huge possession-time advantage.
Quarterback Jase Bauer rushed for a team-high 61 yards and threw for 181 on 17-of-32 passing. He was intercepted twice, both in the first half.
The Chippewas scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the third quarter to seize a 17-3 lead.
The first TD drive started at the Akron 30-yard line after an interception by Da'Raun McKinney, a junior transfer who played previously at both South Dakota and Iowa. McKinney also broke up Akron's final pass play of the game on fourth down near the CMU 30-yard line.
The second TD drive covered 76 yards in 18 plays and milked more than nine minutes off the clock in the third quarter.
"We just kind of calmed down" at halftime, Bauer said. "Me, especially. We just kind of took what they gave us (in the third quarter).
"We ran the ball a little more, tried to establish more of a run game. Just kind of get back to what we do best. The first half was kind of uncharacteristic of us and me personally. But you just have to move forward, make the corrections and move on.
"We kind of gutted it out. It wasn't pretty on the offensive side of the ball, but sometimes you've got to win those kind of sloppy games. That was big to come out on the other side of that and give us some confidence moving forward."
Converting
The Chippewas converted eight of their 20 third-down opportunities and both of their fourth-down tries in Saturday's game. They held the Zips to 3-of-14 on third down and stopped them on their only fourth-down try.
Homecoming Success
The Chippewas improved to 60-34-1 in homecoming games. They won their first, on Nov. 22, 1924, 13-0 over Alma.
CMU improved to 3-0 at home this season. The Chippewas' next home game is Oct. 31 against Northern Illinois. Their home and regular-season finale is set for Nov. 24 against Toledo.
CMU is 17-7 under McElwain at home. The Chippewas were 2-4 on their home turf a year ago, and McElwain has emphasized the importance of winning in Mount Pleasant.
"It's amazing because that's kind of a staple of what (McElwain) has preached since last season, really," Jones said. "Winning at big is home for us, especially when it's homecoming."
Putting it Together
"Coach Mac keeps saying it, I don't think we've played a full four quarters yet," Bauer said. "That's the thing that's kind of scary because we have so much potential, and we just have to put four full quarters together as an offense.
"I think our defense did a pretty good job of putting four full quarters together today. Offensive wise we've got to be more consistent in getting those guys going and that starts with me."
The Series
The Chippewas ran their win streak over Akron to three games and are 19-10-1 in the series that began in 1969. CMU is 11-4 and has won four straight at home over the Zips.
Next
Ball State dropped a 13-6 decision at home to Toledo on Saturday. The Cardinals are 1-6, 0-3 MAC. Their victory came at home over Indiana State, 45-7. They have since lost to Georgia Southern, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and the Rockets.
Ball State topped the Chippewas, 17-16, last season in Mount Pleasant.
But if Central Michigan is to be out front in the pack, it can point to Saturday's 17-10 win over Akron as a crucial step.
The Chippewas leaned heavily on their ever-improving defense in holding the Zips to 193 total yards and 10 first downs, both season lows for a CMU opponent.
And, CMU made a season-high two interceptions in holding the Zips to 10 points, a season low for a Chippewa opponent.
No, playing good defense doesn't carry with it the glitz and glamor of an explosive offense, but it most often produces wins, and sometimes they come with some grit.
"I think it just comes down to our film study and our prep that we do throughout the week," said safety Trey Jones, who had one of the two picks. "We know that we have a good group of guys throughout the D line, the linebackers and the (defensive backs).
"The D line played tremendously today. They really helped us on the back end (to) create quarterback scrambles, flushing the quarterback from the pocket."
The Zips put together just one sustained drive, an eight-play, 70-yarder that ended in a touchdown to open the fourth quarter that cut CMU's lead to 17-10.
The defensive performance was perhaps a carryover from last week, when the Chippewas lost, 37-13, at Buffalo. While the final score may not indicate it, CMU's defense played well in that game in trying to hold the fort while the Chippewa offense committed four turnovers that led to 24 Buffalo points. Two Bull touchdowns came on interceptions returned for touchdowns.
"You can tell they're playing with confidence and they're not letting a bad play carry over," CMU coach Jim McElwain said of his defense. "So what; tear off the rearview mirror and let's go win the next one and they've been doing that and it's great to see."
The Chippewas tied their season high with six pass breakups on Saturday, and it was the first time they recorded multiple interceptions in a game since they made three in the final game of the 2020 season against Toledo.
With nine returning starters coming into the season, defense figured to be a strength for the Chippewas.
"I really think we do a great job of playing together," Jones said. "When we think we are unstoppable, we can be unstoppable.
"When we do everything we're supposed to do – our correct assignments, correct technique, correct eyes – everything that we are taught to do, we can do what we did today."
Big Loss
Junior linebacker Kyle Moretti, CMU's leading tackler and its defensive leader, left the game early in the second half with an injury and did not return. He later appeared on the sideline in crutches.
"One of the guys who's the heart and soul of our defense and more so our football team, is on crutches," McElwain said, adding that Moretti will be assessed on Sunday. "He's a great leader. He's a guy that this team really looks up to."
With Moretti out, the Chippewas did exactly what good teams do.
"I saw some resolve in some guys' eyes who stepped in there and made some plays for us knowing that he was out. Now it's somebody else who has got to pick that up a little bit. The guys stepped up and kind of rallied around that a little bit."
The likes of Justin Whiteside, Dakota Cochran and Lawai'a Brown stepped up in Moretti's absence.
Cochran led the Chippewas with a career-high 10 tackles.
"Seeing him go down was really sad for us because we know that he's a leader on this team and on this defense," Jones said. "We know that he's really important to us.
"But we have a next-man-up mentality. Once he went down, I kind of just went and told (the others), 'Look it's your time to play now, so when you get in there, don't be scared, play."
Here's the Kicker
Placekicker Tristan Mattson gave the Chippewas a huge lift when he booted a 58-yard field goal to tie the game, 3-3, with 1:01 to play in the first half.
The kick is a program and stadium record. He eclipsed the previous CMU mark (57 yards) set in 1975 by Rade Savich and the previous stadium record (56) set in 1998 by Western Michigan's Brad Selent.
Mattson's kick came with a northerly wind at his back toward the south (scoreboard) end zone. And it came after he had missed his first two field goal tries, a 49-yarder into the wind toward the north goal post and a 52-yarder to the south.
Yes, the redshirt junior transfer from Arkansas State was aware when he walked onto the field what the Chippewa record was.
"I took a peek at it, I took a peek at it when I first committed here," said the Clarkston High School graduate. "I was excited, really excited about getting out there. I was looking forward to it all game. I was like, alright, we've got the wind, the right setting, got the holder, got the snapper.
"We were running low on time on the (play) clock. I did a little skip to the left, and just went out there and kicked it as hard as I could."
The snap from Ben Pratt and the hold from Jake Walrath were perfect.
"They're amazing," Mattson said. "You've got Ben Pratt, throws perfect laces all the time; Jake does a great job holding. Sometimes we'll talk, like 'You're going too fast or the hold's just a little off,' but we correct it instantly."
Mattson said he hit his first field goal try, into the wind, "fat," and the "second one, killed it straight, right down the hash. Nothing you can do about it. Just change your aiming point.
"I tell myself, you're only allowed to be mad (momentarily). When you kick it, you've got to clear your head as soon as you get off the field. It's frustrating missing, but you've just got to clear it."
The Offense
In the final analysis, the Chippewa offense moved efficiently enough, particularly when one considers how well the defense played.
CMU collected 21 first downs and held a huge possession-time advantage.
Quarterback Jase Bauer rushed for a team-high 61 yards and threw for 181 on 17-of-32 passing. He was intercepted twice, both in the first half.
The Chippewas scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the third quarter to seize a 17-3 lead.
The first TD drive started at the Akron 30-yard line after an interception by Da'Raun McKinney, a junior transfer who played previously at both South Dakota and Iowa. McKinney also broke up Akron's final pass play of the game on fourth down near the CMU 30-yard line.
The second TD drive covered 76 yards in 18 plays and milked more than nine minutes off the clock in the third quarter.
"We just kind of calmed down" at halftime, Bauer said. "Me, especially. We just kind of took what they gave us (in the third quarter).
"We ran the ball a little more, tried to establish more of a run game. Just kind of get back to what we do best. The first half was kind of uncharacteristic of us and me personally. But you just have to move forward, make the corrections and move on.
"We kind of gutted it out. It wasn't pretty on the offensive side of the ball, but sometimes you've got to win those kind of sloppy games. That was big to come out on the other side of that and give us some confidence moving forward."
Converting
The Chippewas converted eight of their 20 third-down opportunities and both of their fourth-down tries in Saturday's game. They held the Zips to 3-of-14 on third down and stopped them on their only fourth-down try.
Homecoming Success
The Chippewas improved to 60-34-1 in homecoming games. They won their first, on Nov. 22, 1924, 13-0 over Alma.
CMU improved to 3-0 at home this season. The Chippewas' next home game is Oct. 31 against Northern Illinois. Their home and regular-season finale is set for Nov. 24 against Toledo.
CMU is 17-7 under McElwain at home. The Chippewas were 2-4 on their home turf a year ago, and McElwain has emphasized the importance of winning in Mount Pleasant.
"It's amazing because that's kind of a staple of what (McElwain) has preached since last season, really," Jones said. "Winning at big is home for us, especially when it's homecoming."
Putting it Together
"Coach Mac keeps saying it, I don't think we've played a full four quarters yet," Bauer said. "That's the thing that's kind of scary because we have so much potential, and we just have to put four full quarters together as an offense.
"I think our defense did a pretty good job of putting four full quarters together today. Offensive wise we've got to be more consistent in getting those guys going and that starts with me."
The Series
The Chippewas ran their win streak over Akron to three games and are 19-10-1 in the series that began in 1969. CMU is 11-4 and has won four straight at home over the Zips.
Next
Ball State dropped a 13-6 decision at home to Toledo on Saturday. The Cardinals are 1-6, 0-3 MAC. Their victory came at home over Indiana State, 45-7. They have since lost to Georgia Southern, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and the Rockets.
Ball State topped the Chippewas, 17-16, last season in Mount Pleasant.
Players Mentioned
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