Central Michigan University Athletics
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Football Begins MACtion play on Halloween Night by Hosting Northern Illinois
10/28/2023 12:38:00 PM | Football
Watch Game Live on ESPNUListen Live (Chippewa Radio Network)Live StatsFlip Card (PDF)Central Michigan Game Notes (PDF)Northern Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ET for a nationally televised game on ESPNU; Chippewas bring undefeated 3-0 home record into contest.
GAME NINE • NORTHERN ILLINOIS (4-4, 3-1 MAC) AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN (4-4, 2-2 MAC)
MACtion Game/Halloween • Tuesday, October 31, 2023 • 7 p.m. ET
Kramer/Deromedi Stadium at Kelly/Shorts Stadium (30,255) • Mount Pleasant, Mich.
SATURDAY NIGHT MATCHUP
Television: ESPNU (Courtney Lyle, play-by-play; Hutson Mason, color analyst; Stos Hall, producer).
Chippewa Sports Radio Network: Adam Jaksa, Brock Gutierrez.
Live Stats: visit https://cmuchippewas.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
CMU Social Media: Twitter (@cmu_football); Facebook (@cmufootball); Instagram (cmufootball); Website: www.cmuchippewas.com.
Coaches: Central Michigan-Jim McElwain, 5th year at CMU (28-25), 11th year overall (72-52), 38th year in coaching. Northern Illinois- Thomas Hammock, 5th year at NIU (21-31); 5th year overall (21-31).
Series: Central Michigan and Northern Illinois meet for the 59th time in a football series dating back to Sept. 30, 1939. CMU holds a 32-25-1 advantage and is 20-11 in games played in Mount Pleasant. The Chippewas have won three of the series' last four games played at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Central Michigan claimed last year's meeting, 35-22, in Dekalb.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN GAME NOTES
THE ESSENTIALS
Central Michigan (4-4, 2-2 MAC) hosts Northern Illinois (4-4, 3-1 MAC) for its first MACtion game on Halloween Night and ninth contest of its 122nd season of college football on Tuesday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME
The game will be live televised nationally on ESPNU with Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Hutson Mason (color analyst) calling action. Stos Hall will handle production.
WHERE TO LISTEN TO THE GAME
Fans can also listen to the Chippewa Sports Radio Network broadcast presented by Fabiano Brothers. Adam Jaksa (play-by-play) and former Central Michigan/NFL player and CMU Athletic Hall of Famer Brock Gutierrez (color analyst) call action on the seven-station network (Mount Pleasant, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Petoskey, Traverse City) and nationally on the Varsity Network app. Coverage begins with a one-hour pre-game show.
TODAY'S TOP STORYLINES
• With four games left, CMU needs two more wins to become bowl eligible.
• Central Michigan takes an undefeated 3-0 home record into the game.
• CMU plays on Halloween Night for the 17th time in school history. CMU has won four straight home games on Halloween Night dating back to 1948.
• All four CMU wins this year have come in close fashion as all four games were decided by seven points or less.
• Head Coach Jim McElwain has guided the Chippewas to two bowl games (2019 New Mexico Bowl and 2021 Sun Bowl) and two winning seasons in each of the past three full years.
ABOUT THE CHIPPEWAS
Central Michigan (4-4, 2-2 MAC) returns home to host Northern Illinois (4-4, 3-1 MAC) for a Halloween Night MACtion game on Tuesday, Oct. 31 at Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The contest marks CMU's fifth MAC game and ninth overall contest.
As mid-week MACtion play begins, the Chippewas find themselves fighting for bowl eligibility in a two-way tie for third place in the MAC West Division with Eastern Michigan at 2-2. Toledo is in first place with a 4-0 record and NIU is in second with a 3-1 slate.
After Tuesday, two of CMU's last three games are against MAC West Division foes. The Chippewas have already defeated Eastern Michigan (26-23), host Northern Illinois (Oct. 31), play at Western Michigan on Nov. 7, and close out the regular season against Toledo in their final regular season game on Nov. 24. CMU also plays at Ohio on Nov. 15.
With its four victories in eight games, Central Michigan has already matched its win total from the 2022 season. Central Michigan needs two more victories to become bowl eligible for the third time in four years under Head Coach Jim McElwain.
Central Michigan enters Tuesday night's game following a 24-17 loss at Ball State on Saturday, Oct. 21. Led by Marquez Cooper's 162 rushing yards on 26 carries and a 6.2 average, Ball State rushed for a CMU opponent high 243 yards as the Cardinals outgained the Chippewas 344-260 in total yards, won the time of possession battle (31:39 to 28:21), and converted five of 11 third downs attempts. Ball State grabbed a 17-3 lead in the third quarter with a key 50-yard drive, then held off the Chippewas the rest of the way for the win. Trailing by seven points, Central Michigan drove down the field with under a minute to play but turned the ball over on downs.
Running back Marion Lukes led CMU with 159 all-purpose yards and one rushing touchdown (58 rushing, 42 receiving, 59 kickoff returns), quarterback Jase Bauer completed 19 of 31 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown, Jesse Prewitt III scored on a beaufitul 19-yard reception from Bauer, and Tyson Davis led the Chippewas with six catches for 65 yards. On defense, Justin Whiteside led CMU with eight tackles and 1.0 TFL, while Maurice White registered 1.5 sacks.
Central Michigan returns home looking to extend its home win streak to four games. The Chippewas last registered a 17-10 home victory over Akron on Homecoming. CMU's defense held Akron to season opponent lows for total yards (193), first downs (10), held the Zips to 3-13 on third downs, and intercepted a season-best two passes in registering the victory. CMU's defense also applied pressure as it totaled nine quarterback hurries, broke up six passes, registered one sack and one forced fumble with 5.0 tackles for loss for 28 yards.
CMU tied the game at 3-3 right before halftime when placekicker Tristan Mattson converted a school and stadium record 58-yard field goal. The field goal fueled the Chippewas and changed the momentum of the game. In the third quarter, the Chippewas took the lead, 10-3, when Bauer scored on a 5-yard run, then used a time-draining 18-play, 76-yard drive spanning 9:36 to take a commanding 17-3 lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by Myles Bailey with 1:01 left in the third quarter. CMU's defense held Akron off the rest of the way as the victory improved Central Michigan to a perfect 3-0 at home this year.
Bauer accumulated 242 total yards (181 passing, 61 rushing), carried a career-high 20 times for 61 yards with a touchdown and completed 53 percent (17-32) of his passes for 181 yards.
Central Michigan is hoping to erase the memory of a 2022 season which saw it finish 4-8 overall and 3-5 in the Mid-American Conference. The Chippewas finished No. 129 in the nation out of 130 teams in turnover margin (-1.50), 128th nationally in turnovers lost (28) and 130th in fumbles lost (18). During the season, the 2022 Chippewas also lost the majority of their playmakers on offense due to injuries, including two of their top wide receivers, an NFL bound tight end (Joel Wilson) and their top three running backs. Still, Central Michigan had an opportunity to become bowl eligible late in the season and had several opportunities to get to six wins.
Last season's results were a drastic change from the course that Head Coach Jim McElwain has put the Chippewas on since his arrival in 2019. In his first year guiding the program in 2019, he took over a team that finished 1-11 and 0-8 in MAC play and led the Chippewas to one of the nation's top turnarounds, an 8-6 record, 6-2 in the MAC with a berth in the 2019 New Mexico Bowl. After a COVID-shortened 2020 season, he led CMU to a 9-4 overall, 6-2 MAC record and berth in the 2021 Sun Bowl, where the Chippewas closed the year on a five-game win streak, including a 24-21 Sun Bowl win over Washington State.
Central Michigan returned 14 players who started a significant amount of games in 2022, including five on offense and nine on defense. Several transfers were added in who will play significant roles in 2023, several players return from injury, and a variety of players have improved over the offseason and are ready to contribute.
CMU ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT
Central Michigan Football plays on Halloween Night for the 17th time in school history. Ironically, CMU's first-ever football game was played on Oct. 31, 1896, a 6-0 loss to Alma.
CMU owns a 10-5-1 record in 16 Halloween games. The last time the Chippewas played on Halloween was at Akron on Oct. 31, 2015.
Central Michigan has also won four straight Halloween games at Kelly/Shorts Stadium dating back to an Oct. 31, 1948 loss to Wayne State.
COMEBACK KIDS
In each of its last three wins, Central Michigan has rallied from behind to register victories.
Against Akron, Central Michigan trailed 3-0 through the majority of the first half before placekicker Tristan Mattson converted a school-record 58-yard field goal to tie the contest going into halftime. CMU scored 17 unanswered points and ended up winning 17-10.
In a back-and-forth game against Eastern Michigan, the Chippewas trailed 23-19 when the Eagles scored with 2:14 left in the third quarter. But CMU grabbed the lead 26-23 and held on to register the win.
SERIES VS. NORTHERN ILLINOIS
• Central Michigan and Northern Illinois meet for the 59th time since Sept. 30, 1939.
• Central Michigan holds a 32-25-1 advantage in the series, including 20-11 in games played in Mount Pleasant.
• CMU has claimed three of the last four games played at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The Huskies won the last matchup in Mount Pleasant, a 39-38 victory on Oct. 23, 2021.
• Central Michigan won the two school's last matchup, a 35-22 victory over NIU in Dekalb on Nov. 2, 2022.
ALEC WARD TRIBUTE
Former Central Michigan wide receiver Alec Ward passed away due to injuries suffered from a car crash on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. The Bloomfield Hills, Mich. native was 22.
Ward played two seasons as a wide receiver at Central Michigan. He saw action in 11 games, mostly on special teams, from 2020-22. He played in seven games in 2021 and in four games in 2022.
Ward was still enrolled at Central Michigan as a kinesiology major and had just obtained his emergency medical technician certification this summer.
CMU IN NATIONAL STATISTICS
After eight games, Central Michigan finds itself ranked among top-35 national leaders in several statistical categories. The Chippewas rank:
• No. 5 in fumbles lost (1).
• No. 12 in fourth down conversions (75%).
• No. 20 in kickoff returns (24.79).
• No. 38 in time of possession (31:07).
In addition, several individuals are ranked among the nation's top-35 in a variety of statistics:
• Marion Lukes, No. 2 in kickoff return touchdowns (1).
• Marion Lukes, No. 16 in combined kick returns (396).
• Jase Bauer, No. 23 in rushing touchdowns (7).
• Jake Walrath, No. 25 in punting (44.0).
MACtion Game/Halloween • Tuesday, October 31, 2023 • 7 p.m. ET
Kramer/Deromedi Stadium at Kelly/Shorts Stadium (30,255) • Mount Pleasant, Mich.
SATURDAY NIGHT MATCHUP
Television: ESPNU (Courtney Lyle, play-by-play; Hutson Mason, color analyst; Stos Hall, producer).
Chippewa Sports Radio Network: Adam Jaksa, Brock Gutierrez.
Live Stats: visit https://cmuchippewas.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
CMU Social Media: Twitter (@cmu_football); Facebook (@cmufootball); Instagram (cmufootball); Website: www.cmuchippewas.com.
Coaches: Central Michigan-Jim McElwain, 5th year at CMU (28-25), 11th year overall (72-52), 38th year in coaching. Northern Illinois- Thomas Hammock, 5th year at NIU (21-31); 5th year overall (21-31).
Series: Central Michigan and Northern Illinois meet for the 59th time in a football series dating back to Sept. 30, 1939. CMU holds a 32-25-1 advantage and is 20-11 in games played in Mount Pleasant. The Chippewas have won three of the series' last four games played at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Central Michigan claimed last year's meeting, 35-22, in Dekalb.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN GAME NOTES
THE ESSENTIALS
Central Michigan (4-4, 2-2 MAC) hosts Northern Illinois (4-4, 3-1 MAC) for its first MACtion game on Halloween Night and ninth contest of its 122nd season of college football on Tuesday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME
The game will be live televised nationally on ESPNU with Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Hutson Mason (color analyst) calling action. Stos Hall will handle production.
WHERE TO LISTEN TO THE GAME
Fans can also listen to the Chippewa Sports Radio Network broadcast presented by Fabiano Brothers. Adam Jaksa (play-by-play) and former Central Michigan/NFL player and CMU Athletic Hall of Famer Brock Gutierrez (color analyst) call action on the seven-station network (Mount Pleasant, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Petoskey, Traverse City) and nationally on the Varsity Network app. Coverage begins with a one-hour pre-game show.
TODAY'S TOP STORYLINES
• With four games left, CMU needs two more wins to become bowl eligible.
• Central Michigan takes an undefeated 3-0 home record into the game.
• CMU plays on Halloween Night for the 17th time in school history. CMU has won four straight home games on Halloween Night dating back to 1948.
• All four CMU wins this year have come in close fashion as all four games were decided by seven points or less.
• Head Coach Jim McElwain has guided the Chippewas to two bowl games (2019 New Mexico Bowl and 2021 Sun Bowl) and two winning seasons in each of the past three full years.
ABOUT THE CHIPPEWAS
Central Michigan (4-4, 2-2 MAC) returns home to host Northern Illinois (4-4, 3-1 MAC) for a Halloween Night MACtion game on Tuesday, Oct. 31 at Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The contest marks CMU's fifth MAC game and ninth overall contest.
As mid-week MACtion play begins, the Chippewas find themselves fighting for bowl eligibility in a two-way tie for third place in the MAC West Division with Eastern Michigan at 2-2. Toledo is in first place with a 4-0 record and NIU is in second with a 3-1 slate.
After Tuesday, two of CMU's last three games are against MAC West Division foes. The Chippewas have already defeated Eastern Michigan (26-23), host Northern Illinois (Oct. 31), play at Western Michigan on Nov. 7, and close out the regular season against Toledo in their final regular season game on Nov. 24. CMU also plays at Ohio on Nov. 15.
With its four victories in eight games, Central Michigan has already matched its win total from the 2022 season. Central Michigan needs two more victories to become bowl eligible for the third time in four years under Head Coach Jim McElwain.
Central Michigan enters Tuesday night's game following a 24-17 loss at Ball State on Saturday, Oct. 21. Led by Marquez Cooper's 162 rushing yards on 26 carries and a 6.2 average, Ball State rushed for a CMU opponent high 243 yards as the Cardinals outgained the Chippewas 344-260 in total yards, won the time of possession battle (31:39 to 28:21), and converted five of 11 third downs attempts. Ball State grabbed a 17-3 lead in the third quarter with a key 50-yard drive, then held off the Chippewas the rest of the way for the win. Trailing by seven points, Central Michigan drove down the field with under a minute to play but turned the ball over on downs.
Running back Marion Lukes led CMU with 159 all-purpose yards and one rushing touchdown (58 rushing, 42 receiving, 59 kickoff returns), quarterback Jase Bauer completed 19 of 31 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown, Jesse Prewitt III scored on a beaufitul 19-yard reception from Bauer, and Tyson Davis led the Chippewas with six catches for 65 yards. On defense, Justin Whiteside led CMU with eight tackles and 1.0 TFL, while Maurice White registered 1.5 sacks.
Central Michigan returns home looking to extend its home win streak to four games. The Chippewas last registered a 17-10 home victory over Akron on Homecoming. CMU's defense held Akron to season opponent lows for total yards (193), first downs (10), held the Zips to 3-13 on third downs, and intercepted a season-best two passes in registering the victory. CMU's defense also applied pressure as it totaled nine quarterback hurries, broke up six passes, registered one sack and one forced fumble with 5.0 tackles for loss for 28 yards.
CMU tied the game at 3-3 right before halftime when placekicker Tristan Mattson converted a school and stadium record 58-yard field goal. The field goal fueled the Chippewas and changed the momentum of the game. In the third quarter, the Chippewas took the lead, 10-3, when Bauer scored on a 5-yard run, then used a time-draining 18-play, 76-yard drive spanning 9:36 to take a commanding 17-3 lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by Myles Bailey with 1:01 left in the third quarter. CMU's defense held Akron off the rest of the way as the victory improved Central Michigan to a perfect 3-0 at home this year.
Bauer accumulated 242 total yards (181 passing, 61 rushing), carried a career-high 20 times for 61 yards with a touchdown and completed 53 percent (17-32) of his passes for 181 yards.
Central Michigan is hoping to erase the memory of a 2022 season which saw it finish 4-8 overall and 3-5 in the Mid-American Conference. The Chippewas finished No. 129 in the nation out of 130 teams in turnover margin (-1.50), 128th nationally in turnovers lost (28) and 130th in fumbles lost (18). During the season, the 2022 Chippewas also lost the majority of their playmakers on offense due to injuries, including two of their top wide receivers, an NFL bound tight end (Joel Wilson) and their top three running backs. Still, Central Michigan had an opportunity to become bowl eligible late in the season and had several opportunities to get to six wins.
Last season's results were a drastic change from the course that Head Coach Jim McElwain has put the Chippewas on since his arrival in 2019. In his first year guiding the program in 2019, he took over a team that finished 1-11 and 0-8 in MAC play and led the Chippewas to one of the nation's top turnarounds, an 8-6 record, 6-2 in the MAC with a berth in the 2019 New Mexico Bowl. After a COVID-shortened 2020 season, he led CMU to a 9-4 overall, 6-2 MAC record and berth in the 2021 Sun Bowl, where the Chippewas closed the year on a five-game win streak, including a 24-21 Sun Bowl win over Washington State.
Central Michigan returned 14 players who started a significant amount of games in 2022, including five on offense and nine on defense. Several transfers were added in who will play significant roles in 2023, several players return from injury, and a variety of players have improved over the offseason and are ready to contribute.
CMU ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT
Central Michigan Football plays on Halloween Night for the 17th time in school history. Ironically, CMU's first-ever football game was played on Oct. 31, 1896, a 6-0 loss to Alma.
CMU owns a 10-5-1 record in 16 Halloween games. The last time the Chippewas played on Halloween was at Akron on Oct. 31, 2015.
Central Michigan has also won four straight Halloween games at Kelly/Shorts Stadium dating back to an Oct. 31, 1948 loss to Wayne State.
COMEBACK KIDS
In each of its last three wins, Central Michigan has rallied from behind to register victories.
Against Akron, Central Michigan trailed 3-0 through the majority of the first half before placekicker Tristan Mattson converted a school-record 58-yard field goal to tie the contest going into halftime. CMU scored 17 unanswered points and ended up winning 17-10.
In a back-and-forth game against Eastern Michigan, the Chippewas trailed 23-19 when the Eagles scored with 2:14 left in the third quarter. But CMU grabbed the lead 26-23 and held on to register the win.
SERIES VS. NORTHERN ILLINOIS
• Central Michigan and Northern Illinois meet for the 59th time since Sept. 30, 1939.
• Central Michigan holds a 32-25-1 advantage in the series, including 20-11 in games played in Mount Pleasant.
• CMU has claimed three of the last four games played at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The Huskies won the last matchup in Mount Pleasant, a 39-38 victory on Oct. 23, 2021.
• Central Michigan won the two school's last matchup, a 35-22 victory over NIU in Dekalb on Nov. 2, 2022.
ALEC WARD TRIBUTE
Former Central Michigan wide receiver Alec Ward passed away due to injuries suffered from a car crash on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. The Bloomfield Hills, Mich. native was 22.
Ward played two seasons as a wide receiver at Central Michigan. He saw action in 11 games, mostly on special teams, from 2020-22. He played in seven games in 2021 and in four games in 2022.
Ward was still enrolled at Central Michigan as a kinesiology major and had just obtained his emergency medical technician certification this summer.
CMU IN NATIONAL STATISTICS
After eight games, Central Michigan finds itself ranked among top-35 national leaders in several statistical categories. The Chippewas rank:
• No. 5 in fumbles lost (1).
• No. 12 in fourth down conversions (75%).
• No. 20 in kickoff returns (24.79).
• No. 38 in time of possession (31:07).
In addition, several individuals are ranked among the nation's top-35 in a variety of statistics:
• Marion Lukes, No. 2 in kickoff return touchdowns (1).
• Marion Lukes, No. 16 in combined kick returns (396).
• Jase Bauer, No. 23 in rushing touchdowns (7).
• Jake Walrath, No. 25 in punting (44.0).
Players Mentioned
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