Football Hosts No. 23 Toledo in Regular Season Finale

Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw

11/20/2023 9:21:00 PM | Football

Watch Live on ESPNU Listen Live on the Chippewa Sports Radio Network Live Stats CMU Game Notes (PDF)Flip Card (PDF)Toledo Game Notes (PDF)

Kickoff is at Noon ET on ESPNU; Chippewas look to close out season with undefeated 5-0 home record; Chippewas to honor 12 seniors in pre-game ceremony.

By: Greg Hotchkiss

GAME 12 • NO. 23/RV TOLEDO (10-1, 7-0 MAC) AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN (5-6, 3-4 MAC)
Senor Day/Game 12 • Friday, November 24, 2023 • Noon ET
Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium (30,255) • Mount Pleasant, Mich.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT MATCHUP

Television: ESPNU (Shawn Kenney, play-by-play; Craig Haubert, color analyst; Bryan Carter, producer).

Chippewa Sports Radio Network: Adam Jaksa, Brock Gutierrez, Steve Powers, Riley Edwards.

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 (29-27), 11th year overall (73-54), 38th year in coaching. Toledo- Jason Candle, 8^thyear at Toledo (64-33); 8^th year overall (64-33).

Series: Central Michigan and Toledo meet for the 52^nd time in series history. Toledo leads the all-time series with a 28-20-3 advantage in the series which began in 1928. Central Michigan claimed each of the last two games played against Toledo in Mount Pleasant and is 13-11-1 vs. the Rockets in Mount Pleasant.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN GAME NOTES

THE ESSENTIALS

Central Michigan (5-6, 3-4 MAC) hosts the final regular season game of its 122nd season of college football when No. 23/rv Toledo (10-1, 7-0 MAC) entertains the Chippewas on Friday, Nov. 24 at Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Kickoff is set for Noon.

WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME

The game will be live televised nationally on ESPNU with Shawn Kenney (play-by-play) and Craig Haubert (color analyst) calling action. Bryan Carter 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

• In its 12th and final regular season game with a 5-6 overall record, Central Michigan enters the contest needing one more win to become bowl eligible.
• CMU is looking to close out its 13th undefeated season at home since 1950.
• All five CMU victories have been decided by seven points or less.
• The matchup marks 2023 Senior Day for Central Michigan. The Chippewas will honor 12 seniors prior to the game.
• Head Coach Jim McElwain is in search of his third bowl appearance and third winning season at Central Michigan in the last four full years (2019 New Mexico Bowl and 2021 Sun Bowl).

ABOUT THE CHIPPEWAS

Central Michigan (5-6, 3-4 MAC) hosts Toledo (10-1, 7-0 MAC) for its final regular season game on Friday, Nov. 24 at Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The two schools meet for the 52nd time in series history

As Central Michigan's Senior Day celebration, the Chippewas find themselves fighting for bowl eligibility in a three-way tie for third place in the MAC West Division with Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan with identical 3-4 records. Toledo is in first place with a 7-0 record, while Northern Illinois is in second place at 4-3.

With five victories in 11 games, Central Michigan has already surpassed its win total from the 2022 season (4). Central Michigan needs one more victory to become bowl eligible for the third time in four years under Head Coach Jim McElwain.

Central Michigan enters Friday's regular season finale with a perfect 4-0 home record. CMU is looking to close out a season with an undefeated record for the first time since McElwain's first season in 2019, when it went 6-0. Since 1950, Central Michigan has completed 13 seasons with undefeated home records.

The Chippewas enter Friday's game on a two-game losing streak following back-to-back road losses including Wednesday's 34-20 loss at Ohio and Nov. 7's 38-28 loss at Western Michigan. At Ohio, Central Michigan battled back but couldn't overcome a 17-0 deficit as the host Bobcats scored on a 21-yard interception return by Shane Bonner and went on an 87-yard scoring drive to take a 17-7 lead into halftime. Central Michigan came back with Jase Bauer touchdown passes to Tyson Davis (50 yards) and Chris Parker (62 yards) and a Marion Lukes 14-yard run, but the Chippewas couldn't overcome Ohio's 377 yards of total offense and 21 first downs.

At Western Michigan, Central Michigan battled back from a 14-0 second quarter and 21-7 halftime deficits with touchdowns on three consecutive possessions in the third quarter. The Chippewas led the game 28-21 heading into the fourth quarter, but WMU scored 17 unanswered points to claim the victory. Quarterback Jase Bauer threw a career-high three touchdown passes and 205 passing yards while completing 14 of 27 attempts and rushing for 40 yards on 10 carries. Running back Marion Lukes rushed for 147 yards and a 17-yard touchdown on 21 carries and totaled 243 all-purpose yards (147 rushing, 11 receiving, 85 on kickoff returns),  tight end Mitchel Collier caught a career-high two touchdown passes, and wide receiver Tyson Davis finished with three receptions for 86 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown catch from Bauer. Linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski led the defense with a career-high 10 tackles, linebacker Dakota Cochran intercepted his first career pass and made a career-high seven tackles, and cornerback Da'Raun McKinney made six tackles and 1.0 TFL.

The last time the Chippewas played at home, Central Michigan claimed a 37-31 home victory over Northern Illinois on a snowy Halloween Night (Oct. 31). The Chippewas rushed for a season-high 331 yards, 7.0 yards per carry, and tied a season-high with four rushing touchdowns. CMU took a commanding 24-3 halftime lead and held off the visiting Huskies the rest of the way.

Junior running back Marion Lukes led CMU with a career-high 202-yard rushing performance that included a 46-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Lukes averaged 9.6 yards per carry (21-202 yards) in the game and finished the evening with a career-best 254 all-purpose yards (52 kickoff return yards). For his efforts, Lukes was named the MAC West Division Offenisve Player of the Week. Redshirt sophomore Jase Bauer was responsible for three touchdowns, on the evening including runs of nine and one yards respectively, and threw for another touchdown on a 20-yard pass to Mitchel Collier. Bauer finished with 106 rushing yards of his own, his third career 100-yard rushing performance, and completed nine of 16 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown.

Even though Northern Illinois accumulated 506 yards of total offense, CMU's defense held the Huskies to an incredible 0-10 on third down conversions. With NIU driving, CMU's Nahree Biggins intercepted a pass to seal the victory.

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 CELEBRATES SENIOR DAY

In its annual pre-game senior day ceremony, Central Michigan will honor 12 seniors prior to Friday's game against Toledo. Those seniors include:

•  Nick Apsey, LB
•  Kenny Brewer, WR
•  Jacques Bristol, DL
•  Trey Jones, DB
•  Cade Klimczak, OL
•  Thomas Pannunzio, WR
•  Deiyantei Powell-Woods, OL
•  Bailey Smith, TE
•  Robi Stuart, DL
•  Jake Walrath, P
•  Maurice White, DL
•  Markus Young, TE

HOME SWEET HOME

With Friday's game being the last remaining game on the schedule (vs. Toledo, Nov. 24), Central Michigan is a perfect 4-0 in home games this year. The last time CMU completed a season with an undefeated home record was during Head Coach Jim McElwain's first year in 2019, when the Chippewas went a perfect 6-0.

Since 1950, CMU has registered 13 undefeated home seasons: 1953 (4-0), 1954 (4-0), 1955 (4-0), 1956 (4-0), 1967 (4-0), 1970 (4-0), 1977 (5-0), 1979 (5-0), 1980 (6-0), 1994 (5-0), 1998 (5-0), 2009 (5-0), and 2019 (6-0).

CMU AGAINST RANKED TEAMS

In No. 23 ranked Toledo, Central Michigan plays its second nationally ranked team of the 2022-23 season. Earlier this year, CMU played at No. 9/11 Notre Dame. Toledo will be the fourth nationally ranked team that Central Michigan will play in the last two years and 24 games, joining Notre Dame, Penn State and Oklahoma State.

Historically, the Chippewas have registered two wins over nationally ranked teams: at No. 22/17 Oklahoma State on Sept. 10, 2016 (30-27) and at No. 18/19 Michigan State on Sept. 14, 1991 (20-3).

CMU-TOLEDO SERIES

Central Michigan and Toledo meet for the 52nd time in a series which began in 1928.

•  Toledo owns a 28-20-3 overall advantage in the series.
•  Central Michigan has claimed each of the last two meetings against Toledo played in Mount Pleasant (2019 and 2021) and owns a 13-11-1 record vs. the Rockets at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
•  Toledo won last year's matchup, 38-17 in Toledo.
•  The Rockets have claimed eight of the last 10 and 13 of the last 20 matchups against the Chippewas.
•  Central Michigan Head Coach Jim McElwain owns a 2-2 record in five meetings against Toledo.

CMU IN NATIONAL STATISTICS

After 11 games, Central Michigan finds itself ranked among top-35 national leaders in several statistical categories. The Chippewas rank:

•  No. 21, fumbles lost (3).
•  No. 25, fourth down conversion percentage (65.0).
•  No. 38, third down conversion percentage defense (35.5).

In addition, several individuals are ranked among the nation's top-35 in a variety of statistics:

•  Marion Lukes, No. 3 in kickoff return touchdowns (1).
•  Marion Lukes, No. 12, combined kick returns (533).
•  Marion Lukes, No. 11 in all-purpose yardage (133.55).
•  Marion Lukes, No. 20 in kickoff returns (23.2 yards per return).
•  Chris Parker, No. 32 in yards per reception (17.78).
•  Jake Walrath, No. 34 in punting (43.5 yards per punt).