Football Opens 2023 Season on Friday Night at Michigan State

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

Football Opens 2023 Season on Friday Night at Michigan State

8/29/2023 5:56:00 PM | Football

Central Michigan Game Notes (PDF)Jim McElwain Interview Michigan State Game Notes MSU Game Day Website MSU Parking Information 2023 Roster 2023 Schedule 2023 Ticket Central

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET for an FS1 national broadcast; CMU and MSU to meet for the 12th time in series history.

By: Greg Hotchkiss

GAME ONE: CENTRAL MICHIGAN (4-8, 3-5 MAC) AT MICHIGAN STATE (5-7, 3-6 BIG TEN)
2023 Season Opener • Friday, September 1 • 7 p.m. ET
Spartan Stadium (74,866) • East Lansing, Mich.

FRIDAY NIGHT MATCHUP

Television: FS1 (Tim Brando, Spencer Tillman; Producer: Jacob Jolivette).

Chippewa Sports Radio Network: Adam Jaksa, Brock Gutierrez.

Live Stats: www.msuspartans.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 (24-21), 11th year overall (68-48), 38th year in coaching. Michigan State- Mel Tucker, 4th year at MSU (23-21), 4th year overall (28-28), 28th year in coaching.

Series: Central Michigan and Michigan State meet for the 12th time in series history with the Spartans holding an 8-3 advantage. MSU has won four consecutive games dating back to 2009. CMU claimed victories over the Spartans in 1991, 1992, and 2009.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN GAME NOTES

THE ESSENTIALS

EAST LANSING, Mich. –Central Michigan (4-8, 3-5 MAC in 2022) opens its 2023 season and 122nd season of college football when it travels one hour and 60 miles south to East Lansing, Mich. to take on Michigan State (5-7, 3-6 Big Ten in 2022). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at Spartan Stadium.

WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME

The game will be nationally televised on FS1 with Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman calling action. Jacob Jolivette will handle production. The game can also be accessed on FS1's streaming app at www.foxsports.com/live/fs1.

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 and Varsity Network app. Coverage begins with a one-hour pre-game show.

TODAY'S TOP STORYLINES

• Central Michigan and Michigan State meet in football for the 12th time in series history. CMU is 3-8 vs. MSU.
• Central Michigan has defeated Michigan State three times since 1991 (1991, 1992, and 2009).
• Former MSU assistant 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. He enters his fifth year at CMU.
•CMU is coming off a 4-8 season (3-5 in the MAC) that saw the team suffer through major injuries at several positions.

ABOUT THE CHIPPEWAS

Central Michigan enters its 2023 football season hoping to erase the memories 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). 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. In 2021, 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 returns 14 players who started a significant amount of games in 2022, including five on offense and nine on defense. Several transfers arrive who will play significant roles in the coming season, several players return from injury, and a variety of players have improved over the offseason and are ready to contribute.

CMU AGAINST POWER-FIVE OPPONENTS

Since 2009, Central Michigan has won six games against FBS Power Five opponents. CMU's last victory over a Power-Five opponent came on December 31, 2021 against Washington State (24-21) in the Sun Bowl. Those victories have come against Washington State, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Iowa, and Michigan State. Three of those wins came against Big Ten Conference opponents.

Here is a list of those victories (most recent to least recent):

Date	Opponent	Score
Dec. 31, 2021	vs. *Washington State	W, 24-21
Sept. 9, 2017	at Kansas	W, 45-27
Sept. 10, 2016	at Oklahoma State	W, 30-27
Sept. 6, 2014	at Purdue	W, 38-17
Sept. 22, 2012	at Iowa	W, 32-31
Sept. 12, 2009	at Michigan State	W, 29-27

*Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl

Since Head Coach Jim McElwain took over at Central Michigan, he has guided the Chippewas to a 1-6 record vs. Power Five opponents with the lone victory coming in the 2021 Sun Bowl vs. Washington State (24-21). Those losses include contests at Wisconsin (61-0), Miami, Fla. (17-12), Missouri (34-24), LSU (49-21), Oklahoma State (58-44), and Penn State (33-14).

CMU-MSU SERIES NOTES

Central Michigan and Michigan State meet in college football for the 12th time. Since 1991 and the start of NCAA Division I football, the Chippewas own a 3-8 record vs. the Spartans, with the three wins coming in 1991, 1992, and 2009. CMU is 3-7 in games played at Spartan Stadium. Friday's contest marks the 12th matchup between the two schools since CMU moved into NCAA Division I.

In 1991, Central Michigan, coached by Hall of Fame coach Herb Deromedi, registered a 20-3 victory over No. 18/19 ranked Michigan State in East Lansing. The game is billed as CMU's greatest gridiron triumph. CMU running back Billy Smith rushed for 162 yards as the Chippewas outgained the Spartans 346-281 in yardage.

The following year in 1992, Deromedi's squad won for the second straight year against Michigan State, a 24-20 victory in East Lansing. Safety Darrall Stinson paced the CMU defense with 14 tackles, including a jarring hit that forced an MSU fumble at the CMU goal line. Quarterback Joe Youngblood connected with split end Bryan Tice for touchdown passes of 6 and 15 yards to give CMU a 14-7 halftime lead.

The last win came on Sept. 12, 2009, when head coach Butch Jones' Chippewas claimed a 29-27 victory over the Spartans in East Lansing. Andrew Aguila's 42-yard field goal with three seconds left gave CMU the victory. Dan LeFevour's touchdown pass to Paris Cotton with 32 seconds left drew CMU within a point, 27-26, but a two-point conversion pass to Antonio Bryant was incomplete. Bryan Anderson recovered a perfectly executed onside kick, and LeFevour completed three straight passes to move the Chippewas into field goal range.

More notes to consider:
• Two of Central Michigan's three wins in its series against Michigan State have occurred in the first game of a season.
• Eleven of the last 12 meetings have been played in East Lansing. The 2012 contest was played in Mount Pleasant.
• Every time that Central Michigan has defeated Michigan State, the Chippewas went on to finish with a sub-.500 record.

MCELWAIN DELIVERS ON PROMISE

Under Head Coach Jim McElwain and with three full seasons in charge of the program (CMU played just six games in 2020 due to COVID), the Chippewas have won or shared the MAC West Division championship two times and advanced to two bowl games (2019 and 2021). In addition, the Chippewas are 24-21 including an 18-12 record in MAC games. The 18 league wins tie for the most victories and the 24 overall wins tie for the second-most victories in the MAC when combining the last four seasons. During that four-year span, the Chippewas are the only MAC school to win eight or more overall wins and six or more league wins two times (2019-22).

McElwain guided the 2021 Chippewas to a 9-4 finish including a 6-2 record in MAC games—earning CMU the MAC West co-championship—and a 24-21 victory over Pac-12 representative Washington State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.

It marked the Chippewas' first bowl win since 2012 and their first victory over a Power 5 opponent since 2017.

CMU's 2021 ledger included wins over in-state rivals Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan, bringing the Michigan MAC Trophy back to Mount Pleasant for the first time since 2017. McElwain and Co. put that trophy on display alongside the Victory Cannon, which CMU reclaimed with a 42-30 win over Western.

Central Michigan is 12-3 in the month of November under Jim McElwain. The squad went 3-0 in 2019, 3-1 in 2020, 4-0 in 2021, and is 2-2 in 2022. Previously, the Chippewas won seven straight games in the month of November under McElwain up until last a 2022 loss to Western Michigan.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE

• Central Michigan's dominance on defense is nothing new as the Chippewas continue to rank among the nation's top programs in a variety of statistical categories.

• In 2022, Central Michigan ranked among the Mid-American Conference's top five teams in five different defensive statistical categories. The Chippewas rated No. 3 nationally and led the MAC in team tackles for loss (8.2 per game). The Chippewas also ranked among national leaders in third down conversion percentage defense (No. 19 and No. 2 in the MAC at 33.0), red zone defense (No. 23, led the MAC at 77.3 percent), and team sacks (No. 31, ranked No. in the MAC with 2.67 per game).

• In 2021, CMU led the MAC and was 18th nationally in rushing defense (114.6 yards per game), also shared the MAC lead and tied for No. 4 nationally with 43 sacks, ranked No. 1 in the nation with 8.2 tackles for loss per game, and No. 6 in the nation with 106 tackles for loss.

• In addition, CMU's 2021 defense also ranked No. 6 in the nation in third down efficiency defense as it allowed opponents to convert on just 29.8 percent of third downs.

PRESEASON PERSONNEL NUMBERS AND NOTES

• Central Michigan returns five starters on offense. Those returning starters include offensive linemen Davis Heinzen (12 career starts), Deiyantei Powell-Woods (28 career starts), and Brayden Swartout (13 career starts). Quarterbacks Jase Bauer and Bert Emanuel Jr. both started games in 2022, along with tight end Marcus Young (five starts) and wide receiver Jalen McGaughy (six starts). Running backs Marion Lukes and Myles Bailey both saw extensive action last year.

• Numerically speaking on offense, Central Michigan returns players who accounted for 66 percent of rushing yards (1,253 of 1910), 73 percent of rushing touchdowns (16 of 22), 52 percent of rushing attempts (231 of 444), 20 percent of passing yards (489 of 2,497), 18 percent of completions (39 of 219), 6 percent of passing touchdowns (1 of 16), 44 percent of receiving yards (1,111 of 2,497), 42 percent of receptions (91 of 219), 44 percent of touchdowns receiving (7 of 16), 60 percent of total touchdowns scored (24 of 40), 52 percent of total points scored (155 of 297), 42 percent of total offensive yards (1,852 of 4,407), and 60 percent of offensive line starts (36 of 60).

• The Chippewas return an experienced defense featuring nine returning starters. Those players include defensive linemen Robi Stuart (35 career starts), Jacques Bristol (31 career starts) and Michael Heldman (11 starts), both linebackers in Kyle Moretti (11 starts) and Justin Whiteside (14 starts), along with defensive backs Trey Jones (12 starts), Donte Kent (25 starts), Jayden Davis (eight starts), and De'Javion Stepney (10 starts).

• Numerically speaking on defense, Central Michigan returns players who accounted for 86 percent (712 of 831) of its tackles, 64 percent (66.5 of 104) of its tackles for losses, 54.5 percent (20 of 36.5) of its sacks, 100 percent of its interceptions (4 of 4), 80 percent of its pass breakups (44 of 54), 68 percent (17 of 25) of its quarterback hurries, 83 percent of its forced fumbles (5 of 6) and 83 percent of its fumble recoveries (5 of 6).

• On special teams, Central Michigan returns players who accounted for 17 percent of field goals made (1 of 6), 0 percent of punts (0 of 55), 86 percent of punt return yards (18 of 21), 97 percent of kickoff return yards (32 of 33), and 61 percent of all-purpose yards (3,222 of 5,240).