Central Michigan University Athletics
CMU quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr. leaps past a Spartan defender on Friday in the Chippewas' 31-7 loss at Spartan Stadium.
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Football Notebook: Plenty to the Good as Chippewas Look Ahead to New Hampshire
9/2/2023 11:21:00 AM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. – A theme on the Central Michigan football team in 2023 is 'put the ball down; ignore the scoreboard.'
In the wake of Friday's season-opening 31-7 loss at Michigan State, the Chippewas were following that mantra.
Certainly, a 24-point loss to the Big Ten team an hour down the road hurts, but there was plenty to the good and coach Jim McElwain and his players were hardly feeling sorry for themselves in the postgame press conference.
That the Chippewas trailed just 10-7 at halftime and 17-7 entering the fourth quarter were two of many factors on which they could hang their hats.
"I was proud of the offense, the defense, the whole team really -- special teams," junior linebacker Kyle Moretti said. "It kind of shows us what we're capable of doing. Now it's just consistency.
"Got to keep stacking. Learn what we did right, learn what we did wrong. Chalk it up, get after it next week."
Moretti led CMU with 14 tackles, spearheading a defense that twice stopped the Spartans on fourth down while the game was still in the balance.
"Those two fourth-down stops, for our little guys to get in there and knock them back, that was pretty impressive," McElwain said. "We didn't give them anything cheap early in the game. One of the things we wanted to do was make them earn it, and when we did that, we were pretty good."
The Quarterback
Redshirt freshman Bert Emanuel Jr. drew the start for CMU. It was his fifth career appearance and second start.
A year ago, Emanuel burst onto the scene and dazzled, averaging 124 yards rushing (7.4 per carry) and scoring seven touchdowns.
Against MSU, Emanuel finished with 87 yards on 11-of-17 passing and one touchdown and rushed for 41 net yards.
By late in the first half, he had already surpassed the passing attempts (8) and completions (4) totals he posted a year ago, when he preserved his redshirt by playing in only four games.
Certainly, Emanuel showed flashes of his running prowess against the Spartans. But McElwain, a proponent of a 50-50 pass-run ratio offense, is well aware that the Chippewas will need to throw the ball to be effective as the season progresses.
"I didn't think it was too big for him," McElwain said of his freshman signal caller playing in front of a crowd of 70,000 plus. "I think in space his athleticism showed against Big Ten people which bodes well for us.
"We obviously need to throw the ball with some consistency."
It marked Emanuel's first appearance against an opponent from a Power 5 conference.
"They're big, they're a great defense," he said. "The speed was a little different, but it's something you've got to play against, something you've got to get used to. I've got to make that adjustment quick. It's not something that I can just wait out; got to be ready from the snap."
Redshirt sophomore Jase Bauer replaced Emanuel in the fourth quarter when the Spartans had seized control.
Bauer, who played a significant amount last season, completed two of his eight pass attempts for nine yards and carried twice for 27 yards.
Good Start
Despite the loss, Emanuel and Moretti were upbeat in the postgame press conference, particularly when questioned about the morale and the effort with which the Chippewas played.
"Everybody was there, bringing that energy, bringing that spark, people picking each other up," Emanuel said. "That was the biggest thing for me.
"I feel like we were real physical today, especially up front. Those boys battled all night. Speaking as a quarterback, I can't say anything (bad) about them; it was our starting five and guys rotating in. They were being physical they played their tails off, gave it everything they had."
Said Moretti: "This will bring us closer. I think we'll use this is as a foundation to keep going on this year."
Key Plays
While MSU scored 21 points in the final 18 minutes of the game to win going away, two sequences – on CMU's first possession of the game and on its first possession of the second half -- significantly hampered the Chippewas' chances of staying in the game.
The first came on CMU's first drive of the game when it took 15 plays and more than nine minutes and reached as close as the Spartans' 2-yard line but came up empty when Emanuel was sacked on fourth down.
The Chippewas ran seven plays inside MSU's 10-yard line on the drive.
"You've got to push that in in these games -- in any game that you get the opportunity," McElwain said. "When you look at their red-zone defense, even from a year ago, and the people they kept out of the end zone, I knew it was going to be rough sledding when we get down there."
The second big play that helped turn the game in MSU's favor came with the Chippewas driving on their first possession of the third quarter.
Trailing 10-7 and facing second-and-5 at the MSU 34, Emanuel was intercepted after his pass was batted up at the line by a Spartan defender.
The Chippewas' next five drives ended in punts, and they failed to cross midfield on any of the drives.
"They took advantage of that turnover in the second half, and we never really got it back," McElwain said. "That's what you should do, take advantage of turnovers."
Firsts
• Emanual's TD pass went for 12 yards to redshirt sophomore Chris Parker. It was Emanual's first TD pass and Parker's first TD catch.
• Tristan Mattson, a redshirt junior transfer from Arkansas State, kicked the extra point, his first as a Chippewa. Mattson averaged 65 yards on his two kickoffs.
• Punter Jake Walrath, a senior transfer from Tarleton State, averaged 41.8 yards on eight punts in his CMU debut. His longest boot covered 53 yards and one of his punts was downed inside the MSU 20-yard line.
• Tight end Mitchel Collier finished with three catches to share the team lead with Sam Hicks. Collier picked up 30 total yards on his three catches. His 4-yard reception on CMU's first drive of the game was the first of his career.
• On defense, senior Maurice White, who is in his second season at CMU after transferring from Memphis, made his first sack as a Chippewa.
Homecoming
Friday's game was a homecoming of sorts for McElwain, who was an assistant coach at Michigan State from 2003-05 under John L. Smith. McElwain also served as an assistant at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh in 2018 before coming to CMU.
"It was a great opportunity," McElwain said. "I thank Michigan State for giving our university an opportunity to come here.
"I think it's great for Central Michigan and I think it's great for the state of Michigan. It's the way it should be; the two big schools give us opportunities … Our kids, none of them were recruited here, but they used to come to games here. They know about Spartan Stadium. It was a dream come true for quite a few of them and I think that's a heck of a deal."
Next
CMU plays host to New Hampshire on Saturday, Sept. 9 (1:30 p.m.) at Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
New Hampshire, a Football Championship Subdivision program, was scheduled to open the season on Saturday, Sept. 2.
The Wildcats reached the second round of the FCS playoffs and finished 9-4 a year ago.
In the wake of Friday's season-opening 31-7 loss at Michigan State, the Chippewas were following that mantra.
Certainly, a 24-point loss to the Big Ten team an hour down the road hurts, but there was plenty to the good and coach Jim McElwain and his players were hardly feeling sorry for themselves in the postgame press conference.
That the Chippewas trailed just 10-7 at halftime and 17-7 entering the fourth quarter were two of many factors on which they could hang their hats.
"I was proud of the offense, the defense, the whole team really -- special teams," junior linebacker Kyle Moretti said. "It kind of shows us what we're capable of doing. Now it's just consistency.
"Got to keep stacking. Learn what we did right, learn what we did wrong. Chalk it up, get after it next week."
Moretti led CMU with 14 tackles, spearheading a defense that twice stopped the Spartans on fourth down while the game was still in the balance.
"Those two fourth-down stops, for our little guys to get in there and knock them back, that was pretty impressive," McElwain said. "We didn't give them anything cheap early in the game. One of the things we wanted to do was make them earn it, and when we did that, we were pretty good."
The Quarterback
Redshirt freshman Bert Emanuel Jr. drew the start for CMU. It was his fifth career appearance and second start.
A year ago, Emanuel burst onto the scene and dazzled, averaging 124 yards rushing (7.4 per carry) and scoring seven touchdowns.
Against MSU, Emanuel finished with 87 yards on 11-of-17 passing and one touchdown and rushed for 41 net yards.
By late in the first half, he had already surpassed the passing attempts (8) and completions (4) totals he posted a year ago, when he preserved his redshirt by playing in only four games.
Certainly, Emanuel showed flashes of his running prowess against the Spartans. But McElwain, a proponent of a 50-50 pass-run ratio offense, is well aware that the Chippewas will need to throw the ball to be effective as the season progresses.
"I didn't think it was too big for him," McElwain said of his freshman signal caller playing in front of a crowd of 70,000 plus. "I think in space his athleticism showed against Big Ten people which bodes well for us.
"We obviously need to throw the ball with some consistency."
It marked Emanuel's first appearance against an opponent from a Power 5 conference.
"They're big, they're a great defense," he said. "The speed was a little different, but it's something you've got to play against, something you've got to get used to. I've got to make that adjustment quick. It's not something that I can just wait out; got to be ready from the snap."
Redshirt sophomore Jase Bauer replaced Emanuel in the fourth quarter when the Spartans had seized control.
Bauer, who played a significant amount last season, completed two of his eight pass attempts for nine yards and carried twice for 27 yards.
Good Start
Despite the loss, Emanuel and Moretti were upbeat in the postgame press conference, particularly when questioned about the morale and the effort with which the Chippewas played.
"Everybody was there, bringing that energy, bringing that spark, people picking each other up," Emanuel said. "That was the biggest thing for me.
"I feel like we were real physical today, especially up front. Those boys battled all night. Speaking as a quarterback, I can't say anything (bad) about them; it was our starting five and guys rotating in. They were being physical they played their tails off, gave it everything they had."
Said Moretti: "This will bring us closer. I think we'll use this is as a foundation to keep going on this year."
Key Plays
While MSU scored 21 points in the final 18 minutes of the game to win going away, two sequences – on CMU's first possession of the game and on its first possession of the second half -- significantly hampered the Chippewas' chances of staying in the game.
The first came on CMU's first drive of the game when it took 15 plays and more than nine minutes and reached as close as the Spartans' 2-yard line but came up empty when Emanuel was sacked on fourth down.
The Chippewas ran seven plays inside MSU's 10-yard line on the drive.
"You've got to push that in in these games -- in any game that you get the opportunity," McElwain said. "When you look at their red-zone defense, even from a year ago, and the people they kept out of the end zone, I knew it was going to be rough sledding when we get down there."
The second big play that helped turn the game in MSU's favor came with the Chippewas driving on their first possession of the third quarter.
Trailing 10-7 and facing second-and-5 at the MSU 34, Emanuel was intercepted after his pass was batted up at the line by a Spartan defender.
The Chippewas' next five drives ended in punts, and they failed to cross midfield on any of the drives.
"They took advantage of that turnover in the second half, and we never really got it back," McElwain said. "That's what you should do, take advantage of turnovers."
Firsts
• Emanual's TD pass went for 12 yards to redshirt sophomore Chris Parker. It was Emanual's first TD pass and Parker's first TD catch.
• Tristan Mattson, a redshirt junior transfer from Arkansas State, kicked the extra point, his first as a Chippewa. Mattson averaged 65 yards on his two kickoffs.
• Punter Jake Walrath, a senior transfer from Tarleton State, averaged 41.8 yards on eight punts in his CMU debut. His longest boot covered 53 yards and one of his punts was downed inside the MSU 20-yard line.
• Tight end Mitchel Collier finished with three catches to share the team lead with Sam Hicks. Collier picked up 30 total yards on his three catches. His 4-yard reception on CMU's first drive of the game was the first of his career.
• On defense, senior Maurice White, who is in his second season at CMU after transferring from Memphis, made his first sack as a Chippewa.
Homecoming
Friday's game was a homecoming of sorts for McElwain, who was an assistant coach at Michigan State from 2003-05 under John L. Smith. McElwain also served as an assistant at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh in 2018 before coming to CMU.
"It was a great opportunity," McElwain said. "I thank Michigan State for giving our university an opportunity to come here.
"I think it's great for Central Michigan and I think it's great for the state of Michigan. It's the way it should be; the two big schools give us opportunities … Our kids, none of them were recruited here, but they used to come to games here. They know about Spartan Stadium. It was a dream come true for quite a few of them and I think that's a heck of a deal."
Next
CMU plays host to New Hampshire on Saturday, Sept. 9 (1:30 p.m.) at Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
New Hampshire, a Football Championship Subdivision program, was scheduled to open the season on Saturday, Sept. 2.
The Wildcats reached the second round of the FCS playoffs and finished 9-4 a year ago.
Players Mentioned
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DL
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