Football to Host Ohio in Key MAC Matchup, Homecoming Game on Saturday

GAME 6: OHIO (3-2, 1-0 MAC) at CENTRAL MICHIGAN (3-2, 1-0 MAC)
2024 Homecoming/50^th year reunion of the 1974 NCAA championship team/100^th anniversary of Homecoming
Saturday, October 12 • 4 p.m. ET • Mount Pleasant, Mich.
Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium (30,255)

SATURDAY MATCHUP

Television: ESPNU (Matt Schumacker, play-by-play; Dustin Fox, analyst; Jeff Graham, producer).

Chippewa Sports Radio Network: Adam Jaksa, play-by-play; Brock Gutierrez, color analyst; spotter: Steve Powers; host: Riley Edwards; host/engineer: Nathan Arbaugh.

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, 6th year at CMU (32-30), 12th year overall (76-57), 39th year in coaching. Ohio- Tim Albin, 4^th year as head coach at Ohio (26-18), 4^th year overall (26-18); 20^th season at Ohio.

Series: Central Michigan and Ohio meet for the 36^th time in a series dating back to 1972. In the 35-game series, CMU owns a 27-6-2 overall record vs. Ohio, including a 13-2-1 record in games played in Michigan. CMU has won two straight home games vs. Ohio.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN GAME NOTES

THE ESSENTIALS

Central Michigan (3-2, 1-0 MAC) plays its third consecutive home contest when it hosts Ohio (3-2, 1-0 MAC) for its 2024 Homecoming Game on Saturday at Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET.

WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME

The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Matt Schumacker (play-by-play) and Dustin Fox (color analyst) calling action with Jeff Graham producing.

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 five-station network (Mount Pleasant, Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Muskegon) and nationally on the Varsity Network app. Coverage begins with a one-hour pre-game show.

SATURDAY'S TOP STORYLINES

•CMU plays its third straight home game and gets back into MAC play when it hosts Ohio for Homecoming.

•Central Michigan is hard to beat at Kelly/Shorts Stadium as it has won three straight home games and seven of its last eight matchups. The Chippewas are a combined 21-8 under Head Coach Jim McElwain with a .724-win percentage in games played at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

•McElwain is in search of his third bowl appearance and third winning season at Central Michigan in the last five full years (2019 New Mexico Bowl and 2021 Sun Bowl).

ABOUT THE CHIPPEWAS

Riding a two-game win streak and three-game home win streak, Central Michigan (3-2, 1-0 MAC) plays the second MAC game of its 123rd season of college football on Saturday, Oct. 12 when it hosts Ohio (3-2, 1-0 MAC) at Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The matchup represents Central Michigan's 2024 Homecoming Game as the Chippewas will acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the 1974 national championship team and the 100th anniversary of Homecoming on campus.

The Chippewas have spent the following month in Mount Pleasant for three consecutive home games as they host Ball State (Sept. 21) and San Diego State (Sept. 28) on consecutive Saturdays, have a bye week on Oct. 5, then host Ohio for the 2024 Homecoming Game on Saturday, Oct. 12.

Central Michigan enters the matchup after a back-to-back last-minute, come-from-behind victories which saw the Chippewas win both games in the final minute. CMU registered a 37-34 victory over Ball State after the Chippewas rallied and scored the go-ahead and game-winning touchdown with 16 seconds to play when quarterback Joe Labas found Chris Parker in the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass. The following week saw CMU upend San Diego State 22-21 on a 46-yard field goal by Tristan Mattson with five seconds on the clock. Once again, Labas drove the Chippewas into field goal position.

The Chippewas played in front of 18,011 fans vs. Ball State, then followed that up with a 27,072 crowd vs. San Diego State.

Against San Diego State, Central Michigan took advantage of two field goal misses in the last five minutes, took control of the ball at its own 20-yard line and drove down the field with 1:56 remaining. Labas and company set up Mattson at the 28-yard line with five seconds to play. Labas threw for 275 yards on 24-43 passing and the Chippewa run game produced 154 yards, including 76 from Marion Lukes. CMU outgained SDSU 452-364 in total yardage and notched a season-high four sacks in the victory. Mattson earned MAC Special Teams Player of the Week honor for his heroics.

Against Ball State, CMU rushed for 335 yards and 527 total yards of offense. It marked the most rushing yards since CMU rolled up 352 in a 42-28 win over New Mexico State on Oct. 12, 2019. The 527 total yards are the most since the Chippewas finished with 529 in a 41-0 win over Bucknell on Sept. 17, 2022.

B.J. Harris, who earned MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 23, rushed for a career-high 151 yards on only eight carries (18.9 yards per carry), led CMU in all-purpose yards (156), Chris Parker caught two touchdown passes, Labas completed 14 of 20 passes for 185 yards, and quarterback Bert Emanuel, Jr. saw his first game action of the season and was responsible for three touchdowns, including touchdown runs of 20 and 16 yards, and a 7-yard touchdown pass. Linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski paced the defense with a career-high 15 tackles (nine solo) and Elijah Rikard had a career-high eight tackles. CMU trailed 10-0 in the first quarter but scored 20 unanswered points to get back into it.

Ball State took the lead back in the third quarter, but the Chippewas answered with an Emanuel 16-yard TD run with 5:02 to play. The Cardinals regained the lead with 53 seconds to play on a 97-yard scoring drive spanning five plays which culminated on a 16-yard pass. But CMU was not finished as the Chippewas marched 75 yards in five plays for the game-winning pass with 16 seconds to play. B.J. Harris rambled 25 yards, Labas hit Evan Boyd down the middle of the field for 34 yards, then Labas found Parker for the 20-yard strike.

Central Michigan returned 17 players who started a significant number of games in 2023, including eight players on offense and nine on defense. Several transfers were added in who play significant roles in 2024, several players return from injury, and a variety of players have improved over the offseason and are ready to contribute. The Chippewas are a year older across the board with a majority of their talent returning.

Last year, CMU narrowly missed advancing to a bowl game as it entered its season finale against No. 23 Toledo needing one more win to become bowl eligible. CMU dropped a 32-17 decision.

Combining the last three seasons (2022-24), CMU has accumulated an 11-17 record and the Chippewas are coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 2010 and 2011 when they went 3-9 in consecutive years. Central Michigan is hoping to erase the memory of those two seasons that saw it finish an identical 3-5 in Mid-American Conference play.

The last two seasons 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.

A WIN OVER OHIO WOULD….

•Give CMU a 2-0 record in MAC play and vault the Chippewas into first place in the MAC.

•Give CMU a 2-0 start in MAC play for the first time since the CoVID-shortened 2020 season. Prior to that year, CMU last went 2-0 in the MAC to start a season in 2009.

•Give CMU a 4-2 start to a campaign for the first time since the 2016 season.

•Give CMU its third straight victory. The last time CMU won three or more consecutive wins was in 2021 when it won five straight games to close out the season, along with a Tony the Tiger Bowl win over Washington State.

•Give CMU a perfect 4-0 record in home games.

•Give CMU its second straight Homecoming win and fourth win in its last five tries in Homecoming games.

•Give CMU its fourth straight home win and eighth win in its last nine home games.

•Improve Head Coach Jim McElwain to 22-8 in home games since he became the coach in 2019.

MATTSON EARNS MAC HONOR

Senior placekicker Tristan Mattson was named the co-Mid-American Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 30.

Mattson converted a 46-yard field goal to win the game with five seconds to play, giving CMU a 22-21 come-from-behind win over San Diego State. He concluded the day with 10 points and converted field goals of 25, 34, and 46 yards. He has now converted a career-best seven consecutive field goals, is 8-9 on field goals for the season, and 15-23 in his career. He has also hit three game-winning field goals in his career.

HOME, SWEET, HOME

Under Head Coach Jim McElwain, Central Michigan has enjoyed a tremendous home field advantage. The Chippewas are a combined 21-8 under Coach Mac with a .724-win percentage within the confines of Kelly/Shorts Stadium since 2019.

CMU will enter its next home game vs. Ohio on a three-game home win streak and after winning seven of its last eight home contests. The one loss came in the 2023 season finale, a 32-17 loss to Toledo on Nov. 24, 2023.

The last time CMU completed a season with an undefeated home record was during McElwain's first year in 2019, when the Chippewas went a perfect 6-0. The last several seasons, CMU went 1-2 in 2020, 5-1 in 2021, 2-4 in 2022, 4-1 in 2023, and now 3-0 in 2024 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

Since 1950, CMU has registered 13 undefeated seasons at home: 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).

CARDIAC KIDS

Closely contested games have been the norm for Central Michigan as the Chippewas have already claimed two games in the closing seconds this year as they defeated Ball State on a touchdown pass with 16 seconds remaining and San Diego State on a field goal with five seconds left. Combining each the last two seasons, CMU has won seven of its last eight games by seven points or less.

Last year, Central Michigan thrived in close games with all five of its wins coming by seven points or less. In games decided by seven points or less, Central Michigan owned a 5-1 record in 2023. CMU's average margin of victory was 4.60 points per win (23 points-5 wins). Three of the five wins were decided in the final minute of each game. In the other two wins, CMU established a lead and held off the other team in the closing minutes.

Here is a chart showing the victory margin of each Central Michigan win in the last two seasons:

2023

Sept. 9	New Hampshire	W, 45-42	+3
Sept. 23	at South Alabama	W, 34-30	+4
Sept. 30	Eastern Michigan	W, 26-23	+3
Oct. 14	Akron	W, 17-10	+7
Oct. 31	Northern Illinois	W, 37-31	+6

2024

Aug. 29	Central Conn State	W, 66-10	+56
Sept. 21	Ball State	W, 37-34	+3
Sept. 28	San Diego State	W, 22-21	+1

Consider the following:

•In CMU's first win of 2023, a 45-42 win over New Hampshire on Sept. 9, placekicker Tristan Mattson converted a 47-yard field goal following a 13-play, 47-yard drive as time expired to give the Chippewas the win. Mattson was kicking his first career field goal. After CMU led the entire game, New Hampshire rallied to tie the game at 42-42 with 3:14 to play.

•Against South Alabama on Sept. 23, quarterback Jase Bauer rushed for a 4-yard score with 13 seconds left to play as the Chippewas won a 34-30 road victory in Mobile, Ala. after Bauer engineered an 11-play, 75-yard drive. The quarterback was responsible for five touchdowns (four rushing and one passing). South Alabama was coming off an impressive 33-7 win over Oklahoma State.

•On Sept. 30 against Eastern Michigan, CMU rallied from a 23-19 deficit with a 24-yard touchdown run by Marion Lukes with 7:55 to play to take a 26-23 lead. The Chippewas' defense then held off Eastern Michigan in the closing seconds as a 46-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right with 55 seconds. The offense ran out the clock and the Chippewas improved to 3-2.

•In wins over Akron (17-10) and Northern Illinois (37-31), Central Michigan established leads, then held off its opponents and made several plays down the stretch to claim the victories.

HOMECOMING SUCCESS

Central Michigan holds a 61-34-1 record in 95 all-time Homecoming games. CMU did not play Homecoming games during four years in 1943, 1944, and 1945 due to World War II and also in 2020 due to the CoVID-19 pandemic.

From 1986-93, Central Michigan won 17 consecutive Homecoming games. Its largest win on Homecoming with a 51-point victory (58-7) over Northern Illinois on Oct. 26, 1946. Through the years, CMU has registered 17 shutouts on Homecoming.

The Chippewas have claimed three of their last four Homecoming games and six of their last 10, including last year's 17-10 win over Akron on Oct. 14, 2023.

SETTING THE TABLE FOR SUCCESS

For the second straight season, Central Michigan concluded its non-conference schedule with a successful 2-2 record. Since 2016, when CMU has won two or more non-conference games, the Chippewas have gone on to earn a bowl berth in four of the last five seasons. Two of those years were under Head Coach Jim McElwain (2019 and 2021).

Here is a look at seasons where CMU has won two or more non-conference games and the record the Chippewas finished with during each season:

Year	W-L	Finish
2023	2-2	5-7 overall, 3-5 MAC
2021	2-2	9-4 overall, 6-2 MAC, bowl
2019	2-2	8-6 overall, 6-2 MAC, bowl
2017	2-3	8-5 overall, 6-2 MAC, bowl
2016	3-1	6-7 overall, 3-5 MAC, bowl

B.J. HARRIS EARNS MAC HONOR

Senior running back B.J. Harris was named the Mid-American Conference's co-Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 23 after he piled up a career-high 151 rushing yards and led CMU with 156 all-purpose yards.

Harris averaged 18.9 yards per carry as he finished with just eight attempts. He helped set up CMU's game-winning touchdown with a 25-yard run late in the game.

SERIES VS. OHIO

Central Michigan owns a 27-6-2 all-time record against Ohio in 35 games dating back to Sept. 9, 1972. CMU has claimed eight of the last 10 matchups and 15 of the last 20 meetings (15-4-1).

The Chippewas are 13-2-1 all-time in homes games against the Bobcats and have won each of the last two matchups in Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

Ohio won last year's meeting, a 34-20 decision at Peden Stadium. Prior to the 2023 contest, CMU had won seven consecutive games in the series.

CMU has matched up with Ohio four previous times for its annual Homecoming Game and has come away with three victories.

SAN DIEGO STATE POST-GAME NOTES

The Central Michigan win...

•Improved Central Michigan to a 3-2 overall record. The Chippewas finish their non-conference portion of the season with a 2-2 record. It is the second straight season that CMU begins a season with a 3-2 record after five games.

•Gave Central Michigan its third straight home victory and improved CMU to a perfect 3-0 in home games this year. Central Michigan has now won seven of its last eight home games.

•Gave Central Michigan its second consecutive last-minute victory.

•Evened the series against San Diego State at 1-1. The teams are scheduled to play again at San Diego State on Sept. 21, 2030.

•Gave head coach Jim McElwain his 21st home victory since he became head coach at CMU in 2019. His record at home improved to 21-8. His winning percentage in home games is .724.

•Improved CMU to 4-0 vs. members of the Mountain West Conference.

Team Notes

•Central Michigan registered a one-point victory (22-21) for the first time since it defeated Akron 23-22 on Oct. 29, 2011.

•Central Michigan shut out San Diego State in the second half and last two quarters. The Chippewas scored the game's final 12 points.

•Central Michigan finished with season-highs for sacks (4.0) and tackles for loss (10.0).

•Central Michigan outgained San Diego State 452-364 in yards, outrushed SDSU 154-118 and dominated time of possession 35:27-24:33. The Chippewas were a perfect 4-4 in the red zone with two touchdowns.

•CMU registered a season-high 26 first downs (10 rushing, 14 passing, two on penalties), while SDSU had 21.

•San Diego State gained two turnovers (an interception and a fumble recovery) and CMU failed to gain a turnover for the fourth consecutive game and 16th consecutive quarter.

•San Diego State registered seven points off turnovers. Opponents have now outscored CMU 46-7 in points off turnovers.

Player Notes

•Placekicker Tristan Mattson converted a 46-yard field goal to win the game with five seconds to play. Mattson finished the day with 10 points and converted field goals of 25, 34, and 46 yards. He has now converted seven consecutive field goals and is 8-9 on the season and 15-23 in his career. He has also hit three career game-winning field goals.

•Quarterback Joe Labas threw one touchdown pass to Marion Lukes in the first quarter and threw for 275 yards with a long of 60 yards. He completed 24 of a career-high 43 pass attempts with one interception. Labas also made the play that saved the game. After SDSU intercepted a pass, he rushed all the way back and made the tackle at the CMU 11-yard line.

•Running back Marion Lukes registered his second career touchdown catch in the second quarter. It marked his 13th career touchdown scored. He finished the day leading CMU with 155 all-purpose yards, his 11th career 100+ all-purpose yard game, 76 rushing yards on 16 carries, three receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown, and 22 yards on kickoff returns.

•Running back B.J. Harris scored his second touchdown of his career and the year on a one-yard run up the middle on fourth down and goal from the one-yard line. He finished the day with 41 rushing yards on 13 carries with a long of 18 and one catch for eight yards.

•Quarterback Bert Emanuel, Jr. had six carries for 32 yards with a long of 19, averaged 5.3 yards per carry.

•Wide receiver Jesse Prewitt finished the day with a season-high six receptions for 42 yards with a long of 17.

•Wide receiver Evan Boyd caught a career-high six passes for a team-high 51 yards with a long of 14.

•Tight end Gavin Harris's 60-yard reception marked his career-long. His previous career-long was a 24-yard catch vs. CCSU. He caught two passes for a team-high 66 yards.

•Tight end Decorion Temple tied a career-high with two catches.

•Defensive end Jason Williams registered a career-high 2.0 sacks today. He also tallied a career-high six tackles.

•Linebacker Lawai'a Brown tallied a team and career-high seven tackles (career-high tying four solo).

•Defensive lineman Kade Kostus finished with a career-high six tackles with 1.0 tackle for loss.

•Linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski tallied a career-high 2.0 tackles for loss and finished with six tackles.

•Defensive back Caleb Spann totaled his first-ever career 1.0 sack in the third quarter.

•On a fake punt play, punter David Chapeau completed a 23-yard pass to Justin Whiteside for a first down in the third quarter.

•On offense, Martin Koivisto made his first career start today at right tackle.

•On defense, Jaree Turner-Kinsler made his first career start at cornerback.

Miscellaneous

•The game's attendance was 27,072. It marks the most attended game since CMU drew 28,323 against Eastern Michigan last season on Sept. 30, 2023.

CMU IN THE NATIONAL

After five games, Central Michigan is ranked among the nation's top 35 national leaders in six statistical categories. The Chippewas ranked:

•No. 5 in punt returns (20.0).
•No. 12 in team tackles for loss (7.6).
•No. 12 in kickoff return defense (13.33).
•No. 16 in red zone offense (95.0).
•No. 20 in defensive touchdowns (1).
•No. 34 in team sacks (2.40).

In addition, several individuals were ranked among the nation's top 35 in eight different statistics:

•Donte Kent, No. 1 in punt return touchdowns (1).
•Donte Kent, No. 2 in punt returns (20.0).
•Stephan Bracey, No. 2 in kickoff return touchdowns (1).
•Jordan Kwiatkowski, No. 11 in solo tackles (5.4).
•Tristan Mattson, No. 20 in field goal percentage (88.9).
•Tristan Mattson, No. 21 in field goals per game (1.60).
•Marion Lukes, No. 26 in all-purpose yardage (121.75).
•Marion Lukes, No. 30 in combined kick returns (205).
•Jordan Kwiatkowski, No. 37 in total tackles (8.6).

Central Michigan University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jase Bauer

Evan Boyd

Lawai'a Brown

David Chapeau

Bert Emanuel, Jr.

B.J. Harris

Gavin Harris

Donte Kent

Martin Koivisto

Kade Kostus

Jordan Kwiatkowski

Joe Labas

Marion Lukes

Tristan Mattson

Chris Parker

Elijah Rikard

Caleb Spann

Jaree Turner-Kinsler

Justin Whiteside

Jason Williams

Football to Host Ohio in Key MAC Matchup, Homecoming Game on Saturday

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