Chippewas Conclude Season on Saturday at Northern Illinois (3:30 p.m. ET)

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Chippewas Conclude Season on Saturday at Northern Illinois (3:30 p.m. ET)

11/26/2024 8:00:00 AM | Football

Watch Live on CBS Sports Network Listen Live on the Chippewa Sports Radio Network Live Stats GameDay Page CMU Game Notes (PDF)NIU Game Notes (PDF)

Contest to be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network; Head Coach Jim McElwain will coach in his last game at CMU.

By: Greg Hotchkiss

GAME 12: CENTRAL MICHIGAN (4-7, 2-5 MAC) at NORTHERN ILLINOIS (6-5, 3-4 MAC)
2024 Season Finale
Saturday, November 30 • 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT • DeKalb, Ill.
Huskies Stadium (28,211)

SATURDAY MATCHUP

Television: CBS Sports Network (Jordan Kent, play-by-play; Randy Cross, analyst; Michael Pittman, 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://niuhuskies.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 (33-35), 12th year overall (77-62), 39th year in coaching. Northern Illinois-Thomas Hammock, 6th year at NIU (30-38); 6th year overall (30-38).

Series: Central Michigan and Northern Illinois meet for the 60^th time in series history. Central Michigan holds a 33-25-1 advantage in the series. CMU has won two straight vs. NIU and four of the last five games. The Chippewas have won back-to-back games in DeKalb.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN GAME NOTES

THE ESSENTIALS

Central Michigan (4-7, 2-5 MAC) travels to DeKalb, Ill. to take on Northern Illinois (6-5, 3-4 MAC) in the season finale for both teams Saturday afternoon at Huskie Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.

WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME

The game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network with Jordan Kent (play-by-play) and Randy Cross (color analyst) calling action with Michael Pittman 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

•Head Coach Jim McElwain will coach his final game at Central Michigan. He announced his retirement last Wednesday, one day after CMU's 16-14 win over rival Western Michigan.

•Central Michigan and Northern Illinois close out the 2024 regular season on Saturday in Dekalb. Central Michigan has won each of the last two meetings and four of the last five. The Chippewas have won two straight in DeKalb.

•Central Michigan enters Saturday's season finale looking to end a nine-game road losing streak.

•This matchup marks the final game for Central Michigan's 21 seniors.

ABOUT THE CHIPPEWAS

DEKALB, Ill.—Central Michigan (4-7, 2-5 MAC) plays its season finale when it travels to DeKalb, Ill. to take on Northern Illinois (6-5, 3-4 MAC) on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT at Huskie Stadium for a CBS Sports Network nationally televised game.

The game represents the final contest for head coach Jim McElwain. The CMU coach announced his retirement last Wednesday after 40 years in the coaching profession and six years at Central Michigan. McElwain will serve as CMU's head coach until a new coach is hired. He will move into a new position as Special Assistant to the Athletic Director and will assist the department in this new era of college athletics. The game also marks the final contest for 21 Central Michigan seniors. Those seniors were recognized in a pre-game ceremony before CMU's 16-14 win over Western Michigan.

Central Michigan snapped a five-game losing streak with a 16-14 victory over rival Western Michigan last Tuesday night at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. With the win, CMU earned the right to the keep the Victory Cannon Trophy in Mount Pleasant. With a spectacular defensive effort that limited Western Michigan to 184 yards of total offense and 10 first downs and a ball control offense that kept the ball for a season-high 36:17 minutes, Central Michigan built a lead and held off the Broncos for the win. For the first time in three years, Central Michigan shut out an opponent in the first half and held a commanding 13-0 halftime advantage.

Quarterback Jadyn Glasser hit Solomon Davis on a 55-yard pass which setup a six-yard touchdown run by B.J. Harris for a 7-0 first quarter lead. The Chippewas then added field goals of 36 and 47 yards by Tristan Mattson for a 13-0 halftime lead.

Western Michigan cut the deficit to 13-7 on a 78-yard interception return by Tate Hallock, but CMU kept possession of the ball throughout the entire third quarter.

Following a 17-play, 50-yard drive which spanned 10:17 of time, Central Michigan added a 30-yard field goal by Mattson which gave the Chippewas a 16-7 lead. WMU added a touchdown run by Jalen Buckley. CMU's defense stopped the Broncos on another possesion and the Chippewas ran out the clock for the win.

Central Michigan is down to its fourth-string quarterback, while five of its top wide receivers are out for the season with injuries. In addition, three offensive lineman are out who all saw significant playing time in the early-going this year. The Chippewas have also suffered numerous other injuries on offense.

Prior to the season, 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 have played significant roles in 2024, several players returned from injury, and a variety of players improved over the offseason and were ready to contribute. The Chippewas entered the year a bit 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 a 13-22 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.

These seasons are a drastic change from the course that Head Coach Jim McElwain 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.

CMU CELEBRATES SENIOR DAY

•In its annual pre-game senior day ceremony prior to the Western Michigan rivalry game last Tuesday, Central Michigan honored its 21 seniors in a pre-game ceremony. All of these players are playing their last game in a Chippewa uniform on Saturday.

•Those seniors include: RB Myles Bailey, OL Vashon Bailey, P David Chapeau, DL Jayshaun Coffman, WR Solomon Davis, DL Jonathan Decker, DL Jaden Davis, RB B.J. Harris, DB Donte Kent, RB Marion Lukes, PK Tristan Mattson, DB Danny MacLean, DB Da'Raun McKinney, TE Alec Palella, LB Ke'Shon Parker, WR Jesse Prewitt III, OL Dominic Serapiglia III, Brayden Swartout, DB Jaree Turner-Kinsler, LB Justin Whiteside, DL Jason Williams.

A WIN OVER NIU WOULD…

•Give Central Michigan a 5-7 overall record and 3-5 MAC record.
•Snap a nine-game road losing streak. The last time CMU won a game on the road was at Northern Illinois on Nov. 2, 2022 (35-22), the last time the Chippewas played in DeKalb.

•Give Central Michigan its third straight victory over Northern Illinois dating back to Nov. 2, 2022.

•Give Central Michigan its third straight road win over Northern Illinois.

CMU IS MAC LEADER ON DEFENSE

Central Michigan is a leader in the MAC in two key pressure defensive statistics: No. 1 in tackles for loss and No. 2 in sacks. With 87 tackles for loss on the year, 7.9 tackles for loss per game, CMU leads the MAC and is ranked No. 7 in the nation in that statistical category. The Chippewas have 30 sacks on the year, average 2.73 sacks per game and rank No. 24 in the nation.

Individually, CMU's Jordan Kwiatkowski ranks No. 2 in the MAC and No. 24 nationally in tackles for loss with 13.0 overall and 1.18 per game. Other players who are ranked among MAC leaders in tackles for loss are Jonah Pace (No. 6, 10.5) and Dakota Cochran (No. 7, 10.5). Jason Williams (No. 9, 5.5 sacks) is ranked among the league's top-10 leaders in sacks.

ROAD GAMES WOES

Central Michigan will enter its upcoming final regular season game at Northern Illinois on a nine-game road losing streak.

CMU's last road victory was a 34-30 win at South Alabama on Sept. 23, 2023. Five of those losses were to MAC teams. The last time CMU won a MAC road game was at Northern Illinois on Nov. 2, 2022 (35-22).

The nine-game streak ranks tied for the third longest in school history.

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Related News

Players Mentioned

Myles Bailey

Vashon Bailey

David Chapeau

Dakota Cochran

Jayshaun Coffman

Jaden Davis

Solomon Davis

Jonathan Decker

Jadyn Glasser

B.J. Harris

Donte Kent

Jordan Kwiatkowski

Marion Lukes

Danny MacLean

Tristan Mattson

Da'Raun McKinney

Jonah Pace

Alec Palella

Ke'Shon Parker

Jesse Prewitt III

Dominic Serapiglia III

Brayden Swartout

Jaree Turner-Kinsler

Justin Whiteside

Jason Williams

Chippewas Conclude Season on Saturday at Northern Illinois (3:30 p.m. ET)

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