Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, November 30
DeKalb, Ill./Huskie Stadium
3:30 PM ET/2:30 PM CT
Central Michigan University
at
Northern Illinois
Jim McElwain will coach his final game in a 40-year career on Saturday when his Chippewas go to Northern Illinois.
Photo by: Josie Ransley '25,M'27 - @josieransmedia
Football Preview: Chippewas Look to Send Mac Out With a Win
11/28/2024 8:00:00 AM | Football
Watch Live on CBS Sports NetworkListen Live on the Chippewa Sports Radio NetworkLive StatsGameDay PageCMU Game Notes (PDF)Northern Illinois Game Notes (PDF0
CMU goes to Northern Illinois on Saturday for season finale at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT; Chippewas look to go out with a two-game win streak!
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The season finale and the end to a four-decade coaching career.
The Central Michigan football team has plenty to play for, on the emotional side, Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET) when it closes the season with a Mid-American Conference game at Northern Illinois.
The Chippewas are 4-7, 2-5 MAC and there will be no league championship game appearance or bowl game. And it's the last time 21 seniors will don the maroon and gold.
It's also the final game for CMU coach Jim McElwain, who announced last week that he will retire from coaching, bringing to an end a career that began as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Eastern Washington, in 1984.
"it's like a walk down memory lane from the beginning in 1984 to now -- all good," McElwain said last week.
The Chippewas are 33-35 in McElwain's six seasons at the helm. He took them to the MAC Championship Game in his first season, 2019, and led them to a Sun Bowl victory over Washington State in 2021.
His coaching resumé includes stints as the head man at both Florida and Colorado and as an assistant at the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Louisville and Alabama, where he helped the Crimson Tide to two national titles. He also coached in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders. He will remain with CMU Football as a consultant.
As one might expect, McElwain was reflective and a tad sentimental as he prepared his team to face the Huskies (6-5, 3-4).
"Karen and I," he said of his wife of 36 years, "this place means so much to us, and the relationships we've made. As we look back, I just want to thank all the players for the last 40 years that have allowed us into their lives. The coaches and support staff we've had an opportunity to work with and the lifelong friends we've made along the way and will continue.
"This is an unbelievable place. When you know it's time, you've got to step aside, and we want nothing but the best. We are indebted to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, Central Michigan University, and the players that we've been fortunate to be in their lives."
McElwain has frequently talked about making memories through football. He and his team added one – a big one – last week when it topped archrival Western Michigan, 16-14, to reclaim the Victory Cannon Trophy.
It marked the first time CMU has beaten the Broncos as home since 2010.
"When we raised that trophy up in the air, it was kind of like lifting a weight off our shoulders," senior linebacker Justin Whiteside said. "That win, I didn't really understand it as a young guy in this program but now as a starter and winning it means so much. And to see how much it meant, not just to the players and coaches but to the fans, the staff members, people around town. It meant so much.
"The season didn't go like we wanted it to, but when we did that, it was kind of like we got over the hump, we kind of beat that adversity. Coach Mac really did a great job keeping us together."
Whiteside, like so many in and around Chippewa Football, said McElwain has been a major factor in his life. The importance of football, and the role a coach plays in a young man's life, cannot be overstated, Whiteside said.
"I came here as a 180-pound linebacker as a freshman and he's built me up, built my confidence up to the point where I'm at now, I can't thank him enough," Whiteside said. "I'm forever indebted to him, forever loyal to him, and I'm happy for him going into retirement and enjoying his life, spending time with his family.
"For a man that has done as much as he has for so many people, we want to send him out the right way. All he's done since he's been here is do right by players, coaches, staff members, the fans, anybody. He's just poured everything he has into the program. We want to send him out the right way."
To do that, the Chippewas will have to beat the Huskies for the fifth time in the last six meetings and for the third straight time in DeKalb, Ill. CMU has lost its last nine road games.
To win, they have to channel that emotion into a positive.
"You want to go out with the best memory possible and that's what we made (the Western) game about and we'll continue to push that narrative and that feeling," senior running back Marion Lukes said.
The Central Michigan football team has plenty to play for, on the emotional side, Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET) when it closes the season with a Mid-American Conference game at Northern Illinois.
The Chippewas are 4-7, 2-5 MAC and there will be no league championship game appearance or bowl game. And it's the last time 21 seniors will don the maroon and gold.
It's also the final game for CMU coach Jim McElwain, who announced last week that he will retire from coaching, bringing to an end a career that began as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Eastern Washington, in 1984.
"it's like a walk down memory lane from the beginning in 1984 to now -- all good," McElwain said last week.
The Chippewas are 33-35 in McElwain's six seasons at the helm. He took them to the MAC Championship Game in his first season, 2019, and led them to a Sun Bowl victory over Washington State in 2021.
His coaching resumé includes stints as the head man at both Florida and Colorado and as an assistant at the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Louisville and Alabama, where he helped the Crimson Tide to two national titles. He also coached in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders. He will remain with CMU Football as a consultant.
As one might expect, McElwain was reflective and a tad sentimental as he prepared his team to face the Huskies (6-5, 3-4).
"Karen and I," he said of his wife of 36 years, "this place means so much to us, and the relationships we've made. As we look back, I just want to thank all the players for the last 40 years that have allowed us into their lives. The coaches and support staff we've had an opportunity to work with and the lifelong friends we've made along the way and will continue.
"This is an unbelievable place. When you know it's time, you've got to step aside, and we want nothing but the best. We are indebted to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, Central Michigan University, and the players that we've been fortunate to be in their lives."
McElwain has frequently talked about making memories through football. He and his team added one – a big one – last week when it topped archrival Western Michigan, 16-14, to reclaim the Victory Cannon Trophy.
It marked the first time CMU has beaten the Broncos as home since 2010.
"When we raised that trophy up in the air, it was kind of like lifting a weight off our shoulders," senior linebacker Justin Whiteside said. "That win, I didn't really understand it as a young guy in this program but now as a starter and winning it means so much. And to see how much it meant, not just to the players and coaches but to the fans, the staff members, people around town. It meant so much.
"The season didn't go like we wanted it to, but when we did that, it was kind of like we got over the hump, we kind of beat that adversity. Coach Mac really did a great job keeping us together."
Whiteside, like so many in and around Chippewa Football, said McElwain has been a major factor in his life. The importance of football, and the role a coach plays in a young man's life, cannot be overstated, Whiteside said.
"I came here as a 180-pound linebacker as a freshman and he's built me up, built my confidence up to the point where I'm at now, I can't thank him enough," Whiteside said. "I'm forever indebted to him, forever loyal to him, and I'm happy for him going into retirement and enjoying his life, spending time with his family.
"For a man that has done as much as he has for so many people, we want to send him out the right way. All he's done since he's been here is do right by players, coaches, staff members, the fans, anybody. He's just poured everything he has into the program. We want to send him out the right way."
To do that, the Chippewas will have to beat the Huskies for the fifth time in the last six meetings and for the third straight time in DeKalb, Ill. CMU has lost its last nine road games.
To win, they have to channel that emotion into a positive.
"You want to go out with the best memory possible and that's what we made (the Western) game about and we'll continue to push that narrative and that feeling," senior running back Marion Lukes said.
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
LB
/ FootballMichael Heldman Post-Game Press Conference vs. Eastern Michigan
Saturday, September 27
Nahree Biggins Post-Game Press Conference vs. Eastern Michigan
Saturday, September 27
Angel Flores Post-Game Press Conference vs. Eastern Michigan
Saturday, September 27
Coach Matt Drinkall Post-Game Press Conference vs. Eastern Michigan
Saturday, September 27