Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Akron
Football Preview: Chippewas Head to Akron for First MAC Road Game
10/3/2025 6:00:00 AM | Football
CMU looks to build on momentum of league-opening win over Eastern Michigan.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Each game presents a unique test.
A long flight to the west coast in the coach's debut; a Power 4 opponent in an NFL stadium; a ranked team down the road with a storied history and 100,000-plus fans; the home opener against an overmatched foe; the Mid-American Conference opener.
For Central Michigan football, Saturday's game at Akron (3:30 p.m. ESPN Plus) serves as the Chippewas' first road MAC game of the season and comes after a feel-good 24-13 home win over Eastern Michigan before more than 28,000 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
That vibe remains in first-year coach Matt Drinkall's program as he guided his Chippewas to a solid win over an in-state rival in front of an energetic crowd.
"I was really concerned about the players having to be steady and consistent through ups and down because I knew it was going to be a challenging start to the season as you're installing and building a program," Drinkall said. "The players have been incredibly consistent through it."
The Chippewas enter Saturday's game 3-2, 1-0 MAC and appear to be on an ascendent path under Drinkall.
And while he is in his first year in charge, the veterans on the CMU roster have been here before. The Chippewas are 3-2 for the third consecutive year. In 2023, they won just twice after the 3-2 start; in 2024, they went 1-6 over their final seven starts. The Chippewas are looking to snap a nine-game losing streak in MAC road games.
"A lot of us who have been here and have seen us get to where we are now and then fall short, I think there's a lot of hunger amongst the guys," redshirt defensive lineman Jonathan Decker said. "We talk about it a lot. You don't win that game until you finish that game."
The Chippewas have started fast in each of their past two games. They built 14-0 first-quarter leads in a 49-10 win over Wagner and in their victory last week over Eastern Michigan
That's a credit to the players' preparedness, Drinkall said, and their ability to put into practice the game plan, which was to get up early and make the opponent one dimensional.
Not a bad approach, no matter the opponent or the stakes. Saturday's opponent, Akron, is 1-4 and coming off a 45-3 loss at Toledo in its MAC opener. The Zips, who rank 11th in the league in total defense and eighth in total offense, dropped their first two games by a combined 78-0 to Wyoming and Nebraska and then fell to UAB, 31-28.
Those numbers, Drinkall cautioned, mean absolutely nothing.
"We, as a program here, none of us ever, ever, ever look at records," he said. "We make all of our decisions based off of tape. You look at our statistics. We lost to Michigan by 200 or whatever; how indicative is that tape of who we are now?
"Akron football is creative on offense and can strike anybody at any time from anywhere, all of the time. Defensively they match up really, really well against us. They have dynamic, fast, physical, violent kids inside the box that run well, and they're supported by downhill, aggressive safety play like crazy.
"It's the first away game we've played in three weeks. The last two away games didn't go so great. I don't know if anybody paid attention to those. There is a ton that we've got to get locked and loaded and cleaned up."
That said, the Chippewas have increasingly gotten outstanding production from quarterbacks Joe Labas and Angel Flores.
Labas, who hails from Brecksville, Ohio, about 30 25 miles north Akron, has completed a remarkable 86.6 percent of his passes (26 of 30) for 379 yards and four TDs with zero interceptions over CMU's past two games.
On the year, he has completed 74.2 percent of his passes (46 of 62) for 560 yards and five TDs with just one interception. Flores last week ran for a career-high 134 yards and leads the team in rushing with 289 yards (4.7 per carry).
Combined, Labas and Flores have completed 60 of 83 (72.2 percent) for 677 yards and seven TDs with one interception.
Labas' passer efficiency rating is 173.45, which would rank him 14th in the nation, however he hasn't met the minimum number of attempts to qualify for the rankings. Combined, Labas and Flores have a 166.23 efficiency rating, which would rank 20th in the nation.
"They really complement each other well," Drinkall said. "They both can run the whole offense and then you just kind of figure what you need more of. You will see absolutely Joe run it a ton more in some games and you'll see Angel throw it a ton more.
"The first game or two it was really try not to lose games and then you really started to see this thing flourish and operate. They're effective, they execute, and they're really good decision makers. They're trimming a lot of fat out of the offense."
