Central Michigan University Athletics
Wednesday, November 12
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7:00 PM
Central Michigan University
vs
Buffalo
Players Mentioned
Photo by: Josie Ransley '25,M'27 - @josieransmedia
Chippewas Set for Key Wednesday Matchup vs. Buffalo
11/11/2025 9:33:00 PM | Football
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Central Michigan hosts Buffalo 11 days after Western Michigan game.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – They've had nearly two weeks to chew on it.
It's no more appetizing today than it was then, and the only way to wash the foul taste out of their mouths is to handle business on Wednesday night at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
The Central Michigan football team, a 24-21 loser to rival Western Michigan 11 days ago, entertains Buffalo on Wednesday (7 p.m. CBS Sports Network).
The Chippewas are 5-4 and needing one more victory to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2021. More importantly, they are 3-2 in the Mid-American Conference and one game behind four teams that are 4-1.
Among those four are the Bulls (also 5-4 overall), who have won three of their last four starts.
"That was an incredibly emotional game, a devastating loss … it's a hard experience," said Matt Drinkall, who, in his first year as the Chippewas' coach, got his first up-close-and-personal look at the CMU-Western rivalry. "Buffalo doesn't care one way or another whether we won or lost."
Nine games into Drinkall's first year and, as is the case with every football season at any level, there have been twists and turns, pleasant surprises and disappointments.
One such turn has come at quarterback, where the Chippewas entered the year intending to play three signal-callers in Joe Labas, Angel Flores and Jayden Glasser. Glasser was injured in the second game of the season, and the injured Flores has not played in six quarters, since the first half of CMU's 38-13 home win over Massachusetts on Oct. 25.
Marcus Beamon, a junior transfer from Butte (Calif.) J.C., filled Flores' role – primarily that of runner – in Flores' absence. Beamon carried nine times for 19 yards and completed his only pass attempt for a 33-yard touchdown.
That pass came on the first play of the fourth quarter, and it gave CMU a 21-14 lead.
"That's our fourth quarterback throwing a touchdown pass, (and it's) against our rivals, and in a big, significant moment in the game, and he did a phenomenal job," Drinkall said. "So it just kind of showed he's going to be able to do what we always knew.
"He did a tremendous job handling the offense, and there's more of that stuff he can do."
Labas, for his part, has continued to be the model of efficiency. He completed eight of his 11 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos, upping his season totals to 1,066 yards and eight touchdowns (against two interceptions) on a 71.6 completion percentage. That completion percentage would rank sixth among all passers in Football Bowl Subdivision if Labas had enough pass attempts to qualify for the leaders list.
Buffalo, like the Chippewas, is on the seemingly endless list of contenders for a berth in the MAC Championship Game in Detroit in December. The Bulls, who were fourth in the preseason coaches poll, are much like Western Michigan: A strong defense and a very complementary offense, though in a departure from the Broncos, the Bulls are among the top passing teams in the MAC.
Quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson ranks third in the MAC in total offense (236 rushing and passing yards per game) and linebacker Red Murdock, who last week in a 28-3 win at Bowling Green forced his 17th career fumble, an NCAA record.
Murdock leads the league with 4 ½ sacks and ranks second with 11.7 tackles per game.
"They have one of the best linebackers in college football, period," Drinkall said.
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