Central Michigan University Athletics
Home Away From Home: Central Michigan Football is Back in Detroit
12/19/2025 10:47:00 AM | Football, Our Stories
The Chippewas will play their 11th all-time game at Ford Field and sixth bowl game in the Motor City on Friday, Dec. 26 vs. Northwestern at 1 p.m.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—Central Michigan has enjoyed a rich bowl tradition in nearby Detroit as the Chippewas will play their sixth bowl and 11th all-time football game at Ford Field.
The last time the Chippewas participated in a bowl game in Detroit was in 2015 when they faced Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl.
It is Central Michigan's 11th all-time football game in the city of Detroit. All previous matchups took place at Ford Field, including five bowl games, four MAC Championship games, and one regular season contest. In 11 matchups in Detroit, Central Michigan's average attendance in those games is 33,472. The last time Central Michigan played at Ford Field was on Dec. 7, 2019 against Miami (Ohio) in the MAC Championship Game.
The two most attended bowl games in Detroit history were contests that featured Central Michigan and Purdue in the 2007 Motor City Bowl, which drew a collegiate-record 60,624 fans, and the 2006 Motor City Bowl that paired Central Michigan and Middle Tennessee, a matchup that drew 54,113 fans.
Owned, hosted and operated by the Detroit Lions, the GameAbove Sports Bowl is in its 11th year of existence and second year with title sponsor GameAbove Sports. More information on the GameAbove Sports Bowl is available at www.detroitlions.com/game-above-sports-bowl/.
Here is a game-by-game look at each of Central Michigan's 10 previous appearances at Ford Field:
Nov. 6, 2004, vs. Eastern Michigan (regular season game)
Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan played their first-ever game at Ford Field and it was a Mid-American Conference thriller as the Eagles registered a 61-58 win in four overtimes. The two teams combined for 119 points and 1,008 total yards of offense. The game was tied 40-40 at the end of regulation on a 34-yard field goal by EMU's Andrew Wellock. The two teams traded points in the first three overtimes before Wellock drilled a 24-yard field goal in the fourth. CMU quarterback Kent Smith completed 24-35 passes for 319 yards and tied the school-record with five touchdown passes. Three of those passes went to Justin Harper, who also tied a school-record for touchdown receptions.
November 30, 2006, vs. Ohio (MAC Championship)
Central Michigan won its first-ever appearance in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game, topping Ohio 31-10 at Ford Field. Senior wide receiver Damien Linson was named the game's Most Valuable Player after making seven catches, several of the spectacular one-handed variety, for 191 yards and a touchdown to lead the Chippewas. His 71-yard catch-and-run for a score in the second quarter proved to be game-winner, snapping a 7-7 tie. Freshman quarterback Dan LeFevour finished the game 22-30 passing for 314 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Ontario Sneed scored twice on a 4-yard pass from LeFevour and a MAC Championship game record 96-yard touchdown run. He also rushed for 130 yards on nine carries.
December 26, 2006, vs. Middle Tennessee (Motor City Bowl)
Central Michigan played its second game within a month at Ford Field and the Chippewas won their first NCAA Division I bowl game in impressive fashion with a resounding 31-14 triumph over Middle Tennessee. A Motor City Bowl-record crowd of 54,113, most of them clad in maroon & gold, saw CMU score touchdowns on its first two possessions to grab a 14-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game. Ontario Sneed scored on a 1-yard run and on a 29-yard pass from quarterback Dan LeFevour, the first of two scoring strikes from the record-setting Chippewa signal-caller. After Middle Tennessee scored, LeFevour needed just 35 seconds to score on a 9-yard run, giving CMU a 21-7 halftime lead. The defense did the rest, putting the game away in the third quarter as the game's Most Outstanding Lineman Dan Bazuin forced a wobbly pass that was easily intercepted by linebacker Doug Kress, who raced 56 yards up the sideline for a touchdown. Named the game's Most Valuable Player, LeFevour completed 16-26 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.
December 1, 2007, vs. Miami, Ohio (MAC Championship)
Central Michigan became just the second program to win the MAC Championship Game in back-to-back seasons, defeating Miami 35-10 at Ford Field. Dan LeFevour was voted the Chippewas' Most Valuable Player after rushing for 170 yards and two touchdowns and passing for 185 yards and a score. Against the league's top statistical defense, Central Michigan rolled up 28 points in the second half alone and finished with 452 yards of offense. The 25-point margin was the largest in MAC Championship Game history. With the win, Butch Jones became just the ninth head coach to win a MAC title in his first season.
December 27, 2007, vs. Purdue (Motor City Bowl)
Chris Summers' 40-yard field goal on the final play lifted Purdue to a 51-48 win over Central Michigan in the highest-scoring Motor City Bowl in Detroit history. A Detroit-bowl record 60,624 fans saw an offensive shootout that featured 1,022 yards of total offense and saw the Chippewas twice tie the score after trailing by 21 points three times. Dan LeFevour hit Bryan Anderson for a 19-yard touchdown with 1:09 left. Andrew Aquila's point-after evened the score at 48-48. Purdue's Curtis Painter then completed four of five passes to set up the game-winning kick. LeFevour completed 17-34 passes for 292 yards and rushed for 114 yards, Anderson finished with seven receptions for 129 yards and Brown caught four passes for 96 yards.
December 26, 2008, vs. Florida Atlantic (Motor City Bowl)
Rusty Smith threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns to lead Florida Atlantic to a 24-21 win over Central Michigan. Smith threw touchdown passes of 52 and 18 yards to give the Owls a 24-13 lead after the game was tied 10-10 at halftime. The Chippewas drew within 24-21 on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Dan LeFevour to Antonio Brown and a two-point conversion pass from LeFevour to Kito Poblah with 3:09 left, but FAU recovered the onside kick. LeFevour completed 28-40 passes for 253 yards and rushed for 56 yards to lead the Chippewas.
December 4, 2009, vs. Ohio (MAC Championship)
Dan LeFevour completed 28-39 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns in leading CMU to a 20-10 win over Ohio in the 2009 MAC Championship Game. The Chippewas got on the board in the first quarter on a 14-yard pass from LeFevour to Cody Wilson, Frank Zombo recovered a backward pass which led to an Andrew Aguila field goal and 10-0 lead. After Ohio scored, LeFevour found Bryan Anderson in the final minute of the first half for an 8-yard touchdown pass for a 17-7 halftime lead. CMU's defense took over from there.
December 26, 2012, vs. Western Kentucky (Little Caesars Bowl)
Quarterback Ryan Radcliff threw a strike to wide receiver Cody Wilson midway through the fourth quarter and Central Michigan's defense got a late fourth-down stop to lead the Chippewas to a 24-21 victory over Western Kentucky. Radcliff, who threw for 253 yards while completing 19-29 passes, was named the game's Most Valuable Player, while Shamari Benton, who led the Chippewas with nine tackles, was named the Outstanding Lineman. The winning touchdown came on a second-and-goal play with 5:11 left in the game. Radcliff threaded the needle between two WKU defenders to find Wilson in the corner of the end zone.
December 28, 2015, vs. Minnesota (Quick Lane Bowl)
Central Michigan was held to a season-low 249 total yards as the Chippewas fell to Minnesota 21-14 in the Quick Lane Bowl before 34,217 at Ford Field. CMU finished 7-6 in John Bonamego's first-year as the Chippewas' coach. Freshman Romello Ross ran for 100 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries to lead a CMU offense. CMU led 14-13 when Ross scored on a 13-yard run in the fourth quarter, but Minnesota responded with a 13-play 74-yard drive that ended with quarterback Mitch Leidner dashing 13 yards for a touchdown. Minnesota added a two-point conversion and led 21-14 with 6:36 to play.
December 7, 2019, vs. Maimi, Ohio (MAC Championship)
Central Michigan's worst-to-first dream season fell short as the Chippewas lost to Miami, Ohio in the MAC Championship Game, 26-21 at Ford Field. CMU, which won just one game in 2018, was the most-improved team in college football in 2019, winning six of its final seven regular season games to capture its first outright MAC West Division title and earn its first bid to the league championship since 2009. CMU led 14-10 at halftime but was outscored 16-7 in the final two quarters. Miami's Sam Sloman kicked three field goals in the fourth quarter to keep the Chippewas at bay. Quarterback Tommy Lazzaro led the Chippewas with 48 yards rushing and two touchdowns and quarterback Quinten Dormady completed 26-41 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown.
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The last time the Chippewas participated in a bowl game in Detroit was in 2015 when they faced Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl.
It is Central Michigan's 11th all-time football game in the city of Detroit. All previous matchups took place at Ford Field, including five bowl games, four MAC Championship games, and one regular season contest. In 11 matchups in Detroit, Central Michigan's average attendance in those games is 33,472. The last time Central Michigan played at Ford Field was on Dec. 7, 2019 against Miami (Ohio) in the MAC Championship Game.
The two most attended bowl games in Detroit history were contests that featured Central Michigan and Purdue in the 2007 Motor City Bowl, which drew a collegiate-record 60,624 fans, and the 2006 Motor City Bowl that paired Central Michigan and Middle Tennessee, a matchup that drew 54,113 fans.
Owned, hosted and operated by the Detroit Lions, the GameAbove Sports Bowl is in its 11th year of existence and second year with title sponsor GameAbove Sports. More information on the GameAbove Sports Bowl is available at www.detroitlions.com/game-above-sports-bowl/.
Here is a game-by-game look at each of Central Michigan's 10 previous appearances at Ford Field:
Nov. 6, 2004, vs. Eastern Michigan (regular season game)
Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan played their first-ever game at Ford Field and it was a Mid-American Conference thriller as the Eagles registered a 61-58 win in four overtimes. The two teams combined for 119 points and 1,008 total yards of offense. The game was tied 40-40 at the end of regulation on a 34-yard field goal by EMU's Andrew Wellock. The two teams traded points in the first three overtimes before Wellock drilled a 24-yard field goal in the fourth. CMU quarterback Kent Smith completed 24-35 passes for 319 yards and tied the school-record with five touchdown passes. Three of those passes went to Justin Harper, who also tied a school-record for touchdown receptions.
November 30, 2006, vs. Ohio (MAC Championship)
Central Michigan won its first-ever appearance in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game, topping Ohio 31-10 at Ford Field. Senior wide receiver Damien Linson was named the game's Most Valuable Player after making seven catches, several of the spectacular one-handed variety, for 191 yards and a touchdown to lead the Chippewas. His 71-yard catch-and-run for a score in the second quarter proved to be game-winner, snapping a 7-7 tie. Freshman quarterback Dan LeFevour finished the game 22-30 passing for 314 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Ontario Sneed scored twice on a 4-yard pass from LeFevour and a MAC Championship game record 96-yard touchdown run. He also rushed for 130 yards on nine carries.
December 26, 2006, vs. Middle Tennessee (Motor City Bowl)
Central Michigan played its second game within a month at Ford Field and the Chippewas won their first NCAA Division I bowl game in impressive fashion with a resounding 31-14 triumph over Middle Tennessee. A Motor City Bowl-record crowd of 54,113, most of them clad in maroon & gold, saw CMU score touchdowns on its first two possessions to grab a 14-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game. Ontario Sneed scored on a 1-yard run and on a 29-yard pass from quarterback Dan LeFevour, the first of two scoring strikes from the record-setting Chippewa signal-caller. After Middle Tennessee scored, LeFevour needed just 35 seconds to score on a 9-yard run, giving CMU a 21-7 halftime lead. The defense did the rest, putting the game away in the third quarter as the game's Most Outstanding Lineman Dan Bazuin forced a wobbly pass that was easily intercepted by linebacker Doug Kress, who raced 56 yards up the sideline for a touchdown. Named the game's Most Valuable Player, LeFevour completed 16-26 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.
December 1, 2007, vs. Miami, Ohio (MAC Championship)
Central Michigan became just the second program to win the MAC Championship Game in back-to-back seasons, defeating Miami 35-10 at Ford Field. Dan LeFevour was voted the Chippewas' Most Valuable Player after rushing for 170 yards and two touchdowns and passing for 185 yards and a score. Against the league's top statistical defense, Central Michigan rolled up 28 points in the second half alone and finished with 452 yards of offense. The 25-point margin was the largest in MAC Championship Game history. With the win, Butch Jones became just the ninth head coach to win a MAC title in his first season.
December 27, 2007, vs. Purdue (Motor City Bowl)
Chris Summers' 40-yard field goal on the final play lifted Purdue to a 51-48 win over Central Michigan in the highest-scoring Motor City Bowl in Detroit history. A Detroit-bowl record 60,624 fans saw an offensive shootout that featured 1,022 yards of total offense and saw the Chippewas twice tie the score after trailing by 21 points three times. Dan LeFevour hit Bryan Anderson for a 19-yard touchdown with 1:09 left. Andrew Aquila's point-after evened the score at 48-48. Purdue's Curtis Painter then completed four of five passes to set up the game-winning kick. LeFevour completed 17-34 passes for 292 yards and rushed for 114 yards, Anderson finished with seven receptions for 129 yards and Brown caught four passes for 96 yards.
December 26, 2008, vs. Florida Atlantic (Motor City Bowl)
Rusty Smith threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns to lead Florida Atlantic to a 24-21 win over Central Michigan. Smith threw touchdown passes of 52 and 18 yards to give the Owls a 24-13 lead after the game was tied 10-10 at halftime. The Chippewas drew within 24-21 on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Dan LeFevour to Antonio Brown and a two-point conversion pass from LeFevour to Kito Poblah with 3:09 left, but FAU recovered the onside kick. LeFevour completed 28-40 passes for 253 yards and rushed for 56 yards to lead the Chippewas.
December 4, 2009, vs. Ohio (MAC Championship)
Dan LeFevour completed 28-39 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns in leading CMU to a 20-10 win over Ohio in the 2009 MAC Championship Game. The Chippewas got on the board in the first quarter on a 14-yard pass from LeFevour to Cody Wilson, Frank Zombo recovered a backward pass which led to an Andrew Aguila field goal and 10-0 lead. After Ohio scored, LeFevour found Bryan Anderson in the final minute of the first half for an 8-yard touchdown pass for a 17-7 halftime lead. CMU's defense took over from there.
December 26, 2012, vs. Western Kentucky (Little Caesars Bowl)
Quarterback Ryan Radcliff threw a strike to wide receiver Cody Wilson midway through the fourth quarter and Central Michigan's defense got a late fourth-down stop to lead the Chippewas to a 24-21 victory over Western Kentucky. Radcliff, who threw for 253 yards while completing 19-29 passes, was named the game's Most Valuable Player, while Shamari Benton, who led the Chippewas with nine tackles, was named the Outstanding Lineman. The winning touchdown came on a second-and-goal play with 5:11 left in the game. Radcliff threaded the needle between two WKU defenders to find Wilson in the corner of the end zone.
December 28, 2015, vs. Minnesota (Quick Lane Bowl)
Central Michigan was held to a season-low 249 total yards as the Chippewas fell to Minnesota 21-14 in the Quick Lane Bowl before 34,217 at Ford Field. CMU finished 7-6 in John Bonamego's first-year as the Chippewas' coach. Freshman Romello Ross ran for 100 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries to lead a CMU offense. CMU led 14-13 when Ross scored on a 13-yard run in the fourth quarter, but Minnesota responded with a 13-play 74-yard drive that ended with quarterback Mitch Leidner dashing 13 yards for a touchdown. Minnesota added a two-point conversion and led 21-14 with 6:36 to play.
December 7, 2019, vs. Maimi, Ohio (MAC Championship)
Central Michigan's worst-to-first dream season fell short as the Chippewas lost to Miami, Ohio in the MAC Championship Game, 26-21 at Ford Field. CMU, which won just one game in 2018, was the most-improved team in college football in 2019, winning six of its final seven regular season games to capture its first outright MAC West Division title and earn its first bid to the league championship since 2009. CMU led 14-10 at halftime but was outscored 16-7 in the final two quarters. Miami's Sam Sloman kicked three field goals in the fourth quarter to keep the Chippewas at bay. Quarterback Tommy Lazzaro led the Chippewas with 48 yards rushing and two touchdowns and quarterback Quinten Dormady completed 26-41 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown.
Follow Central Michigan Football: TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
—CMU—
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