Central Michigan University Athletics
Bowl Game at Ford Field Will Have a Home-Game Feel for Many Chippewas
12/20/2025 10:14:00 AM | Football
GameAbove Sports Bowl game extra special for 16 Chippewas who hail from the Detroit area and 41 players from the state of Michgian.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Home for the Holidays.
It's a fact for more than 40 players, coaches and support staff members of the Central Michigan football team, which will play Northwestern in the GameAbove Sports Bowl on Dec. 26 (1 p.m. ESPN) at Ford Field in Detroit, home of the Detroit Lions.
For many on the Chippewa roster, the game, CMU's first bowl since 2021, will feel like a home game, and the fact that the Chippewas will spend four days in Detroit leading up to the game, makes it that much more special.
"I think it means a lot to our guys from Michigan," first-year CMU coach Matt Drinkall said. "On top of that, if you grew up in this state or the region, you are a Lions fan. To get to play your last game of the season at the same place where the Detroit Lions play and in front of a great crowd, and a bunch of your kind of people, it's probably hard to put into words how special that's going to be."
The Chippewa roster features some 40 players who hail from the state of Michigan. A good percentage of those were born in raised in Detroit or its surrounding suburbs, the Great Lakes state's population hub with about 40 percent of its entire population.
Brenden Deasfernandes grew up on the east side of Detroit before moving with his family to Belleville, a 30-minute drive west on I-94.
Deasfernandes is one of the few Chippewas who has played a game on the Ford Field turf. In his preteen days he, like so many youth in Detroit, played in the Police Athletic League and teams from the league occasionally played a game at the stadium.
He played his high school ball at Belleville, a powerhouse program, and, with his teammates, had visions of making it to Ford Field, where the Michigan high school state title games are annually contested.
"High school, my junior year, we came up two games short," he said "Senior year, came up one game short. So I'm kind of hungry this year to play in Ford Field."
Senior linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski grew up in suburban Sterling Heights and prepped at Stevenson High School, about 30 minutes due north of Ford Field.
He also played at the home of the Lions with his youth football team.
"We were called the Sterling Heights Redskins," said Kwiatkowski, the Chippewas' leading tackler. "So it's kind of cool because we were the same (uniform) colors that we are now (at CMU). A good way to cap off my college career -- home state, home NFL stadium."
Kwiatkowski, like a number of his teammates, figures to have many supporters, including family and close friends along with many that he played with and for at Stevenson at the game.
"I was able to gather about 40 tickets myself," he said. "I've got some high school baseball coaches coming, high school football coaches. Maybe some people I don't know about. It's going to be a lot of people.
"And it's going to mean a lot to play in front of basically my entire family, a lot of my friends, a lot of people who care for me and who enjoyed watching me throughout the years. It's an awesome opportunity and I'm very grateful that I'm able to get it."
The GaveAbove Sports Bowl marks CMU's sixth bowl game at Ford Field. They played in the Motor City Bowl in 2006, 2007, 2008; the Little Caesars Bowl in 2012; and the Quick Lane Bowl in 2015.
Most of those games drew large crowds, a testament to the Chippewas' drawing power in Detroit and the surrounding suburbs, where a significant number of CMU alums and fans reside.
"When I first got hired year, I didn't know how vast the alumni base was, especially in the state of Michigan and especially in the Detroit area," Drinkall said, adding that the Chippewas' recruiting footprint includes Evanston, Ill., where Northwestern is located. "You're getting to play a Big Ten opponent; there's going to be a ton of fans from both sides and it's in the state of Michigan, in Detroit, against a Chicago team. We're basically between our alumni and our recruiting base which is phenomenal for us.
"And the cherry on top is that it's the location of the MAC Championship Game, which we would like to be going to in the future. We get to experience Christmas Eve and Christmas Day together as a team, and we're the only game on TV, I believe, that day. So just the whole lot of it is just going to be a really great opportunity and experience for Central Michigan."
It's a fact for more than 40 players, coaches and support staff members of the Central Michigan football team, which will play Northwestern in the GameAbove Sports Bowl on Dec. 26 (1 p.m. ESPN) at Ford Field in Detroit, home of the Detroit Lions.
For many on the Chippewa roster, the game, CMU's first bowl since 2021, will feel like a home game, and the fact that the Chippewas will spend four days in Detroit leading up to the game, makes it that much more special.
"I think it means a lot to our guys from Michigan," first-year CMU coach Matt Drinkall said. "On top of that, if you grew up in this state or the region, you are a Lions fan. To get to play your last game of the season at the same place where the Detroit Lions play and in front of a great crowd, and a bunch of your kind of people, it's probably hard to put into words how special that's going to be."
The Chippewa roster features some 40 players who hail from the state of Michigan. A good percentage of those were born in raised in Detroit or its surrounding suburbs, the Great Lakes state's population hub with about 40 percent of its entire population.
Brenden Deasfernandes grew up on the east side of Detroit before moving with his family to Belleville, a 30-minute drive west on I-94.
Deasfernandes is one of the few Chippewas who has played a game on the Ford Field turf. In his preteen days he, like so many youth in Detroit, played in the Police Athletic League and teams from the league occasionally played a game at the stadium.
He played his high school ball at Belleville, a powerhouse program, and, with his teammates, had visions of making it to Ford Field, where the Michigan high school state title games are annually contested.
"High school, my junior year, we came up two games short," he said "Senior year, came up one game short. So I'm kind of hungry this year to play in Ford Field."
Senior linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski grew up in suburban Sterling Heights and prepped at Stevenson High School, about 30 minutes due north of Ford Field.
He also played at the home of the Lions with his youth football team.
"We were called the Sterling Heights Redskins," said Kwiatkowski, the Chippewas' leading tackler. "So it's kind of cool because we were the same (uniform) colors that we are now (at CMU). A good way to cap off my college career -- home state, home NFL stadium."
Kwiatkowski, like a number of his teammates, figures to have many supporters, including family and close friends along with many that he played with and for at Stevenson at the game.
"I was able to gather about 40 tickets myself," he said. "I've got some high school baseball coaches coming, high school football coaches. Maybe some people I don't know about. It's going to be a lot of people.
"And it's going to mean a lot to play in front of basically my entire family, a lot of my friends, a lot of people who care for me and who enjoyed watching me throughout the years. It's an awesome opportunity and I'm very grateful that I'm able to get it."
The GaveAbove Sports Bowl marks CMU's sixth bowl game at Ford Field. They played in the Motor City Bowl in 2006, 2007, 2008; the Little Caesars Bowl in 2012; and the Quick Lane Bowl in 2015.
Most of those games drew large crowds, a testament to the Chippewas' drawing power in Detroit and the surrounding suburbs, where a significant number of CMU alums and fans reside.
"When I first got hired year, I didn't know how vast the alumni base was, especially in the state of Michigan and especially in the Detroit area," Drinkall said, adding that the Chippewas' recruiting footprint includes Evanston, Ill., where Northwestern is located. "You're getting to play a Big Ten opponent; there's going to be a ton of fans from both sides and it's in the state of Michigan, in Detroit, against a Chicago team. We're basically between our alumni and our recruiting base which is phenomenal for us.
"And the cherry on top is that it's the location of the MAC Championship Game, which we would like to be going to in the future. We get to experience Christmas Eve and Christmas Day together as a team, and we're the only game on TV, I believe, that day. So just the whole lot of it is just going to be a really great opportunity and experience for Central Michigan."
Players Mentioned
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/ FootballGameAbove Sports Bowl Introductory News Conference
Friday, December 12
Dakota Cochran Post-Game Press Conference vs. Toledo
Sunday, November 30
Matt Drinkall Post-Game Press Conference vs. Toledo
Saturday, November 29
Jordan Kwiatkowski Post-Game Press Conference vs. Toledo
Saturday, November 29