Chippewas Play Giveaway in Falling to Northwestern in GameAbove Sports Bowl

Friday, December 26

Detroit, Mich./Ford Field

1:00 PM

Central Michigan University

7-6 , 5-3

Northwestern

7-6 , 4-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Central Mich.

Northwestern

Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography

Photo by: Josie Ransley '25,M'27 - @josieransmedia

Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography

Chippewas Play Giveaway in Falling to Northwestern in GameAbove Sports Bowl

12/26/2025 6:18:00 PM | Football

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Northwestern scores 27 points off four Central Michigan turnovers, including three in the second quarter.

By: Andy Sneddon

DETROIT – Throughout the season, the Central Michigan football team hung its hat on turnovers: forcing their opponents into them and limiting their own.

On Friday, Northwestern played turnabout, forcing the Chippewas into four and cashing in each time in handing CMU a 34-7 loss in the GameAbove Sports Bowl before 27,857 at Ford Field.

The loss ended the Chippewas' season, and Matt Drinkall's first as CMU's head coach, at 7-6. Northwestern also finished 7-6.

"They didn't do one single thing that we didn't prepare for," Drinkall said. "We just didn't execute really well. It was frustrating to watch it go that way, because outside of those four snaps, we played really hard and played really well."

The Chippewas sparred with the Big Ten foe for a quarter and a half and then the cart wobbled, and once it wobbled, the Wildcats pounced.

The Chippewas turned the ball over on three consecutive plays – one interception, two fumbles -- and found themselves in a 21-0 hole in less than five minutes of game time.

Those three Wildcat scoring drives began at the CMU 29-, 18- and 23-yard lines, respectively, and the longest of their ensuing scoring drives covered six plays.

It was a flurry that staggered the Chippewas and they never recovered.

"You're battling back and forth and then all of a sudden, it's 21-0 a handful of snaps later," Drinkall said. "And you're kind of looking around trying to realize what happen."

Northwestern returned a CMU fumble 47 yards for a touchdown on the Chippewas' first drive of the third quarter to extend their lead to 27-0 and while CMU managed to move the ball – the Chippewas finished with 269 yards in total offense – they didn't move it nearly effectively enough or fast enough to overcome a four-touchdown deficit.

CMU quarterback Joe Labas, in his final collegiate game, threw for 178 yards on 21-of-25 passing and one touchdown, a 3-yarder to Brock Townsend in the fourth quarter.

Trey Cornist led the CMU ground game with 66 yards and Langston Lewis led the Chippewa receiving corps with a career-high eight catches for 83 yards.

The loss brought to an end Drinkall's first season at CMU. He was barely known outside of football-coaching circles after serving the previous six seasons as an assistant at Army when Zyzelewski Family Vice President/Director of Athletics Amy Folan hired him on Dec. 11, 2024.

He led the Chippewas to their highest victory total since they went 9-4 in 2019 and their first bowl appearance since 2021. He has clearly rejuvenated the program and the Mount Pleasant community with an energetic, disciplined approach as his Chippewas finished 7-3 against non-Power-4 opponents and went into the final weekend of the regular season with a chance to make an appearance in the MAC Championship Game.

"For our kids today, if you'd have told us a year ago (that we would) knock out seven wins and be playing after Christmas in a bowl game in Ford Field," Drinkall said, "That is a pretty good situation.

"I know today did not go the way we wanted it to, but there are things trending in the right direction. We're certainly excited and forever indebted to these kids."

Drinkall was joined in the postgame press conference by seniors Michael Heldman, Jordan Kwiatkowski and Brenden Deasfernandes, each a Detroit or Detroit-area native who got an opportunity to play in the home of their favorite NFL team, the Detroit Lions.

"There were a lot of young guys, and we led these guys in a way that they started to follow along," Heldman said. "We had a certain attitude when it came to playing football. We had a way to attack. Things that, as a program, coach Drinkall brought a lot of that philosophy in, and guys started to conform to the philosophy we had as a senior class and the philosophy he had.

Combining those two together, you had a really good team that started to connect the pieces."

"We had a huge turnaround and, as a senior, leaving is I have full faith and trust in these young guys to go out and win, go out and attack each season. I've told many people, we're going to win back-to-back-to-back MAC championships. I'm dead serious. These guys have the motor. They have that drive to go be great.

"And that's what I see in these young dudes, and that's what I see in coach Drinkall and his staff. I have full belief that they are going to do that next year."

Defense
Kwiatkowski, as he has all season, led the Chippewa defense with eight tackles including 1 ½ for loss. Safety Caleb Spann finished with six stops. Tackle Keyshawn Hayden recorded the Chippewas' lone sack and cornerback Kalen Carroll had an interception, his second of the season.

Improvement All Around
Heldman, a fifth-year defensive end who should get an NFL shot – either as a draftee or as an undrafted free agent – pointed up another aspect of improvement in the Chippewa program that often goes overlooked.

"Coach Drinkall said this really well in one of our team meetings, 'We've set the standard,'" Heldman said. "I mean, not just from a (won-loss) record standpoint, but if you look at our GPA as a team, we went from like a 2.63 to a 3.43 in the span of a year.

"And it just goes to show how these guys are dedicated to playing this game, but also getting a degree."

Honoring a Legend
Drinkall and his staff of assistant coaches and support personnel wore a maroon Adidas hoodie for the game on the Ford Field sideline.

Most of the hoodies carried the word 'Chippewas' arched in gold across the chest. Drinkall's top, however, read 'Kramer,' an homage to legendary CMU coach Roy Kramer, who led the Chippewas to the Division II national championship.

Kramer, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, died on Dec. 4.

"I feel just such an honor to have gotten to have known him at all, let alone that he took time out of his schedule to befriend me and become a mentor to me," Drinkall said. "And just the fact that after everything he's accomplished, he's still immensely entrenched in Central Michigan, and the game of football itself. In the game of football, we lost a titan.

"It's just so cool because every person I talk to, they talked about how he made you feel. We just want to do as much as we possibly could to honor coach Kramer and his legacy."