Football Opens 2025 Season on Friday Night at San Jose State

GAME 1: CENTRAL MICHIGAN (4-8, 2-6 MAC) at SAN JOSE STATE (7-6, 3-4 MWC)
Season Opener
Friday, August 29, 2025 • 10:35 p.m. ET/7:35 p.m. PT • San Jose, Calif.
CEFCU Stadium (30,456)

FRIDAY NIGHT MATCHUP

Television: FS1 (Trent Rush, play-by-play; Will Blackmon, analyst; Kyle Binder, producer).

Chippewa Sports Radio Network: Adam Jaksa, play-by-play; Brock Gutierrez, color analyst; spotter: Steve Powers; hosts: Nathan Arbaugh, Kyle Sandel.

Live Stats: visit https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=sjsu

CMU Social Media: Twitter (@cmu_football); Facebook (@cmufootball); Instagram (cmufootball); Website: www.cmuchippewas.com.

Coaches: Central Michigan-Matt Drinkall, 1^st year at CMU (0-0), 6^th year as a head coach (42-17), 22^nd year in coaching. SJSU- Kenn Niumatalolo, 2^nd year at SJSU (7-6), 17^th years overall (116-89).

Series: Central Michigan and San Jose State meet for the third time in college football history. The teams previously met in 1979 (34-32 CMU win at SJSU) and in 1990 (48-24 SJSU win in the California Raisin Bowl played in Fresno, Calif.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN GAME NOTES

SAN JOSE, CALIF. –Central Michigan (4-8, 2-6 MAC) opens its 124th season of college football by traveling to California to take on San Jose State (7-6, 3-4 MW) on Friday, Aug. 29 at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose. Kickoff is at 10:35 p.m. ET/7:35 p.m. PT for an FS1 national broadcast.

WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME

The game will be nationally televised on FS1 with Trent Rush (play-by-play) and Will Blackmon (color analyst) calling action. Kyle Binder will produce.

WHERE TO LISTEN TO THE GAME

Fans can also listen to the CMU Chippewas Sports Network broadcast presented by Fabiano Brothers. Adam Jaksa (play-by-play) and former Central Michigan/NFL player and CMU Athletic Hall of Famer Brock Gutierrez (color analyst) call the action on the network which can be accessed on www.cmuchippewas.com, on the 98.5-FM WUPS website, or on the Black Diamond broadcasting app. Coverage begins with a one-hour pre-game show.

FRIDAY'S TOP STORYLINES

•Central Michigan opens its 124th season of college football in California for the first time since the 1990 California Raisin Bowl played in Fresno, Calif. vs. San Jose State.

•Head coach Matt Drinkall will coach in his first game at Central Michigan.

•Both head coaches have Army-Navy ties. Drinkall spent six years on staff at Army (2019-24), while SJSU coach Ken Niaumatalolo was the head coach at Navy for 16 years (2007-22).

•San Jose State and Central Michigan renew their rivalry as the teams met two other times in history: 1979 and the 1990 California Raisin Bowl.

THE ESSENTIALS

Central Michigan (4-8, 2-6 MAC in 2024) opens its 124th season of college football when it travels to San Jose State (7-6, 3-4 MWC in 2024) for a Friday evening contest. Kickoff is at 10:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET at CEFCU Stadium for an FS1 nationally televised game.

The game represents the first contest for Matt Drinkall as Central Michigan's football coach. He was named the 30th football coach at Central Michigan on Dec. 9, 2024 after serving the previous six seasons on staff at Army. His 2024 Army offensive line won the Joe Moore Award for top offensive line unit in the nation and helped guide the Black Knights to a 12-2 record, No. 22 national ranking in the College Football Playoff poll, and the American Athletic Conference title in the program's first year in the league.

In his first nine months with the Central Michigan Football program, Drinkall has initiated a culture change with numerous improvements to the student-athlete experience. With a 3.2 grade point average, the Chippewas earned their best-ever academic semester in spring 2025. The Chippewas now have top-notch meals provided at their facility by CMU Dining Services, have turned rooms into areas for player use such as the VIP Lounge which has converted into a player lounge, the practice schedule has been revamped, and the team took a team-building trip to amusement park Cedar Point in the summer. Those are just a few of the many changes that he has made since his arrival.

Ranked as one of the nation's top-40 winningest FBS programs with 13 players in the National Football League, Central Michigan is coming off three consecutive sub-.500 seasons for the first time since 2002-04. The Chippewas went 4-8 last season and 2-6 in the MAC.

ARMY-NAVY TIES

The Central Michigan-San Jose State game features Army-Navy undertones as both head coaches spent a significant account of time coaching at both service academies. The two matched up in a combined four Army-Navy games in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Central Michigan coach Matt Drinkall spent six seasons in various capacities including co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Army from 2019-24. His 2024 offensive line won the Joe Moore Award for the nation's offensive line unit and he was named the nation's co-Offensive Line Coach of the Year by FootballScoop.

San Jose State coach Ken Niaumatalolo served as the coach at Navy for 16 years (2007-22).

CALIFORNIA VISITS

The Central Michigan Football program travels across the country to play a game in the state of California for the first time since the 1990 California Raisin Bowl when the Chippewas took on San Jose State in Fresno.

The two schools meet in college football for the third time as the series is deadlocked at 1-1. Central Michigan claimed a 34-32 victory at San Jose State on Nov. 24, 1979 and San Jose State took a 48-24 decision in the 1990 California Raisin Bowl.

SEASON OPENER NOTES

•  Central Michigan opens a season on the road for the fourth time in five years.
•  The August 29 home opener date ties for the fourth-earliest start in school history. Previously, Central Michigan began seasons on August 28 in 1997, 2008, and 2014.
•  The Chippewas are on a one-game win streak on opening day following last year's 66-10 win over Central Connecticut State.
•  In 86 season openers since 1940, Central Michigan owns a 44-41-1 overall record, including a 7-22-1 record in road games. The Chippewas are 25-24-1 in season openers since joining the MAC in 1975.

A WIN OVER SAN JOSE STATE WOULD…

•  Give Central Michigan a 1-0 overall record and give the Chippewas their second straight win in a season opener.
•  Snap an 11-game road losing streak on opening day and give Central Michigan its first road victory in a season opener since it won 42-21 at Boise State on Aug. 31, 1996.
•  Snap a 10-game road losing streak. The last time CMU won a game on the road was at South Alabama (34-30) on Sept. 23, 2023. That win also marks the last time CMU won a non conference game on the road.
•  Improve Central Michigan to 2-1 in three all-time games played against San Jose State.
•  Give Central Michigan its first victory in the state of California since a 34-32 win at San Jose State Nov. 24, 1979.
•  Improve Central Michigan to 45-41-1 in season openers dating to 1940 and 26-24-1 since joining the MAC.

CMU RANKED AMONG WINNINGEST GROUP OF FIVE TEAMS

Central Michigan enters the 2025 season tied for the fifth winningest Group of Five team in the all-time rankings (source: CFB Home). Here is the list:

1.	Navy	748 wins
2.	Army	739 wins
3.	Miami (Ohio)	733 wins
4.	Appalachian State	668 wins
5.	Central Michigan	651 wins
	Fresno State	651 wins
7.	Tulsa	650 wins
8.	Louisiana Tech	646 wins
9.	Marshall	639 wins
10.	Western Kentucky	622 wins
	Jacksonville State	622 wins

CMU AMONG TOP 50 PROGRAMS

Historically, Central Michigan has been ranked among the nation's top-50 all-time football programs by a variety of organizations. The Pro Football Hall of Fame and ESPN both rated Central Michigan No. 41 on its list of all-time most successful college football programs.

Of MAC schools, the two highest-rated college football programs of all-time are Miami (Ohio) and Central Michigan.

Also, on display at the College Football Hall of Fame is Central Michigan and Western Michigan, one of the top rivalries in all of college football.

HOME SWEET, HOME

Historically, Central Michigan enjoys a tremendous home field advantage at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The Chippewas are a combined 22-10 in the last six years with a .688 win percentage within the confines of Kelly/Shorts Stadium since 2019.

CMU concluded the 2024 season after having won four of its last six and eight of its last 11 home contests.

The last time CMU completed a season with an undefeated home record was when the Chippewas went a perfect 6-0 in 2019. The last several seasons, CMU went 1-2 in 2020, 5-1 in 2021, 2-4 in 2022, 4-1 in 2023, and 3-2 in 2024 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

Since 1950, CMU has registered 13 undefeated seasons at home: 1953 (4-0), 1954 (4-0), 1955 (4-0), 1956 (4-0), 1967 (4-0), 1970 (4-0), 1977 (5-0), 1979 (5-0), 1980 (6-0), 1994 (5-0), 1998 (5-0), 2009 (5-0), and 2019 (6-0).

Since Kelly/Shorts Stadium opened in 1972, Central Michigan owns a 184-89-4 all-time record in 277 games played. In MAC games, the Chippewas are 140-69-4.

CHIPPEWA GRADUATES

Nine players on Central Michigan's roster have already earned their respective bachelor's degrees. Those players are: DB Marcus Badgett, LB Lawai'a Brown, DB Brendan Deasfernandes, DL Jonathan Decker, DL Malik Denkins, PK Cade Graham, DL Michael Heldman, LS Ben Pratt, and DB Aakeem Snell.

CALIFORNIA KIDS

Five Central Michigan players are California natives. Those players are sophomore linebacker Xavier White (Los Angeles), senior offensive lineman Luis Martinez (Oceanside), junior wide receiver Collin Payne (Lake Forest), freshman quarterback Daniel Gomez (Hanford), and junior defensive lineman Daniel Viramontes (Anaheim).