Central Michigan University Athletics
CMU defensive players celebrate an interception by Elijah Rikard (2) in the first half Friday at San Jose State.
Photo by: Josie Ransley '25,M'27 - @josieransmedia
Football Notebook: Defense Sets the Tone Early in 16-14 CMU Win at San Jose State
8/30/2025 12:22:00 PM | Football
CMU commits to the run game and delivers solid, ball-control performance
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Central Michigan's defense had five takeaways throughout the entire 2024 season.
It had three – a fumble and two interceptions -- by the end of the first quarter on Friday in the Chippewas' 16-14 season-opening victory over San Jose State at CEFCU Stadium.
And while Friday's win in Matt Drinkall's debut as the CMU coach will be remembered for myriad reasons, a long methodical fourth-quarter drive resulting in the go-ahead field goal among them, it can't be overstated how important the three early turnovers were.
Obviously, they ended San Jose drives because, well, that's what turnovers do. The Chippewas converted two of those turnovers into critical early points as they seized a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter, and the takeaways gave the defense a confidence boost.
"The three turnovers put us in the driver's seat to take the lead and win," Drinkall said. "We talk about it every day in practice; our goal is to have the best defense in the conference. It's OK to talk about it. That's the standard we want to have and that's something we want to chase."
The Chippewa defense delivered enough against a San Jose State team that returned its starting quarterback, Walker Eget, and averaged 28.4 points per game a year ago.
Not surprisingly, the Spartans did most of their damage through the air as Eget threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns. Most of that yardage came in the second half.
That said, the Chippewa defense stiffened when it most needed to.
"Tonight, we went to the sidelines and we worked things out, got things corrected and went back out and we played together," senior defensive end and captain Michael Heldman said. "There was positivity all the way. We balled out and we won. It's cool to see that this is a new team."
The Chippewa offense did not commit a turnover in the game and it marked the first time CMU's defense has recorded three takeaways since Dec. 12, 2020 at Toledo.
'A no-brainer'
Trailing 14-13 late in the third quarter, the Chippewas drove to the San Jose State 1-yard line. On fourth down, Angel Flores – one of three quarterbacks used by CMU on the night – was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on the first play of the fourth quarter.
That gave the ball back to San Jose State, which eventually reached its own 32-yard line before the CMU defense forced a punt. The Chippewas' next possession ended with Cade Graham's go-ahead 28-yard field goal, which proved to be the difference in the game.
"Going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1 was a no-brainer and it worked out because we had enough time to get the ball back," Drinkall said. "I told them in the locker room that that was my call. We could have easily had Cade kick it and put it through the uprights and get us the lead back, but those kids bailed me out. Did a phenomenal job."
Coming up empty at that point in the game was one of several momentum swings throughout a roller-coaster night that saw San Jose State miss two potential go-ahead field goals in the final three minutes that kept the Chippewas in front.
CMU, Drinkall said, never wavered.
"We were as steady as you can possibly be," he said. "The kids did a great job from an emotional resiliency standpoint."
The Chippewas were penalized seven times for 33 yards. Most of the penalties were for illegal procedure and none were of the 15-yard personal-foul variety.
"We talk about the three values that we want to drive us: be tough, be smart, be resilient," Drinkall said. "We did not make any assignment errors or emotional 15-yard penalties, the things that put the team at risk. It was really neat to see those guys just go in and battle out."
Ground and Pound
The Chippewas committed to the run game and it showed on Friday as they rushed for 236 yards of their 351 total.
Successfully running the ball had its intended consequence: It kept San Jose State's pass offense on the sideline and the Chippewas finished with a six-plus minute advantage in time of possession.
On the fourth-quarter drive that ended with Graham kicking the game-winning field goal, the Chippewas ran the ball 11 times for 57 yards and used seven-plus minutes of game clock.
Nahree Biggins ran for 102 yards on 18 carries and Trey Cornist had 99 on 13. It was a career high for Biggins, a redshirt senior, and for Cornist, a redshirt sophomore who is in his first year at CMU after transferring from Tulane.
The Quarterbacks
As expected, Joe Labas drew the start at quarterback for CMU, but Angel Flores and Jadyn Glasser saw plenty of action.
Labas and Flores combined to complete eight of their 13 pass attempts for 115 yards. Glasser did not attempt a pass, but he came in to bull his way for a first down on fourth-and-1 during the Chippewas' fourth-quarter drive that resulted in the go-ahead field goal.
Labas, a redshirt senior, started six games in 2024 and led the Chippewas to a 3-3 start before an injury ended his season. Glasser made three starts a year ago. Flores is a junior who transferred to CMU before the season from Northern Arizona.
Nice Debut
CMU placekicker Cade Graham had never attempted a field goal or an extra point before Friday, when he connected twice from 28 yards and once from 32.
He missed his first field goal try, a 51-yarder, in the first quarter.
His 28-yarder with 4:13 remaining put the Chippewas in front for good.
Last season, Graham, a redshirt senior from Caledonia, kicked off while Tristan Mattson handled the extra points and field goals.
Graham averaged 56.1 yards on his five kickoffs on Friday with one touchback.
Streaks & Numbers
• The win was CMU's first on the road since Sept. 23, 2023 at South Alabama, a stretch of 10 games.
• It was the first time CMU has opened the season with a road win since Aug. 31, 1996, when it took a 42-21 victory at Boise State. The Chippewas had lost 11 straight such games before Friday's win.
• It was CMU's first trip to the state of California since it lost the 1990 California Raisin Bowl to San Jose State. It was the Chippewas' first win in the Golden State since Nov. 24, 1979, when they topped San Jose State, 34-32.
• CMU improved to 45-41-1 in season openers since 1940 and 26-24-1 since joining the Mid-American Conference in 1975.
• The Chippewas improved to 9-9 all-time against current members of the Mountain West and are 2-1 against San Jose State.
Next
The Chippewas go to Pitt on Saturday, Sept. 6 (noon). It will be the first meeting between CMU and Pitt, which plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Chippewas are 0-17 all-time against ACC teams.
The Panthers were scheduled to play Duquesne in their opener on Saturday, Aug. 30.
Then CMU goes to No. 14 Michigan on Sept. 13 (noon).
It marks the first time CMU has opened the season with three consecutive road games since 1972.
It had three – a fumble and two interceptions -- by the end of the first quarter on Friday in the Chippewas' 16-14 season-opening victory over San Jose State at CEFCU Stadium.
And while Friday's win in Matt Drinkall's debut as the CMU coach will be remembered for myriad reasons, a long methodical fourth-quarter drive resulting in the go-ahead field goal among them, it can't be overstated how important the three early turnovers were.
Obviously, they ended San Jose drives because, well, that's what turnovers do. The Chippewas converted two of those turnovers into critical early points as they seized a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter, and the takeaways gave the defense a confidence boost.
"The three turnovers put us in the driver's seat to take the lead and win," Drinkall said. "We talk about it every day in practice; our goal is to have the best defense in the conference. It's OK to talk about it. That's the standard we want to have and that's something we want to chase."
The Chippewa defense delivered enough against a San Jose State team that returned its starting quarterback, Walker Eget, and averaged 28.4 points per game a year ago.
Not surprisingly, the Spartans did most of their damage through the air as Eget threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns. Most of that yardage came in the second half.
That said, the Chippewa defense stiffened when it most needed to.
"Tonight, we went to the sidelines and we worked things out, got things corrected and went back out and we played together," senior defensive end and captain Michael Heldman said. "There was positivity all the way. We balled out and we won. It's cool to see that this is a new team."
The Chippewa offense did not commit a turnover in the game and it marked the first time CMU's defense has recorded three takeaways since Dec. 12, 2020 at Toledo.
'A no-brainer'
Trailing 14-13 late in the third quarter, the Chippewas drove to the San Jose State 1-yard line. On fourth down, Angel Flores – one of three quarterbacks used by CMU on the night – was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on the first play of the fourth quarter.
That gave the ball back to San Jose State, which eventually reached its own 32-yard line before the CMU defense forced a punt. The Chippewas' next possession ended with Cade Graham's go-ahead 28-yard field goal, which proved to be the difference in the game.
"Going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1 was a no-brainer and it worked out because we had enough time to get the ball back," Drinkall said. "I told them in the locker room that that was my call. We could have easily had Cade kick it and put it through the uprights and get us the lead back, but those kids bailed me out. Did a phenomenal job."
Coming up empty at that point in the game was one of several momentum swings throughout a roller-coaster night that saw San Jose State miss two potential go-ahead field goals in the final three minutes that kept the Chippewas in front.
CMU, Drinkall said, never wavered.
"We were as steady as you can possibly be," he said. "The kids did a great job from an emotional resiliency standpoint."
The Chippewas were penalized seven times for 33 yards. Most of the penalties were for illegal procedure and none were of the 15-yard personal-foul variety.
"We talk about the three values that we want to drive us: be tough, be smart, be resilient," Drinkall said. "We did not make any assignment errors or emotional 15-yard penalties, the things that put the team at risk. It was really neat to see those guys just go in and battle out."
Ground and Pound
The Chippewas committed to the run game and it showed on Friday as they rushed for 236 yards of their 351 total.
Successfully running the ball had its intended consequence: It kept San Jose State's pass offense on the sideline and the Chippewas finished with a six-plus minute advantage in time of possession.
On the fourth-quarter drive that ended with Graham kicking the game-winning field goal, the Chippewas ran the ball 11 times for 57 yards and used seven-plus minutes of game clock.
Nahree Biggins ran for 102 yards on 18 carries and Trey Cornist had 99 on 13. It was a career high for Biggins, a redshirt senior, and for Cornist, a redshirt sophomore who is in his first year at CMU after transferring from Tulane.
The Quarterbacks
As expected, Joe Labas drew the start at quarterback for CMU, but Angel Flores and Jadyn Glasser saw plenty of action.
Labas and Flores combined to complete eight of their 13 pass attempts for 115 yards. Glasser did not attempt a pass, but he came in to bull his way for a first down on fourth-and-1 during the Chippewas' fourth-quarter drive that resulted in the go-ahead field goal.
Labas, a redshirt senior, started six games in 2024 and led the Chippewas to a 3-3 start before an injury ended his season. Glasser made three starts a year ago. Flores is a junior who transferred to CMU before the season from Northern Arizona.
Nice Debut
CMU placekicker Cade Graham had never attempted a field goal or an extra point before Friday, when he connected twice from 28 yards and once from 32.
He missed his first field goal try, a 51-yarder, in the first quarter.
His 28-yarder with 4:13 remaining put the Chippewas in front for good.
Last season, Graham, a redshirt senior from Caledonia, kicked off while Tristan Mattson handled the extra points and field goals.
Graham averaged 56.1 yards on his five kickoffs on Friday with one touchback.
Streaks & Numbers
• The win was CMU's first on the road since Sept. 23, 2023 at South Alabama, a stretch of 10 games.
• It was the first time CMU has opened the season with a road win since Aug. 31, 1996, when it took a 42-21 victory at Boise State. The Chippewas had lost 11 straight such games before Friday's win.
• It was CMU's first trip to the state of California since it lost the 1990 California Raisin Bowl to San Jose State. It was the Chippewas' first win in the Golden State since Nov. 24, 1979, when they topped San Jose State, 34-32.
• CMU improved to 45-41-1 in season openers since 1940 and 26-24-1 since joining the Mid-American Conference in 1975.
• The Chippewas improved to 9-9 all-time against current members of the Mountain West and are 2-1 against San Jose State.
Next
The Chippewas go to Pitt on Saturday, Sept. 6 (noon). It will be the first meeting between CMU and Pitt, which plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Chippewas are 0-17 all-time against ACC teams.
The Panthers were scheduled to play Duquesne in their opener on Saturday, Aug. 30.
Then CMU goes to No. 14 Michigan on Sept. 13 (noon).
It marks the first time CMU has opened the season with three consecutive road games since 1972.
Players Mentioned
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/ FootballLangston Lewis Post-Game Press Conference at WMU
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Joe Labas Post-Game Press Conference at WMU
Sunday, November 02
Matt Drinkall Post-Game Press Conference at WMU
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Jordan Kwiatkowski Post-Game Press Conference at WMU
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