Football Preview: Chippewas Know What They're Up Against

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – First-year Central Michigan football coach Matt Drinkall's roots are in Iowa.

But at his heart, he's a football guy. He doesn't need anybody to tell him about Michigan.

"You can't tell the story of college football and the history of it without Michigan," Drinkall said this week as he prepared his Chippewas to travel to Ann Arbor where they will take on the Wolverines on Saturday (noon, Big Ten Network).

"Michigan's on the Mount Rushmore of college football programs and I think that's a cool thing," said Drinkall, who served as an assistant at Army for six seasons before coming to Mount Pleasant. "To me, embrace all of it. I hope as a (coaching) staff that our experience with Army-Navy games and some of those big bowl games will help get our kids mentally prepared to handle it this week.

"But it's easier said than done. When you get in there, it's an intimidating environment."

Both teams are 1-1 and coming off losses. Last week, CMU fell at Pitt, 45-17, trailing 24-17 in the third quarter before the Panthers scored the game's final 21 points. Michigan dropped a 24-13 decision at No. 18 Oklahoma. That loss dropped the Wolverines to No. 23 in the Associated Press poll and No. 22 in the coaches poll.

The Chippewas are 0-4 all-time against the Wolverines. All four meetings have been in Ann Arbor, the last in 2013. CMU is 6-30 all-time against Big Ten opponents.

The CMU roster includes 40 state of Michigan natives, many of whom, most certainly, grew up cheering for the Wolverines and hoping some day to play for the maize and blue.

CMU defensive back Caleb Spann, a Louisiana native, knows full well what it's like to play under such circumstances and he can identify what some of his teammates may feel when they hit the Michigan Stadium turf on Saturday.

"I remember my freshman year, we played at LSU and I was like, starstruck," he said. "It is a dream come true.

"But as an organization we have to go in there with a job to do and focus on the task at hand."

And the task at hand is, obviously, considerable.

"When you play really good opponents like this Michigan team, anybody's margin of error is so slim," Drinkall said. "They have unbelievable coaching, they have great players, they have an unbelievable culture where there's an expectation to perform almost perfectly every time.

"If you are fortunate to find yourself with these opportunities, you either find a way or you find an excuse. You define the moment or the moment defines you."

The Chippewas got a taste of what it's like to play against a big-time opponent in a big-time atmosphere last week when they squared off against ACC member Pitt before 48,424 at Acrisure Stadium, which the Panthers share with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.

"I did a poor job preparing our kids for that environment," Drinkall said. "It was evident in the Pitt game, if you look at the penalties (nine for 75 yards), a lot of them were procedural, pre-snap and I think that's a reflection on me as a coach.

"Now I have an opportunity to right that wrong and make the kids feel like they're in a better position to be successful this week."

The crowd at U-M will be at least double that of what the Chippewas saw a week ago at Pitt, and while Pitt is a solid program and a perennial ACC contender, Michigan is one of college football's true blue bloods.

"I think you totally embrace it," Drinkall said. "It's not like you can hide playing at the Big House from the kids. They're very smart and they have probably played this game on a video game a bunch of times in the summer."

That said, the field dimensions at Michigan Stadium are the same as they are Kelly/Shorts Stadium, and the Wolverines, like the Chippewas, may only put 11 players on the field at a time.

In short, it's about playing 60 minutes of solid football.

"They have the same girlfriend problems," Drinkall said, "they have the same homesickness, they're upset about a paper they have to write tomorrow too – it's the same regular kids but it's not the same regular everyday football program, especially in-state, and to not acknowledge that would be insane."

The Chippewa run game, highly effective in a 16-14 season-opening win at San Jose State, struggled to gain traction at Pitt. CMU finished with just 40 net yards rushing against the Panthers after amassing 236 at San Jose State.

CMU's defense surrendered 464 yards to the Panthers, much of it coming on big gainers through the air.

Correctable, linebacker Dakota Cochran said.

"We did not play very well against Pitt -- lots of MAs (missed assignments)," he said. "A few missed tackles, but the majority of it was MAs. Looking back at the tape, it was actually hard to watch.

"At one point it was 24-17 with all those MAs so we could just imagine what it would have been like without them. Can't go back and change it. We have a high upside. We just have to show it."

It marks CMU's third consecutive road game to open the season, the first time that has happened since 1972.

The Chippewas' home opener is Saturday, Sept. 20, against Football Championship Subdivision Wagner, which is 0-2 after losses to Kansas and Georgetown. The Seahawks play host to Marist on Saturday.

CMU then entertains Eastern Michigan in its Mid-American Conference opener on Saturday, Sept. 27.

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Players Mentioned

Dakota Cochran

Caleb Spann