Chippewas Open MAC Play on Saturday at Home Against Eastern Michigan

GAME 5: EASTERN MICHIGAN (1-3, 0-0 MAC) at CENTRAL MICHIGAN (2-2, 0-0 MAC)
Saturday, September 27, 2025 • 1:02 p.m. ET • Mount Pleasant, Mich. • Kelly/Shorts Stadium (30,255)
CMU & You Day/Family & Friends Weekend/Band Day/Hall of Fame Weekend

SATURDAY MATCHUP

Television: ESPN+ (Doug Sherman, play-by-play; Marcus Ray, analyst; Jeff Graham, 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://cmuchippewas.com/sidearmstats/football/summary

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

Coaches: Central Michigan-Matt Drinkall, 1^st year at CMU (2-2), 6^th year as a head coach (44-19), 22^nd year in coaching. Eastern Michigan- Chris Creighton, 12^th year at EMU (58-78), 29^th year overall (197-124).

Series: Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan meet for the 103^rd time since Nov. 1, 1902, with Central Mcihigan hold a 64-32-6 advantage in the series. CMU holds a 37-13-2 record in games played in Mount Pleasant, in each of the last six meetings.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN GAME NOTES

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.–Central Michigan (2-2, 0-0 MAC) plays its MAC opener and fifth overall game when it hosts Eastern Michigan (1-3, 0-0 MAC) on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME

The game will be televised on ESPN+ with Doug Sherman (play-by-play) and Marcus Ray (color analyst) calling action, with Jeff Graham handling production.

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.

SATURDAY'S TOP STORYLINES

*Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan open MAC play with a key September matchup in Mount Pleasant.

*CMU and EMU meet for the 103rd time in series history, the longest-running series between any two MAC schools. The two teams meet for the 54th consecutive year. CMU has won four of the last six, nine of the last 13, and 11 of the last 16. The Chippewas have won each of the last six series games played in Mount Pleasant.

*The contest also marks the first of three Michigan MAC Trophy matchups between CMU, EMU, and WMU. The school with the best head-to-head record earns the right to the Michigan MAC Trophy.

GAME NOTES

Central Michigan (2-2, 0-0 MAC) opens Mid-American Conference play with its fifth overall game and second home game of the 2025 season when it hosts Eastern Michigan (1-3, 0-0 MAC) in a Saturday contest at Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.  for a televised game on ESPN+.

Central Michigan is coming off a dominating 49-10 home victory over Wagner on Saturday, which saw the Chippewas rack up 506 yards of total offense, 233 yards rushing, 273 yards passing, and 24 first downs. CMU's defense also limited Wagner to 113 yards of total offense, six first downs, 72 yards rushing and only 41 yards passing.

It was defense that gave the Chippewas an early lead in the game's first six minutes. On Wagner's second offensive play of the game, Jordan Kwiatkowski tipped a pass into the waiting arms of Dakota Cochran, who gathered the ball and ran 30 yards for an interception return touchdown and 7-0 lead. Then on Wagner's next drive, Michael Heldman's sack forced a fumble that Cochran picked up. The play gave the ball back to Central Michigan, which drove 36 yards in six plays and ended in a 2-yard touchdown run by Angel Flores and commanding 14-0 lead.

Then the Chippewas offense came to life led by quarterback Joe Labas, who threw three touchdown passes and for 241 yards, and completed 85.7 percent (12 of 14) of his passes, which ranked as the fifth-best performance in school history. Labas' 301.02 passing efficiency rating ranked as the second-best all-time game performance in school history behind Dan LeFevour (303.7) at Buffalo on Nov. 24, 2006. His touchdown passes in the second quarter included an 88-yard screen pass to Nahree Biggins, a 33-yard pass to Tommy McIntosh, and a 33-yard pass to a wide open Tyson Davis and the Chippewas took a 35-3 lead into halftime.

CMU's quarterbacks combined for six of the Chippewas' seven touchdowns (Labas, three TD passes; Flores, 2 rushing scores, one passing).

Previously, Central Michigan opened its season with three straight road games for the first time since 1972. The Chippewas dropped a 63-3 loss at Michigan before 110,740 fans at Michigan Stadium on Sept. 13. Angel Flores led the CMU offense with a career-high 100 total yards, including a career-high 76 yards rushing, and Elijah Gordon and Elijah Rikard both finished with eight tackles on defense.

It dropped a 45-17 decision at Pittsburgh on Sept. 6. The Chippewas trailed 24-17 after DeCorion Temple scored on a 6-yard pass from Joe Labas in the third quarter, but Pitt answered 45 seconds later with a long kickoff return and 48-yard touchdown pass. The Panthers scored two more times for the final score. Central Michigan completed 20 of 27 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown in the game. The Chippewas led time of possession 36:43-23:17 but Pitt scored fast and finished with 464 yards of total offense and 340 passing yards.

In its season opener on Aug. 29, Central Michigan claimed a 16-14 come-from-behind victory at San Jose State. The Chippewas forced three first half turnovers and went up 13-0 in the second quarter. A Brenden Deasfernandes interception in the end zone stopped a Spartan scoring drive and led to a 29-yard touchdown run by Trey Cornist. A forced fumble by Michael Heldman led to a fumble return by Fernando Sanchez III and eventual 34-yard field goal by Cade Graham. Then Elijah Rikard intercepted another pass that set up a 28-yard field goal by Graham and 13-0 CMU lead. San Jose State scored before halftime and then took the lead 14-13 in the third quarter.

Central Michigan contined to battle. The Chippewas drove down to the SJSU one-yard line but couldn't convert. After the CMU defense forced a punt, Central Michigan drove 80 yards in 14 plays and used 7:16 of clock time in a drive that ended in a 28-yard field goal by Graham. That put the Chippewas up 16-14. The Chippewas defense forced two missed field goals by San Jose State to secure the win.

The win represented the first for coach Matt Drinkall as Central Michigan's football coach.  Saturday's game at Wagner marks his first game coaching at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Drinkall 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 10 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 put together 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 was 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.

Drinkall became the first coach at Central Michigan to win a debut game on the road since Bill Kelly won a 34-13 victory at Southern Illinois on Sept. 22, 1951.

Ranked as one of the nation's top 40 winningest FBS programs of all-time and with eight current 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.

On a two-game home win streak, historically, Central Michigan enjoys a tremendous home field advantage at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Since 2019, the Chippewas are a combined 23-10 with a .697-win percentage within the confines of Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The Chippewas have won five of their last seven and nine of its last 12 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, 3-2 in 2024, and 1-0 in 2025 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 185-89-4 all-time record in 278 games played for a .665-win percentage. In MAC games, the Chippewas are 140-69-4.

A WIN OVER EASTERN MICHIGAN WOULD…

•  Give Central Michigan a 3-2 overall record to start a season for third consecutive year.
•  Give CMU a 1-0 start to league play for the third consecutive season.
•  Give Central Michigan its seventh consecutive home game victory over Eastern Michigan.
•  Give Central Michigan its third straight victory at home and sixth win its last eight home contests.
•  Put Central Michigan in position to win the Michigan MAC Trophy.

MICHIGAN MAC TROPHY

•  The Central Michigan-Eastern Michigan matchup will mark the first Michigan MAC Trophy game of the year.
•  Presented annually to one of the Michigan-based Mid-American Conference institutions (CMU, EMU, WMU), the trophy is awarded to the team which has the best head-to-head record against each other. It is one of just two regularly awarded trophies between three teams (the other is the Commander-in-Chief trophy between Army, Navy, and Air Force).
•  Central Michigan last won the trophy in 2021 with wins over both EMU and WMU.

SERIES VS. EASTERN MICHIGAN

•  Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan meet for the 103rd time and 54th consecutive time in a rivalry dating back to 1902.
•  The series marks the longest-running matchup between any two MAC schools.
•  Central Michigan holds a 64-32-6 all-time advantage in the series.
•  CMU is 37-13-2 vs. EMU in games played in Mount Pleasant.
•  Eastern Michigan came back to stun Central Michigan in last year's meeting, 38-34, in Ypsilanti.
•  Central Michigan has won six consecutive home games against Eastern Michigan dating back to October 15, 2011.
•  Central Michigan has won the majority of recent games in the series as the Chippewas have won four of the last six, nine of the last 13, and 11 of the last 16.

CMU AMONG ALL-TIME WINNINGEST G5 TEAMS

Central Michigan ranks No. 6 nationally among the winningest Group of Five team in the all-time win's rankings category (source: CFB Home). Here is the list (as of Sept. 22, 2025):

Rk.	Team	Wins
1.	Navy	751 wins
2.	Army	740 wins
3.	Miami (Ohio)	733 wins
4.	Appalachian State	670 wins
5.	Fresno State	656 wins
6.	Central Michigan (2-2)	653 wins
7.	Tulsa	652 wins
8.	Louisiana Tech	649 wins
9.	Marshall	641 wins
10.	Western Kentucky	625 wins
11.	Jacksonville State	624 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.

RUN THE BALL

Central Michigan has run the ball in 69 percent of its total offensive plays, (173 of 251) this season.

In its season opener at San Jose State, Central Michigan rushed 51 times for 256 yards and a touchdown. It marked the most yards rushing for Central Michigan since the Chippewas put up 285 yards at Eastern Michigan on Oct. 19, 2024. Nahree Biggins registered career-highs for attempts (18) and yards (102) with a long of 17, while Trey Cornist finished with 13 carries for 99 yards and a 29-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Quarterback Angel Flores carried the ball 12 times for 30 yards.

Against Pitt, the Chippewas rushed 41 times for 40 yards and ran for 79 yards on 33 carries at Michigan on Sept. 13.

Versus Wagner, the Chippewas rushed 48 times for 233 yards and two touchdowns.

TURNOVER MARGIN TURNAROUND

In its first four games of the 2025 season, Central Michigan has a +2-turnover margin, which ranks No. 43 in FBS (7 turnovers gained/5 turnovers lost). The Chippewas also rank No. 13 nationally in turnovers gained (7). Last year, CMU was ranked No. 133 in turnover margin (-17) and tied a school record for worst turnover margin in a season.

At San Jose State, Central Michigan forced three first half turnovers including two interceptions and a fumble recovery. The Chippewas scored their first 13 points off those turnovers. CMU also limited San Jose State to just 74 yards rushing on 17 carries. The two interceptions by Brenden Deasfernandes and Elijah Rikard equaled Central Michigan's interception total from the entire 2024 season. Last year, CMU totaled just five turnovers (2 interceptions/3 fumble recoveries), the Chippewas already have registered seven through four games in 2025.

At Pitt, Central Michigan registered one interception as Jordan Kwiatkowski stepped in front a pass and returned it 18 yards. At Michigan, Brenden Deasfernandes registered an interception in the second quarter and turned it into three points.

Versus Wagner, Central Michigan turned two turnovers into a 14-0 lead in the first few minutes of the game. On Wagner's first possession, Dakota Cochran intercepted a tipped pass by Jordan Kwiatkowski and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. On the next drive, Michael Heldman forced a fumble which was picked up by Cochran. The Chippewas scored on a 2-yard run by Angel Flores.

WHERE CENTRAL MICHIGAN RANKS IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICS

Following its first four games, Central Michigan is ranked among the nation's top 35 national leaders in seven statistical categories. The Chippewas rank:

•  No. 6 in punt returns (24.00).
•  No. 13 in passes had intercepted (1).
•  No. 13 in turnovers gained (7).
•  No. 13 in passes intercepted (5).
•  No. 17 in defensive touchdowns (1).
•  No. 28 in time of possession (32:26).
•  No. 32 in completion percentage (67.9).

In addition, several individuals were ranked among the nation's top 35 in several different statistics:

•  Michael Heldman, No. 6 in forced fumbles (0.50).
•  Brenden Deasfernandes, No. 8 in interceptions (2).
•  Dakota Cochran, No. 12 in fumbles recovered (1).
•  Fernando Sanchez III, No. 12 in fumbles recovered (1).
•  Brenden Deasfernandes, No. 20 in interceptions per game (0.50).
•  Michael Heldman, No. 29 in sacks (0.75).

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Players Mentioned

Nahree Biggins

Dakota Cochran

Trey Cornist

Tyson Davis

Brenden Deasfernandes

Angel Flores

Elijah Gordon

Cade Graham

Michael Heldman

Jordan Kwiatkowski

Joe Labas

Tommy McIntosh

Elijah Rikard

Fernando Sanchez III

DeCorion Temple