Chippewas Rally, But Fall Short in Battle for the Victory Cannon With Western Michigan

Saturday, October 17

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

1:30 p.m.

Central Michigan University

3-4 , 1-2

Western Michigan

5-2 , 3-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Western Michigan	7	7	7	0	21
Central Michigan	0	0	0	14	14

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CMU Football vs. Western (October 17, 2026)

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Chippewas Rally, But Fall Short in Battle for the Victory Cannon With Western Michigan

10/17/2026 6:32:00 PM | Football

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By: Andy Sneddon

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A late, frantic rally and just a bit short.

Central Michigan pushed hard late before succumbing to rival Western Michigan, 21-14, in the battle for the Victory Cannon before 25,352 on Saturday on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

"I don't know that in 25 years (of coaching) that I've ever been more proud of a team I've been associated with for how hard they fought," second-year CMU coach Matt Drinkall said. "Through the ups and downs, through the rivalry, coming off of a brutal loss (at Ohio) a week ago.

"And for those guys to fight and claw to the last play and fight against all odds; those guys, man, I am so incredibly proud of our players. I can't even begin to explain it. I think that speaks volumes to how our kids do business."

The Chippewas slipped to 3-4, 1-2 Mid-American Conference. The defending league-champion Broncos improved to 5-2, 3-0. CMU plays host to Miami (Ohio) in a MAC game on Saturday, Oct. 24. The RedHawks are 4-3, 2-1.

WMU took a 21-0 lead into the fourth quarter before the Chippewas came alive. Quarterback Angel Flores tossed a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Allen with 13:52 to play, and then Jadyn Glasser scored on a 2-yard run with 44 seconds left to draw the Chippewas to 21-14.

CMU's Brett McCalla recovered the on-side kick after Glasser's TD at the WMU 48-yard line. Glasser's hail mary pass was intercepted in the end zone as time expired.

For three quarters, Western did to the Chippewas what CMU aims to do every time it takes the field: move the ball on the ground, seize the lead, and control the clock.

Jalen Buckley, who rushed for 150 yards, scored on a 9-yard run and Broc Lowry tossed a 12-yard TD pass Nathan Levicki to stake the Broncos to a 14-0 halftime lead.

The Broncos extended their lead to 21-0 when Buckley capped their first drive of the second half with a 7-yard TD run.

It appeared at that point that the Chippewas were finished.

Instead, CMU dug deep, stiffened its defense, and made a game of it against its bitter rival.

"We talked the whole week, as emotional as this game is, emotion doesn't win a game like this," Drinkall said. "No one out-emotions the other team. You have to out-execute the other team, and that's the reality of it. So that was our battle today, and we were just a hair short.

"This is a great barometer for us; it shows us exactly where we need to improve and get better, to execute better.

"I will tell you this, this is a work in progress here, but I am really, really excited because we have awesome leadership and everybody here knows how important athletics and football are, and we are in the process of getting this thing rolling."

The vast majority of CMU's offensive success came after halftime.

Flores, who left the game with an injury late in the fourth quarter, threw for 162 yards on 14-of-25 passing and rushed for 117 yards on 31 carries.

"I got choked up talking to our kids because I'm so starved for them to have success because they're great dudes who do everything right," Drinkall said. "Credit to Western. They're doing a great job, and we're going to be right on their heels right now, and we're going to chase them and hopefully get them here pretty soon.

"I told our players, 'We'll take today and be upset about this and learn from it. And then tomorrow we are back at it, ready to go.'"