Chippewas Dominate Akron 41-17 in Winning MAC Opener

Saturday, October 3

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

3:30 p.m.

Central Michigan University

3-2 , 1-0

Akron

1-4 , 0-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Akron	0	7	3	7	17
Central Michigan	0	21	14	6	41

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CMU Football vs. Akron (October 3, 2026)

Photo by: Addison Glascock '29 - @aglascock.photography

Photo by: Brayden Gallagher

10/3/2026 9:17:00 PM | Football

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Flores runs for 154 yards and a TD; Chippewas collect season-high 481 yards in overcoming early deficit

By: Andy Sneddon

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A year ago, a loss at Akron was a turning point in Central Michigan's season.

This year? A win over the Zips could prove to be a launching pad.

Time will tell.

Quarterback Angel Flores ran for 154 yards and a touchdown and threw a touchdown pass on Saturday as the Chippewas rolled to a 41-17 win over the Zips in the Mid-American Conference opener before 20,102 on a picture-perfect day for football on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

The win lifted CMU to 3-2 as it opened a critical four-game stretch of conference games. The Chippewas go to Ohio (3-2, 1-0) on Saturday, Oct. 10, and then play rival Western Michigan the following week and then Miami (Ohio).

Both the WMU and Miami games are at home.

Ohio is riding a 15-game home win streak; Western Michigan is the defending MAC champion; and Miami has been in the MAC title game in each of the past three years.

"We needed to get this one," second-year CMU coach Matt Drinkall said. "The next three are very difficult scenarios and unrelenting. And getting this one starting off on the right foot is huge."

Flores scored on a 55-yard run to tie Saturday's game, 7-7, early in the second quarter and then he found Shawn Foster for a 48-yard touchdown pass barely three minutes later to put the Chippewas in front for good, 14-7.

Flores' TD run triggered a CMU offensive onslaught during which the Chippewas hit the end zone on five of six drives. Each of those scoring drives covered at least 62 yards.

Brock Townsend scored on a 5-yard run, Nick Woodford raced 27 yards for a TD, Jayden Clerveaux scored from 23 yards out, and Langston Lewis took a short pass from Jadyn Glasser and raced 71 yards for a score.

Lewis' TD made it 41-10 with just over five minutes remaining.

After a sluggish first quarter during which CMU gained just one first down, the Chippewa run game hit high gear. The Chippewas finished with 337 rushing yards and Flores and Glasser combined to throw for 149 yards on 8-of-17 passing.

The passing yardage and the 481 yards in total offense were both season highs for CMU, and its 337 rushing yards were two shy of the season-best 339 it produced two weeks ago in a 24-10 win over Wyoming.

"You really started to see the identity come together," Drinkall said. "We got way better today for sure. That was awesome. If you throw for 300 yards, it's 50-50. But if you run for 300 yards, your team is probably going to win the game."

The victory avenged the 28-22 loss at Akron a season ago. That left the Chippewas 1-1 in MAC play at the time, and it changed the entire complexion of the season.

"It was very personal to me," Drinkall said, "because I thought I did a very poor job as the head coach a year ago. We played poorly in all phases, and that's my responsibility to make sure we're not like that.

"I've thought about that Akron game 50 times a day for the last 365 days. And (our players) knew it. I don't get very emotional. I was very emotional before this game because our guys do everything right and they deserve to have success. They deserve it.

"To me, if I (am) managing it, if I do 1 percent of something that doesn't give them the best chance, it's unacceptable. That happened a year ago.

"These guys had my back and answered the bell and did an unreal job today, so I am forever indebted to them for that."