Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, September 12
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
1 p.m.
Central Michigan University
vs
Colgate
Wide receiver Nasir Williams crosses the goal line in the fourth quarter of CMU's 38-7 season-opening loss last weekend at New Mexico.
Photo by: Kailey Hill '26 - @rahsignz
Game Preview: Rebounding from Season-Opening Loss, Home Opener Plenty of Motivation as Chippewas Welcome Colgate
9/11/2026 8:00:00 AM | Football
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – There was a sense of renewed optimism heading into the 2026 football season for Central Michigan.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Week 1 38-7 loss on the road to what appears to be a very good New Mexico team took some of the steam from that enthusiasm.
Inside the CMU program, the vibe is one of determination. Second-year coach Matt Drinkall and his Chippewas have taken their medicine, so to speak, from that loss and are looking squarely ahead.
They'd better be, because Saturday's opponent, Colgate, is 2-0 and could pose a stiff test, Drinkall said.
"We have an opponent coming in who's really good," he said as he prepares CMU to take on the Raiders on Saturday (1 p.m.) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. "They're undefeated. This is a veteran group that's really well coached and ready to go. They expect to win."
True, the Raiders play in Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and CMU is 17-1 – with 17 consecutive wins -- all time against such opponents.
Drinkall was quick to point out that two of CMU's Mid-American Conference brethren, Buffalo and Bowling Green, faced FCS opponents last week.
The Bulls pulled out a 21-17 win, scoring the game-winning touchdown with under five minutes to play. Bowling Green lost at home, 20-13.
"I just watched winless Albany take Buffalo to the wire," Drinkall said. "I watched Tarleton State beat Bowling Green. There's some stuff we've got to worry about with ourselves, but there's also some stuff that Colgate does that's pretty good, so you'd better be ready."
The Chippewas have plenty to clean up in the aftermath of the New Mexico loss, and it begins with consistent effort, senior defensive end Korver Demma said.
"You look in the mirror and you've got to do your 1/11th each and every play," he said. "That's really the message."
Demma pointed to a philosophy he learned from his great-uncle, Bub Korver, a College Football Hall of Fame coach.
"My great-uncle always said, 'Never too high, never too low,'" Demma said, adding that it's all about "just being able to weather the storm, ride the waves; just continue to be consistent, be as baseline as possible, whether you win, whether you lose, whether you draw. That's now my thing. That's been my approach to this week."
Clearly, the Chippewas will have to be better – no matter the opponent -- than they were against New Mexico.
To the good, Drinkall said, that when it became apparent in the second half that the Chippewas were finished against the Lobos, there was no head hanging and no finger pointing.
"Nobody flinched, which was awesome," he said. "Everybody took it like medicine and when we went to the locker room, there was no complaining, there was no drop in anything. It was, 'OK, this didn't go how we thought. How do we get in line and get this going?'"
Drinkall pointed to the 2024 season when Northern Illinois upset heavily favored Notre Dame in the second game of the season. The Fighting Irish then ran the table and reached the National Championship game.
"Notre Dame played in the National Championship because they lost to Northern Illinois," he said. "We need to have this be a deal where at the end of the season, we look back and we thank God that New Mexico did that to us in the first game. And that we learned from this, and that we were given a blueprint and the DNA of exactly what we have to get right.
"And these guys have taken it. They're mature, they're professionals, they want to do right."
Colgate opened with a 24-14 win over Fordham and last week downed Holy Cross, 35-10.
Granted, team statistics with just a two-game sample can be misleading, but the Raiders are in the top 10 in FCS in rush defense and scoring defense and are 24th in total offense. Colgate running back Danny Shaban ranks third in FCS with 308 rushing yards and is 12th in yards per carry (6.84).
The Chippewas surrendered 364 yards including 205 on the ground last week to the Lobos, who ran 69 plays from scrimmage and dominated time of possession.
Drinkall found the silver lining.
"Those guys battled, man," Drinkall said of his defense. "That was great to see because that ended up being, I hope, like a blessing because we had to replace so much production on defenses (from last season).
"We played a million guys (against New Mexico) and a lot of guys got reps on defense and in a hard situation. It was really good to get all those new guys so many reps."
Still, the bottom line, Drinkall freely admitted, is that the Chippewas have to be better.
"If you get outrushed, (lose) time of possession, give up third down (conversions), get beat on turnovers, get beat on special teams, take three personal fouls," he said, "that's just what a bad football team does. That's what a losing football team does. You did all that stuff to yourself.
"We know we have got to clean all that up, address all (of that) from an execution standpoint."
It remains to be seen whether or not the Week 1 38-7 loss on the road to what appears to be a very good New Mexico team took some of the steam from that enthusiasm.
Inside the CMU program, the vibe is one of determination. Second-year coach Matt Drinkall and his Chippewas have taken their medicine, so to speak, from that loss and are looking squarely ahead.
They'd better be, because Saturday's opponent, Colgate, is 2-0 and could pose a stiff test, Drinkall said.
"We have an opponent coming in who's really good," he said as he prepares CMU to take on the Raiders on Saturday (1 p.m.) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. "They're undefeated. This is a veteran group that's really well coached and ready to go. They expect to win."
True, the Raiders play in Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and CMU is 17-1 – with 17 consecutive wins -- all time against such opponents.
Drinkall was quick to point out that two of CMU's Mid-American Conference brethren, Buffalo and Bowling Green, faced FCS opponents last week.
The Bulls pulled out a 21-17 win, scoring the game-winning touchdown with under five minutes to play. Bowling Green lost at home, 20-13.
"I just watched winless Albany take Buffalo to the wire," Drinkall said. "I watched Tarleton State beat Bowling Green. There's some stuff we've got to worry about with ourselves, but there's also some stuff that Colgate does that's pretty good, so you'd better be ready."
The Chippewas have plenty to clean up in the aftermath of the New Mexico loss, and it begins with consistent effort, senior defensive end Korver Demma said.
"You look in the mirror and you've got to do your 1/11th each and every play," he said. "That's really the message."
Demma pointed to a philosophy he learned from his great-uncle, Bub Korver, a College Football Hall of Fame coach.
"My great-uncle always said, 'Never too high, never too low,'" Demma said, adding that it's all about "just being able to weather the storm, ride the waves; just continue to be consistent, be as baseline as possible, whether you win, whether you lose, whether you draw. That's now my thing. That's been my approach to this week."
Clearly, the Chippewas will have to be better – no matter the opponent -- than they were against New Mexico.
To the good, Drinkall said, that when it became apparent in the second half that the Chippewas were finished against the Lobos, there was no head hanging and no finger pointing.
"Nobody flinched, which was awesome," he said. "Everybody took it like medicine and when we went to the locker room, there was no complaining, there was no drop in anything. It was, 'OK, this didn't go how we thought. How do we get in line and get this going?'"
Drinkall pointed to the 2024 season when Northern Illinois upset heavily favored Notre Dame in the second game of the season. The Fighting Irish then ran the table and reached the National Championship game.
"Notre Dame played in the National Championship because they lost to Northern Illinois," he said. "We need to have this be a deal where at the end of the season, we look back and we thank God that New Mexico did that to us in the first game. And that we learned from this, and that we were given a blueprint and the DNA of exactly what we have to get right.
"And these guys have taken it. They're mature, they're professionals, they want to do right."
Colgate opened with a 24-14 win over Fordham and last week downed Holy Cross, 35-10.
Granted, team statistics with just a two-game sample can be misleading, but the Raiders are in the top 10 in FCS in rush defense and scoring defense and are 24th in total offense. Colgate running back Danny Shaban ranks third in FCS with 308 rushing yards and is 12th in yards per carry (6.84).
The Chippewas surrendered 364 yards including 205 on the ground last week to the Lobos, who ran 69 plays from scrimmage and dominated time of possession.
Drinkall found the silver lining.
"Those guys battled, man," Drinkall said of his defense. "That was great to see because that ended up being, I hope, like a blessing because we had to replace so much production on defenses (from last season).
"We played a million guys (against New Mexico) and a lot of guys got reps on defense and in a hard situation. It was really good to get all those new guys so many reps."
Still, the bottom line, Drinkall freely admitted, is that the Chippewas have to be better.
"If you get outrushed, (lose) time of possession, give up third down (conversions), get beat on turnovers, get beat on special teams, take three personal fouls," he said, "that's just what a bad football team does. That's what a losing football team does. You did all that stuff to yourself.
"We know we have got to clean all that up, address all (of that) from an execution standpoint."
Players Mentioned
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