News & Notes: Chippewas Host Wyoming on Saturday at 1 p.m.

9/15/2026 11:05:00 PM | Football

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Game 3: CMU & You Day, Band Day, and Traditions Day on tap for second consecutive home game.

By: Greg Hotchkiss

GAME 3: WYOMING (1-1, 0-0 MOUNTAIN WEST) AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN (1-1, 0-0 MAC)
CMU & You Day/Band Day/Traditions Day
Saturday, September 19, 2026 • 1:02 p.m. ET • Mount Pleasant, Mich. • Kelly/Shorts Stadium (30,255)

SATURDAY MATCHUP

Television: ESPN+ (Doug Sherman, play-by-play; Marcus Ray, analyst; Sam Ramos, 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, 2^nd year at CMU (8-7), 7^th year overall (50-24), 23^rd year in coaching. Wyoming: Jay Sawvel, 3^rd year (7-18), 3^rd year overall (7-18).

Series: Central Michigan and Wyoming meet for the fourth time. Wyoming holds a 2-1 advantage versus Central Michigan in three previous meetings. The last time the two teams played in Mount Pleasant, CMU won 32-20 on Sept. 7, 2002. The two teams last met in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise on Dec. 22, 2017.

The Essentials: Central Michigan (1-1, 0-0 MAC) hosts Wyoming (1-1, 0-0 Mountain West) for CMU & You Day/Band Day/Traditions Day on Saturday, Sept. 19 at Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET for an ESPN+ broadcast.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN GAME NOTES

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.–Presented by the Mount Pleasant Convention & Visitors' Bureau, Central Michigan (1-1, 0-0 MAC) hosts its second consecutive home game when it plays Mountain West foe Wyoming (1-1, 0-0 MW) on Saturday, Sept. 19. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET for an ESPN+ broadcast.

The Wyoming game is the second of two straight home contests on consecutive Saturdays for the Chippewas. Five of Central Michigan's six home games in 2026 will be played in September and October. The Chippewas have won six of their last seven home games.

Central Michigan is coming off a 13-10 come-from-behind victory over Colgate on Saturday, Sept. 12. Playing in their second contest of the 2026 season, the Chippewas trailed 10-0 at halftime, but gained 180 of their 276 total yards and put together scoring drives of 87 and 65 yards in the second half. CMU's defense shut out the Raiders through the second half. Quarterback Angel Flores tallied his second career 100-yard rushing game, scored on a career-long 50-yard run, and rushed for 122 yards on 22 carries. Running back Vaughn Blue scored the game-winning touchdown, the first of his CMU career, on a 6-yard run with 7:29 to play. The Chippewas defense intercepted two passes in the fourth quarter, one by Darrell Bryant, Jr., and the other by Mayson Hitchens, and finished the day with four turnovers gained (two interceptions/two forced fumbles/fumble recoveries).

The attendance for Central Michigan's home opener vs. Colgate was 19,005. It marked the largest crowd in a home opener since Sept. 12, 2015 when CMU drew 21,092 fans vs. Monmouth. Traditionally, CMU's second and third home games draw the largest crowds of the season.

Central Michigan dropped its season opener at New Mexico, 38-7.

With seven wins in 2025, Central Michigan advanced to a bowl game for the first time in four seasons (since the 2021 season). The Chippewas made their 16th all-time bowl game appearance at the GameAbove Sports Bowl against Northwestern at Ford Field in Detroit. With seven victories, the Chippewas won more games than they did in each of the previous three seasons (4 in 2022, 5 in 2023, and 4 in 2024). CMU's seven wins were its most since it went 9-4 in 2021. In all seven wins, Central Michigan limited its opponents to 20 points or less. CMU was 7-2 when leading at halftime, 6-3 when leading at the end of the first quarter, 6-2 when leading time of possession, and 4-1 in home games.

Central Michigan returned a total of 13 starters from last year's team, 10 on offense and three on defense. The Chippewas added 36 transfers to their roster.

Ranked as one of the nation's top-40 winningest FBS programs of all time, Central Michigan placed 12 players preseason National Football League rosters.

Central Michigan Athletics has adding more to the Chippewa football game day this fall with a new Fan Fest experience on the north side of Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Opening three hours before kickoff for each Saturday home game, Fan Fest will give Chippewas fans a destination to eat, drink, and enjoy a variety of activities before entering the stadium.

Fan Fest will feature the new Gold Post BBQ & Beer on the Fabiano Brothers Patio, where fans can purchase beer and smoked barbecue from CMU Dining Services. The pre-game experience will also include the Meijer Kids' Zone with bounce houses, yard games, and a coloring station; face painting, a photo booth, sponsor tents, and interactive activities; appearances and performances from CMU spirit groups, autograph sessions featuring Chippewa student-athletes from other athletic programs; the traditional Spirit Walk; and the new Central Michigan Football Tailgate Show.

Hosted by Voice of the Chippewas Adam Jaksa, the Central Michigan Football Tailgate Show will begin two hours and 15 minutes before kickoff and bring fans closer to the upcoming matchup with live pre-game coverage from the Fan Fest stage, along with special guests throughout the season.

SATURDAY'S TOP STORYLINES

Central Michigan plays its second straight non conference home game when it hosts Mountain West foe Wyoming on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Central Michigan has won six of its last seven home games. Since 2019, CMU is 27-11 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Central Michigan is coming off a 2025 campaign in which it finished 7-6 overall, 5-3 in the MAC, and advanced to a bowl game for the first time in four years (since 2021).
Head coach Matt Drinkall begins his second year at Central Michigan.
CMU returns 13 players who started a significant number of games in 2025.

PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS

Central Michigan entered its 2026 season with lofty expectations. Preseason magazines picked the Chippewas to finish somewhere between the No. 3 and No. 6 spots in the 13-team Mid-American Conference. All of the publications have CMU listed as "bowl bound."

Mid-American Conference coaches picked Central Michigan to finish fifth in their annual preseason poll. Here is a look at where each preseason publication picked the Chippewas to finish:

3rd place • Athlon Magazine
4th place • Lindy's Magazine
5th place • MAC coaches
5th place • ESPN.com
5th place • The Sporting News Magazine
6th place • Phil Steele Magazine

HOME SWEET HOME

Central Michigan enjoys a tremendous home field advantage on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. At home, the Chippewas finished 4-1 in 2025 and have won six of their last seven contests. Since 2019, the Chippewas are a combined 27-11 (.711 win percentage) within the confines of Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The Chippewas have won nine of their last 12 and 13 of their last 17 home contests.

The last time CMU completed a season with an undefeated home record was when it went 6-0 in 2019 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. 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, 4-1 in 2025, and now 1-0 in 2026.

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 is 189-90-4 in 281 games. In MAC games, the Chippewas are 143-70-4 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

SERIES VS. WYOMING

Central Michigan and Wyoming will meet for the fourth time. Wyoming holds a 2-1 advantage in the three-game series which began in 2000. Wyoming claimed the series' first game, played in Laramie, 31-10, on Sept. 16, 2000, CMU won the return trip to Mount Pleasant, a 32-20 win on Sept. 7, 2002. The two teams last met in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho on Dec. 22, 2017, where current Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and led Wyoming to a 37-14 victory in his final collegiate game.

Wyoming is Central Michigan's second Mountain West opponent this season as the Chippewas played New Mexico in the season opener on Sept. 5 (38-7 loss). The Chippewas opened their 2025 season with a 16-14 win at San Jose State. Against current members of the Mountain West Conference, Central Michigan is 38-33-1 (0-1 vs. New Mexico, 2-3 vs. UNLV, 33-26-1 vs. Northern Illinois, 2-1 vs. San Jose State, and 1-2 vs. Wyoming).

Next year, Central Michigan will travel to Laramie, Wyo. for a Saturday, Sept. 25, 2027 game against the Cowboys.

A WIN OVER WYOMING WOULD…

Give Central Michigan a 2-1 overall record.
Give the Chippewas a second consecutive victory.
Give the Chippewas a second nonconference win. It would mark CMU's fourth consecutive season with at least two nonconference victories.
Give Central Michigan its seventh home victory in its last eight attempts.
Improve Central Michigan to 2-2 all-time vs. Wyoming.
Improve Central Michigan to 39-33-1 all-time vs. Mountain West opponents. That number includes results against Northern Illinois, which joined the league this year.

DRINKALL AND 50 WINS

Central Michigan's 13-10 win over Colgate on Saturday, Sept. 12 gave coach Matt Drinkall his 50th career victory. Drinkall is 8-7 at Central Michigan and previously served as the head coach at Kansas Wesleyan (2014-19), where he compiled a 42-17 record. He owns a 50-24 career record (.676).

125 YEARS OF CMU FOOTBALL

Central Michigan Athletics is celebrating 125 Seasons of Chippewa Football with a social media and virtual initiative featuring historical feature stories, social media posts, video highlights, guest columns, fan polls, and historical content. The celebration will run from July 15 through November 2026.

Central Michigan Football has designated a #CentralMichiganFB125 logo and will debut a promotional webpage on www.cmuchippewas.com. The webpage will display stories, video, photo galleries, fan modules, promotions, merchandise, and social media content. A variety of content is also planned for Central Michigan Football's social media accounts, including feature stories, historical top 10 lists, and posts featuring the legendary teams, players, coaches, facilities, moments, memories, wins, themes, and special occasions that have made up 125 years of the program. All Central Michigan Football 125 content can be accessed on social media by using the hashtag #CentralMichiganFB125.

Central Michigan started a football team in 1896, just four years after the University was founded in 1892. Over 125 years, CMU Football is one of FBS' most successful football programs, ranking No. 38 in winning percentage (.584) and No. 49 in all-time wins (658 upon entering the 2026 season). The Chippewas have won one national championship (NCAA Division II 1974), appeared in 16 bowl games, captured 16 conference titles, nine Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and seven Mid-American Conference championships, completed four undefeated seasons. Eighty-two of those 125 seasons have been winning seasons.

Over 3,000 players have earned varsity letters, 44 were All-Americans, 49 have seen action in the National Football League, and 45 players were drafted into the NFL since 1946, including the No. 1 overall pick Eric Fisher in 2013. Two legendary coaches—Herb Deromedi and Roy Kramer—have been enshrined in the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame.

CMU IN NATIONAL RANKINGS

Through two games, Central Michigan is ranked among the nation's top 35 in seven statistical categories:

No. 14, fumbles recovered (2).
No. 22, turnovers gained (4).
No. 23, team passing efficiency defense (100.13).
No. 24, fourth down conversion percentage (83.33).
No. 26, passing yards allowed (141.5).
No. 30, passes intercepted (2).
No. 32, kickoff return average (24.5).

In addition, six individuals were ranked among the nation's top 35 in four statistical categories:

Korver Demma, No. 5 in fumbles recovered (1).
Hunter Zirkle, No. 5 in fumbles recovered (1).
Darrell Bryant, Jr., No. 12 in forced fumbles (0.5).
Jaxon Cherry, No. 12 in forced fumbles (0.5).
Hunter Zirkle, No. 12 in forced fumbles (0.5).
Darrell Bryant, Jr., No. 22 in interceptions per game (0.5).
Mayson Hitchens, No. 22 in interceptions per game (0.5).
Declan Duley, No. 28 in punting (43.6).

COLGATE POST-GAME NOTES

The Central Michigan win...

Gave the Chippewas a 1-1 record.
Gave the Chippewas their fourth straight win in a home opener.
Gave Central Michigan its sixth home victory in its last seven attempts.
Gave Matt Drinkall his second straight win in a home opener and his 50th career victory.
Gave Central Michigan its 18th consecutive victory over an FCS opponent. The Chippewas improve to 18-1 all-time vs. FCS opponents since 2006.
Improved Central Michigan to 2-0 vs. members of the Patriot League.
Snapped a three-game losing streak for Central Michigan.

Team Notes

Central Michigan overcame a 10-0 halftime deficit to defeat Colgate 13-10.
For the 13th time since 1961, Central Michigan won a game after being shut out and trailing at halftime. The last time it won a game in this fashion was on Nov. 24, 2017 vs. Northern Illinois (trailed 17-0 at halftime, won 31-24).
Central Michigan outgained Colgate 276-219 in total yardage, registered 16 first downs to Colgate's 15.
Central Michigan's defense finished with four turnovers gained. It totaled two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, five pass breakups, 10 quarterback hurries, and a sack.
Central Michigan won the turnover battle 4-3. The Chippewas intercepted two passes and recovered two fumbles, while Colgate intercepted two CMU passes and recovered one fumble.
The last time Central Michigan forced four or more turnovers was vs. Buffalo on Nov. 12, 2025, five games ago.
Central Michigan won the time of possession battle, 32:41-27:19.
Central Michigan finished with 10 quarterback hurries on the day. Hunter Zirkle had four, which ranks as the second-best single-game performance in program history.
Central Michigan rushed 42 times for 200 yards (4.8 yards per carry). The last time the Chippewas rushed for 200 or more yards was on Oct. 25, 2025 vs. Massachusetts (53-279).
The last time Central Michigan scored fewer points and still won a game was on Oct. 26, 1991 when it defeated Ball State 10-3.
Central Michigan forced two fumbles and recovered two fumbles in the game.

Player Notes

Quarterback Angel Flores registered his second career 100-yard rushing game as he finished with 22 carries for 122 yards and a 50-yard touchdown run. Flores scored a touchdown in the third quarter on the longest run of his career, 50 yards. The last time CMU had a 50-yard run was Nahree Biggins (58 yards) vs. Massachusetts on Oct. 25, 2025. It marked Flores' ninth career rushing touchdown, and he pulled into a tie for 10th place on CMU's all-time rushing touchdowns by a quarterback list with nine. Flores also passed for 57 yards while completing seven of 13 passes with one interception. With his 122 yards, Flores moved into ninth place on CMU's all-time career rushing yards list for a quarterback with 676 yards. Flores led the Chippewas in all-purpose yards (122) and total yards (179).
Quarterback Jadyn Glasser completed 1-4 passes for eight yards and rushed three times for zero net yards.
Quarterback Marcus Beamon saw his first action of the season at quarterback. He completed 2-4 passes for 11 yards.
Running back Vaughn Blue scored his first touchdown at CMU, which became the game-winning touchdown, on a 6-yard run. Blue caught three passes for 29 yards and rushed six times for 27 yards.
Running back Jayden Clerveaux rushed five times for 25 yards.
Wide receiver Braylen Naves made his first career reception in the first quarter.
Wide receiver Justin Ruffin, Jr. made a crucial catch on fourth down to keep a touchdown drive alive. The play went for 18 yards and was CMU's longest pass of the day. He finished with a career-high 72 all-purpose yards (five rushing, 18 receiving, and 49 on kickoff returns.
Tight end Rusty VanWetzinga IV caught his first career pass in the second quarter.
Linebacker Mayson Hitchens led CMU with a career-high 10 tackles, intercepted one pass for a 2-yard return, and registered a quarterback hurry.
Linebacker Xavier White made a career-high 10 tackles (two solo) with a pass breakup. He tied with Hitchens for the team lead.
Linebacker Brett McCalla finished with a career-high seven tackles.
Defensive lineman Hunter Zirkle registered his first career strip sack, forced a fumble, then emerged with the ball in bottom of the pile in the second quarter and Zirkle finished the day with four tackles, four quarterback hurries, which ranks as the second-best total for a single game in school history. Michael Heldman (5) owns the record vs. Massachusetts on Oct. 25, 2025.
Defensive Lineman Jaxon Cherry forced a fumble that was picked up by Korver Demma in the second quarter.
Defensive back Justin Taylor finished with a career-high six tackles.
Placekicker Caden VanHuis missed his first field goal attempt, a 29-yard try.
Making their first career start today included tight end Myles Peters and wide receiver Braylen Naves on offense, and cornerback JaJuan Jones on defense.

Miscellaneous

The attendance for CMU's home opener was 19,005. It marked the largest crowd in a home opener since Sept. 12, 2015 when CMU drew 21,092 fans vs. Monmouth.
The contest marked the first meeting between Colgate and Central Michigan. It was CMU's second meeting with a Patriot League program.
Central Michigan wore all maroon uniforms.
The contest was streamed live on ESPN+.