Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
2-1 , 0-0
Wyoming
1-2 , 0-0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Central Michigan | 3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
Ground and Pound: Chippewa Run Game In High Gear in 24-10 Win
9/19/2026 6:30:00 PM | Football
Angel Flores' 163-yard rushing performance among the best for a Chippewa quarterback in program history; Chippewas rush for most yards in seven seasons (339 yards on 59 attempts).
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The way they might have envisioned it. Both for one game, and for the program in the long run.
Central Michigan pummeled its way to 339 rushing yards, did not commit a turnover, and played the field-position game to perfection on Saturday in downing Wyoming, 24-10, in a nonconference game before 15,552 on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
It was the Chippewas' second straight win as they improved to 2-1. They go to No. 5 Miami (Fla.) next week before returning home on Oct. 3 for homecoming and the Mid-American Conference opener against Akron.
Quarterback Angel Flores was the Chippewas' workhorse, carrying 28 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns.
The 339 rushing yard was the most by CMU under second-year coach Matt Drinkall, who vowed to emphasize a run-heavy, ball-control offense when he took command of the program before the 2025 season. It also marked the most yards rushing by a Central Michigan team since Oct. 12, 2019 when the Chippewas ran for 352 yards vs. New Mexico State. The last time CMU rushed for over 300 yards in a game was on Sept. 27, 2025 vs. Eastern Michigan (305).
It worked as well as ever on Saturday as CMU held an 11-plus minute advantage in possession time.
"Our plan, the way to frame the game, was to come out early and be really aggressive," Drinkall said. "Any time that you rush for as many yards as the other team had in total offense, you're probably doing pretty good."
"You saw a couple things that we had been waiting for, all the new pieces to kind of merge together a little bit (and) sustainability on offense and the ability to run the ball. I'm just really happy with all three phases, how they played complementary together, finally."
Flores' rushing total ranks as the third highest by a quarterback in program history. He scored on a 25-yard run midway through the second quarter and on a 1-yard plunge with 2 seconds left in the first half, giving the Chippewas a 17-0 lead at the break.
Flores took every snap, a departure from Drinkall's usual game plan of utilizing up to three signal-callers. He attempted just seven passes, completing four, all in the first half.
"You saw Angel settle in and obviously get into a rhythm and operate the whole offense," Drinkall said. "It became very evident after about the second or third series, Wyoming's plan was to outnumber you in the box and play as soft as possible in the (secondary) and not let you throw it. It was evident that their plan was to force us to execute a ton of run plays, and (our) guys did that."
Sophomore Caden VanHuis kicked his first career field goal, a 35-yarder, to cap CMU's first possession and give the Chippewas a 3-0 lead.
The Chippewas' three first-half scoring drives covered 48, 80 and 90 yards, respectively. In the first 30 minutes, CMU ran 43 offensive plays to Wyoming's 20, the Chippewas collected 13 first downs to the Cowboys' four, and CMU held the ball for 12 minutes longer than did Wyoming.
Brock Townsend bolted 38 yards for the Chippewas' final TD late in the third quarter, extending the lead to 24-3.
CMU's defense surrendered 342 yards, but the Chippewas controlled field position, forcing the Cowboys to deal with long fields and CMU recorded two interceptions.
"I think we got our swagger back a little bit," Townsend said. "Felt like we had energy. Even in the first two games it felt like we came out with high energy, but there was just something missing and I think during this game we kind of found that and were able to dive deep into it."
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
UW 0, CMU 3
CMU - VanHuis,Caden 35 yd field goal 10 plays, 48 yards, TOP 06:02
UW 0, CMU 10
CMU - Flores,Angel 25 yd run (VanHuis,Caden kick), 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 07:00
UW 0, CMU 17
CMU - Flores,Angel 1 yd run (VanHuis,Caden kick), 17 plays, 90 yards, TOP 05:05
UW 3, CMU 17
UW - Sandvik,Erik 37 yd field goal 6 plays, 20 yards, TOP 03:06
UW 3, CMU 24
CMU - Townsend,Brock 38 yd run (VanHuis,Caden kick), 6 plays, 65 yards, TOP 03:30
UW 10, CMU 24
UW - Holman,Markell 6 yd run (Sandvik,Erik kick), 7 plays, 54 yards, TOP 02:38