Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, September 5
Albuquerque, N.M./University Stadium
10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT
Central Michigan University
at
New Mexico
Angel Flores (center) will start at quarterback for the Chippewas when they open the 2026 season on Saturday night at New Mexico.
Photo by: Kailey Hill '26 - @rahsignz
Game Preview: Evolution of CMU Football Continues in Year 2 of Drinkall Era
9/3/2026 10:00:00 PM | Football
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Chippewas open 2026 on Saturday night with trip to New Mexico.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Matt Drinkall has had a laser-like focus on the long-term plan since his arrival in Mount Pleasant 20 months ago.
His dedication to a conservative offense ran parallel to that credo in 2025, when he led the Chippewas to a respectable 7-6 finish, beginning with a white-knuckling 16-14 win at San Jose State in his CMU coaching debut.
A lot has happened in the year since that victory, but it's a bit like returning now to where it all started: The Chippewas will open Drinkall's second season with a long road trip west, this time to New Mexico on Saturday, Sept. 5 (10:10 p.m. ET).
"It provided validation of what we were doing works," Drinkall said of that victory, which snapped a 10-game road losing streak and opened some eyes outside the program, if not in it. "That's when the operation of what we were doing went with the execution of football; that hit for the program. From then, everybody was in agreement. It was like, OK, all this (stuff) works, I guess. We got it."
The focus and the plan remain, though there is now a somewhat looser vibe around the program as Drinkall and his staff – just one assistant coach is new this season – have gotten more comfortable and their vision, both for today and for tomorrow, has clearly begun to germinate.
That will show on the field in 2026, Drinkall said.
"The first year, I really put some limitations on what we were going to look like offensively," he said. "It was literally, Get in a phone booth and fistfight everybody on our way to one point. That was what our goal was. Don't turn (the ball) over and play really good defense.
"And then we went out through the next couple of recruiting cycles and started recruiting to what we're going to look like long term. And we're probably right at about 85 percent of what we're going to look like long term right now."
The 2025 philosophy fit the personnel: Drinkall's first CMU squad was experienced on defense and it was that unit that kept the Chippewas competitive in most of their games.
Quite the opposite in '26. A trio of experienced quarterbacks lead an offense that includes four returning starters on the line. That line will block for a solid corps of running backs including budding star Brock Townsend; two-time All-Patriot League honoree Jayden Clerveaux, a transfer from Holy Cross; and Liberty transfer Vaughn Blue, who is on the Doak Walker Award Watch List.
The offense also features wide receiver Langston Lewis, the only returnee among Chippewas to have earned All-Mid-American Conference honors in 2025.
Angel Flores will start at quarterback, though Jadyn Glasser and Marcus Beamon are also expected to play.
Flores was QB1A a year ago alongside the graduated Joe Labas. Flores ranked second on the team with more than 500 yards rushing. Expect Flores to throw it much more often (he only had 28 pass attempts in nine games last season) in 2026.
"Angel kind of got a bad rap last year because we were so, so, so conservative," Drinkall said. "I think he might even have been seen a little bit as like a wildcat guy a year ago.
He's so professional and mature in everything that he does. Like once he gets in the driver's seat, he's going to be really hard to get out, unless it's an injury, because he probably won't do something to hurt himself ever. He's so protective of the football and always gets the offense in the right position. He can tell you where all 11 guys are on the defense, and exactly what they did (on a play)."
Glasser and Beamon are quite capable, Drinkall said, and with the way CMU relies on the quarterback to run, both are almost guaranteed to see the field at some point in any given game.
"All three of those guys are awesome," he said. "There's just no breathing room in that room. They're all elite students, elite in the film room, run well, throw it well.
"We really hoped somebody was just going to blow the other guys out of the water, and it was going to be easy, and it wasn't. It was brutal all the way down to the end, and it was razor-thin margins."
No matter who is taking the snaps for CMU, the Chippewas will have an uphill battle against the Lobos, one of four teams to finish in first place in the Mountain West Conference last season.
New Mexico finished 9-4 last season in Jason Eck's first year in charge of the program. Eck was named the MWC Coach of the Year as the Lobos won as many as nine games for just the fourth time since 1982.
"We know right out of the gate, no matter what, you are playing a team that will force you to play an almost perfect game to have a chance to win," Drinkall said. "They're going to have really talented players. They're going to have great coaches. They're going to have great culture They're going to execute really well. They're going to play really hard. They're going to play really smart and physical. Our team is so excited about the challenge of it."
His dedication to a conservative offense ran parallel to that credo in 2025, when he led the Chippewas to a respectable 7-6 finish, beginning with a white-knuckling 16-14 win at San Jose State in his CMU coaching debut.
A lot has happened in the year since that victory, but it's a bit like returning now to where it all started: The Chippewas will open Drinkall's second season with a long road trip west, this time to New Mexico on Saturday, Sept. 5 (10:10 p.m. ET).
"It provided validation of what we were doing works," Drinkall said of that victory, which snapped a 10-game road losing streak and opened some eyes outside the program, if not in it. "That's when the operation of what we were doing went with the execution of football; that hit for the program. From then, everybody was in agreement. It was like, OK, all this (stuff) works, I guess. We got it."
The focus and the plan remain, though there is now a somewhat looser vibe around the program as Drinkall and his staff – just one assistant coach is new this season – have gotten more comfortable and their vision, both for today and for tomorrow, has clearly begun to germinate.
That will show on the field in 2026, Drinkall said.
"The first year, I really put some limitations on what we were going to look like offensively," he said. "It was literally, Get in a phone booth and fistfight everybody on our way to one point. That was what our goal was. Don't turn (the ball) over and play really good defense.
"And then we went out through the next couple of recruiting cycles and started recruiting to what we're going to look like long term. And we're probably right at about 85 percent of what we're going to look like long term right now."
The 2025 philosophy fit the personnel: Drinkall's first CMU squad was experienced on defense and it was that unit that kept the Chippewas competitive in most of their games.
Quite the opposite in '26. A trio of experienced quarterbacks lead an offense that includes four returning starters on the line. That line will block for a solid corps of running backs including budding star Brock Townsend; two-time All-Patriot League honoree Jayden Clerveaux, a transfer from Holy Cross; and Liberty transfer Vaughn Blue, who is on the Doak Walker Award Watch List.
The offense also features wide receiver Langston Lewis, the only returnee among Chippewas to have earned All-Mid-American Conference honors in 2025.
Angel Flores will start at quarterback, though Jadyn Glasser and Marcus Beamon are also expected to play.
Flores was QB1A a year ago alongside the graduated Joe Labas. Flores ranked second on the team with more than 500 yards rushing. Expect Flores to throw it much more often (he only had 28 pass attempts in nine games last season) in 2026.
"Angel kind of got a bad rap last year because we were so, so, so conservative," Drinkall said. "I think he might even have been seen a little bit as like a wildcat guy a year ago.
He's so professional and mature in everything that he does. Like once he gets in the driver's seat, he's going to be really hard to get out, unless it's an injury, because he probably won't do something to hurt himself ever. He's so protective of the football and always gets the offense in the right position. He can tell you where all 11 guys are on the defense, and exactly what they did (on a play)."
Glasser and Beamon are quite capable, Drinkall said, and with the way CMU relies on the quarterback to run, both are almost guaranteed to see the field at some point in any given game.
"All three of those guys are awesome," he said. "There's just no breathing room in that room. They're all elite students, elite in the film room, run well, throw it well.
"We really hoped somebody was just going to blow the other guys out of the water, and it was going to be easy, and it wasn't. It was brutal all the way down to the end, and it was razor-thin margins."
No matter who is taking the snaps for CMU, the Chippewas will have an uphill battle against the Lobos, one of four teams to finish in first place in the Mountain West Conference last season.
New Mexico finished 9-4 last season in Jason Eck's first year in charge of the program. Eck was named the MWC Coach of the Year as the Lobos won as many as nine games for just the fourth time since 1982.
"We know right out of the gate, no matter what, you are playing a team that will force you to play an almost perfect game to have a chance to win," Drinkall said. "They're going to have really talented players. They're going to have great coaches. They're going to have great culture They're going to execute really well. They're going to play really hard. They're going to play really smart and physical. Our team is so excited about the challenge of it."
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