Chippewas fall in East Lansing 24-7

EAST LANSING, Mich — Jerry Seymour broke the 100 yard mark for the seventh consecutive game rushing for 164 yards, but it wasn’t enough as Central lost 24-7 to Michigan State.

A chunk of Seymour’s yards came when the sophomore broke lose for a 90 yard touchdown run in the third quarter, cutting the MSU lead to 17-7.

The run tied the MSU record for longest run by an opponent, which was set in 1945.

“The good part is that Jerry is on our team,” said CMU coach Brian Kelly. “The problem is that we only have one of him.”

Seymour was the lone offensive bright spot on an otherwise inept offense.

Junior Kent Smith got his first start of the season and played the whole game completing 10-of-30 passes for 93 yards.

Smith struggled finding his rhythm and was plagued by dropped passes.

The position still remains a three-way battle, Kelly said.

The Chippewas had a chance to cut the lead to three midway through the fourth, but Obed Cetoute’s toe came down on the out of bounds line just as he was coming down with the ball.

The Chippewas ended up punting, ending the drive.

“We took a lot of positive steps today,” Seymour said. “We executed well, but we are always one play away.”

Michigan State took and early 10-0 on a Dave Rayner field goal and a Kyle Brown touchdown catch. CMU could have been within seven at the end of the first half, but Mike Gruzwalski missed a 27 yard field goal as time expired.

Central’s defense gave its offense plenty of opportunities to get back into the game forcing the Spartans to punt on four consecutive second half possessions.

“We showed that we can match up physically,” Kelly said. “We have improved, but it’s still not good enough.”

Field position plagued the Chippewas once again as punter Tony Mikulec averaged only 39.3 yards per kick, compared to MSU’s Brandon Fields who averaged 55.3.

Although Kelly is off to a 0-2 start in his first season he still has high expectations for his young team.

“There is no other way to do it then to win now,” Kelly said.