At the football team’s season opener against Eastern Illinois on Thursday, the university will honor former football coach and Athletics Director Herb Deromedi for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

The night will no doubt conjure up memories of the famous image of Deromedi’s players carrying him on their shoulders after the upset of Michigan State back in 1991.

And one might have to wonder when CMU can accomplish a landmark win like that again.

It has been 16 years since the back-to-back victories against MSU in 1991 and 1992, the last time the Chippewas defeated a Bowl Championship Series team.

In its three regular season games last year against BCS teams (Kansas, Purdue and Clemson), CMU was outscored by a combined 124 points.

I’m not trying to take away what this team has done the past two seasons, because what they’ve done has been remarkable. Winning back-to-back Mid-American Conference Championships is no easy feat. And they came within a last-second field goal of repeating as Motor City Bowl champions as well (a three-point loss to Purdue, a team they lost to by 23 earlier in the season).

But with the direction Athletics Director Dave Heeke and coach Butch Jones want to take this program, a win against a BCS team is what the program – and the university – needs to truly get into the spotlight, both regionally and nationally.

A win against No. 1 Georgia will prove difficult, especially between the hedges down in Athens. But a win against Indiana or Purdue should be within its grasp (Both teams are ranked lower than CMU in Sports Illustrated’s rankings of all 119 Division I teams: CMU is 57, Purdue is 59 and Indiana is 82.). It is necessary if this team wants to continue to evolve into something bigger than just a MAC power.

The key to getting one or more of those wins will come down to defense. The team gave up an average of 460 yards and almost 37 points per game in 2007. In its two games against Purdue, the defense gave up a combined 96 points and 1,000 yards.

Even The Washington Post said in its 2008 preseason rankings that the only thing keeping CMU from “making noise” is the defense.

If the defense can improve, and the offense can continue to roll like it has in the past two seasons, it’s not a stretch to believe the team can hold a 3-1 non-conference record. And if the team avoids an upset loss in the MAC like it has the past two seasons, it is not out of the question for the Chippewas to win 10-11 games and find themselves back into the MAC Championship Game and a bowl bid for the third straight season.

There is no doubt that this team, athletic department, student body and even university as a whole hopes this team will reach the level that garners regional and national respect.

But to get that level of respect, you need to beat someone who already has it.

sports@cm-life.com

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