Brian Manzullo

Homecoming is not an exclusive tradition – thousands of schools and institutions around the nation celebrate it every year.

But for CMU students and faculty, past and present, the annual event holds a distinct meaning.

It is a day that brings together alumni from across the nation and from every walk of life, all to don the maroon and gold one more time and reflect on their college years once again.

But they all come back for one more common purpose – to watch Central Michigan football at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

“That’s what means so much to everybody,” said Herb Deromedi, CMU’s all-time winningest football coach and former athletic director. “You look around and see all that maroon and gold in the stands from people who came here long ago.

“There’s really an effort by alumni and former football letterwinners to come back and identify themselves with this year’s football program.”

The football team enters its 4 p.m. Saturday game against Temple with three consecutive Homecoming wins and a 53-27-1 all-time record in Homecoming games.

But between the winning and losing, from the emotional escapes to the heartbreakers, Central Michigan Life narrowed down the top five Homecoming games of all time, with help from former coaches and players who were involved.

Oct. 29, 1977

CMU 35, Bowling Green 28 (below, left)

In CMU’s first regular season appearance on ABC-TV’s regional game of the week, CMU came from behind to beat Bowling Green when Ron Rummel threw his third touchdown pass to Mike Ball with just 23 seconds left.

“I remember it was a tremendous comeback,” Ball said. “We were trailing in the game, and then behind Ron Rummel, we ended up tying the game on a touchdown reception by my good friend Brian Blank. Late in the game, I was just lucky enough to catch the last pass that he completed. I think Ron was 10-for-11 that day passing the ball. Not a lot of attempts, but he had only one incompletion.”

In days before ESPN, Ball said getting to play on television was a rare experience for Central, which finished 10-1 overall and 7-1 in the MAC, coming in second.

“At that time our program was a fledgling Division I program” he said. “To get exposure on ABC television at the time, there weren’t all the cable companies like there are today, that was a pretty big thing for our program. So that was an exciting thing to be a part of that, the first regionally televised game for Central at home.”

Oct. 14, 2006

CMU 18, Ball State 7 (below, right)

In a game to determine first place in the MAC West division, CMU came from behind in the fourth quarter to defeat the Cardinals. Redshirt freshman Dan LeFevour had 75 rushing yards and 171 passing. CMU would finish the year with its first MAC Championship since 1994.

“I think Ball State was ranked one of the highest teams in the conference at the time, so winning that game gave us a lot of momentum going throughout the season, knowing that we were going to the championship,” said junior Josh Gordy, who was a redshirt freshman on the 2006 team. “I just remember making good plays in that game and just having everybody come up after the game and congratulating me and everything.”

Gordy had an interception and fumble recovery in a defensive struggle in windy conditions. The defense stopped the Cardinals on fourth down in at the goal line early in the fourth quarter with CMU ahead 18-7.

Gordy said each year the Homecoming game has a unique significance to him.

OCT. 22, 1983

MIAMI 12, CMU 7 (left, top)

While the Chippewas lost their Homecoming game in 1983, the game marked a first on several levels.

CMU had not lost on Homecoming since 1965 prior to Miami’s 12-7 win that season. It also snapped a five-game winning streak in 1983, when CMU finished 8-3 (7-2 MAC).

“We played that game in the rain,” Deromedi said. “It was one of those games where it wasn’t very comfortable to watch.

“Not a lot of things went right for us in that game. We had far too many turnovers … We still had a chance to win late, but didn’t.”

Central lost the following week, 15-14 to Bowling Green, and fell just short of the conference championship.

OCT. 20, 1990

CMU 13, TOLEDO 12 (left, middle)

All it took was two long passing touchdowns for CMU to defeat coach Nick Saban’s Toledo squad in 1990.

Still, it was a game that came down to the final seconds, when UT kicker Rusty Hanna’s 51-yard try came up short and wide to the delight of more than 20,000 fans.

“(Toledo) had some outstanding defensive players,” said Deromedi, who led the team to an 8-3-1 record and a Mid-American Conference Championship that season. “Those who watched it knew it was a hard-fought game. We did a lot of things to get the players motivated.”

CMU quarterback Jeff Bender threw a 53-yard touchdown to Ken Ealy to give the team a 7-6 halftime lead. In the third quarter, he threw a 38-yard scoring strike to Bob Kench to erase a 12-7 Toledo lead.

Defenses kept the fourth quarter scoreless up until the final kick. Toledo went on to finish the season 9-2 overall and 7-1 in the MAC, tying CMU for the championship.

“We hadn’t beaten that team in about five years,” Deromedi said. “They were a great football team at that time.”

Oct. 22, 1994

CMU 32, Miami 30 (left, bottom)

CMU narrowly escaped Miami en route to its first Mid-American Conference title in four years. It was the last conference championship CMU would win until 2006.

A late touchdown pass from quarterback Eric Timpf gave the Chippewas the victory.

“That game set us up for success. You start getting that feeling like you’re a team of destiny,” said Brian Pruitt, the starting tailback on the ‘94 team. “You feel like you’re the team that’s supposed to win this game – it’s just tough to beat a team that’s convinced that they are going to be the champions.”

Pruitt, who was a first team All-American that season, leading the conference in rushing yards, all-purpose yards and scoring, recalls the game being a war of attrition before CMU’s depth paid off. The Chippewas won their final three games after the Homecoming win, finishing 9-3 overall and 8-1 in the MAC.

“A lot of guys got hurt in that game, including myself. I didn’t finish that game. It was a big battle,” Pruitt said. “With so many guys off the field second-string and third-string players came in and they stepped it up and they filled in where we needed them to. I remember Erik Timpf marching our team down the field and the crowd was going absolutely crazy. It was a wonderful game.”

E-mail the author: Brian Manzullo and Justin Berndt