2008 season featured its ups and downs

Starting Strong
Aug. 28 vs. Eastern Illinois, W 31-12

Running back Ontario Sneed broke a 23-yard touchdown run and wide receiver Jean Pitts scored on an 18-yard pass from quarterback Dan LeFevour as the Chippewas used a 14-point second quarter to secure the win.

LeFevour threw for 217 yards and three touchdowns, and Bryan Anderson led receivers with nine catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. Sneed ran for 91 of the team’s 172 rushing yards. .

Disaster between the hedges
Sept. 6 at Georgia, L 56-17

LeFevour threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns, but the Bulldogs’ combination of quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno was too much for the Chippewas’ defense to handle.

Leading the No. 2 team in the nation, Stafford threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Moreno, in 18 rushes, totaled 168 yards on the ground and 30 yards through the air. CMU’s two scores came in the second and third quarters with LeFevour passing to wide receivers Joe Bockheim and Pitts, respectively.

Close Call
Sept. 12 at Ohio, W 31-28

The Bobcats took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but Central came back to win as the team opened Mid-American Conference play .

Ohio wide receiver Chris Garrett scored twice in the opening quarter, first on a 12-yard run, then on a 45-yard reception from quarterback Boo Jackson. Central came back with 10 points in the second — an Andrew Aguila field goal and Sneed’s 1-yard touchdown run — while the defense blanked the Ohio offense. Wide receiver Antonio Brown opened the second half fast, scoring on a 75-yard punt return to take the lead.

Gone in 18 seconds
Sept. 20 at Purdue, L 32-25

Central Michigan led after the first quarter when Sneed capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass from LeFevour. But Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter connected on 27-of-36 pass attempts for 261 yards and a touchdown as the Boilermakers came away with the win in a rematch from the previous season’s Motor City Bowl.

CMU took the lead late in the fourth quarter on a LeFevour touchdown pass and a completed two-point conversion. However, Purdue’s Kory Sheets scored on a 46-yard run the very next down to give the Boilermakers the win.

Win by a hair
Sept. 27 vs. Buffalo, W 27-25

The Bulls took a 5-3 lead into halftime, but the Chippewas came out in the second half scoring 14 points. LeFevour scored on a 3-yard run after an 11-play drive, then Sneed scored on a 16-yard run. Sneed added another touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard run to cap an eight-play, 75-yard drive. Aguila hit a 43-yard field goal to preserve the victory. Buffalo scored in the final minutes on a 75-yard pass from quarterback Drew Willy to wide receiver James Starks to get to within two points. After a recovered onside kick, Buffalo missed a last-second field goal that would have given the Bulls the win.

Gaining Momentum
Oct. 10 vs. Temple, W 24-14

Central Michigan scored first on a LeFevour 15-yard touchdown pass to Brown as the team took a 17-14 lead into halftimee. It never trailed on its way to a non-conference, Homecoming victory. Quarterback Brian Brunner replaced an injured LeFevour, who left after completing 10-of-11 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Brunner completed seven passes for 136 yards and a touchdown. Anderson caught eight passes for a game-high 149 yards and a touchdown. Defensive tackle Murnane led with nine tackles, three for losses, and 1.5 sacks, while Zombo added two sacks. Safety Eric Fraser added to his team lead in interceptions with two off of Temple quarterback Chester Stewart.

Brunner’s day
Oct. 18 vs. Western Michigan, W 38-28

Western Michigan quarterback Tim Hiller threw for 471 yards, but Central Michigan came away victorious in the rivalry. Brunner completed 20-for-28 passes for 346 yards and a touchdown in his first start of the season.

CMU took a 14-point lead after Brunner found Bockheim with a 24-yard pass and running back Bryan Schroeder broke a 19-yard run to cap a 98-yard drive.

Schroeder led with a game-high 106 rushing yards and scored twice, the second coming on a 1-yard run to break a 14-14 tie in the second quarter. After the score, Central Michigan never trailed and built a lead by as many as 14 points.

Fourth quarter comeback
Oct. 25 at Toledo, W 24-23

A 15-play, 68-yard CMU drive started the fourth quarter. It culminated with Sneed taking it in the final yard, followed by Aguila’s point-after, to keep the Chippewas undefeated in the conference. CMU’s defense forced two fourth quarter punts and gave up just 38 yards to seal the one-point victory. LeFevour connected on 24 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns, both to Anderson. Sneed led with 72 yards on the ground as part of a rushing attack which totaled 146 yards.

A Big Victory
Nov. 1 at Indiana , W 37-34

Aguila connected on a 48-yard field goal to begin the fourth quarter, and Brunner finished a 56-yard drive and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give Central Michigan its first victory against a Big Ten opponent in 16 years. Brunner, starting in place of an injured LeFevour, completed 35 passes for 485 yards and four touchdowns while being intercepted just once in 53 pass attempts. Anderson and Brown combined for more than 250 yards through the air. Anderson finished with nine catches for 132 yards and a touchdown.

Field goal in the fog
Nov. 12 at Northern Illinois, W 33-30 (OT)

Aguila hit a 40-yard field goal attempt in overtime to edge the Chippewas past the Huskies and remain undefeated in the MAC. Central Michigan took a 23-3 lead into halftime, highlighted by two LeFevour touchdown passes to Brown and Sneed and a rushing touchdown.

Northern Illinois came back in the second half, scoring 27 points to tie the game at the end of regulation. LeFevour finished 19-for-26 for 189 yards and two touchdowns through the air while leading the team in rushing with 121 yards and two touchdowns.

Cardinal Sin
Nov. 19 vs. Ball State, L 31-24

LeFevour led the Chippewas with 75 rushing yards and added 345 passing yards, completing 30 pass attempts for two touchdowns and one interception. But the No. 14 ranked team in the nation was too much to handle. Cardinals quarterback Nate Davis threw for 175 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions, while running back MiQuale Lewis rushed 28 times for 177 yards. The teams entered the final quarter tied at 17 and Central Michigan took a 24-17 lead on LeFevour’s 38-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kito Poblah. But Davis hit receiver Louis Johnson for a 45-yard touchdown and Briggs Orsbon for an 11-yard touchdown to give the Chippewas their first MAC loss of the season.

Defensive Disaster
Nov. 28 at Eastern Michigan, L 56-52

In the team’s highest scoring game of the season, Sneed gained 97 yards on 11 rushes and a touchdown while Dan LeFevour threw for 378 yards and four touchdowns, including a 98-yard touchdown to Brown. But Eastern Michigan quarterback Andy Schmitt attempted 80 passes, completing an NCAA-record 58 of them, for 516 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception. The Eagles took a 42-35 lead into halftime, but the Chippewas were able to take the lead in the third quarter. Eastern Michigan, however, would retake the lead for good two minutes later after an eight-play, 80-yard drive.

Bowl Blunder
Dec. 26 against Florida Atlantic in Detroit (Motor City Bowl), L 24-21

The Chippewas came up short for the second consecutive Motor City Bowl. It entered halftime tied at 10 after a LeFevour touchdown pass to Poblah and an Aguila 35-yard field goal. But Florida Atlantic opened the second-half scoring with a 52-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Rusty Smith to cap a 98-yard drive. Central Michigan managed just one touchdown in the fourth quarter when LeFevour found Brown for 15 yards to get within a field goal.