Friday business as usual for CMU football

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Senior quarterback Dan LeFevour and the other 12 seniors on the CMU football team finished their final game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium victorious.

But after Friday’s 45-31 win against Northern Illinois, a win that capped CMU’s first undefeated and untied Mid-American Conference slate in program history, all eyes shifted to what lies ahead.

“It’s a great tribute to one of the best classes that’s been here, but we still have more to do,” LeFevour said.

What lies ahead is the MAC Championship against an Ohio Bobcats team that beat Northern Illinois, which previously had just one loss in the conference, and Temple, which was undefeated in the conference.

And LeFevour said he knows what is at stake.

“How important is this? It’s the championship,” he said. “I don’t think any more has to be said about it except for there’s a winner and there’s a loser. There’s no ties.”

Beating NIU

Holding a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, senior defensive end Frank Zombo ended any chance of an NIU comeback.

Earlier in the game, CMU seemed in complete control, leading 38-10 in the beginning of the fourth quarter. LeFevour was already taken out of the game, having thrown for three touchdowns. But in his first possession, redshirt freshman Ryan Radcliff was intercepted by NIU junior cornerback Patrick George, who returned the interception 80 yards for a touchdown.

Less than four minutes later, NIU junior running back Chad Spann scored his 19th rushing touchdown of the season to cut the lead to 38-24.

But when trying to make it a one-possession game, NIU sophomore quarterback Chandler Harnish made a critical mistake. Harnish faced pressure on a third-down play with just more than four minutes remaining. He got the pass away, but did not account for Zombo, who dropped back in a zone-blitz scheme and intercepted the ball, returning it for a 27-yard touchdown to all but end the game.

“It’s very fitting Frank Zombo steps up when we need it and makes a big play,” said coach Butch Jones.

The win gave CMU its 10th win of the season.

“To have ten wins in today’s world of college football does not happen very often,” Jones said.

Ohio beats Temple

After Ohio eliminated Northern Illinois last week to keep its conference championship hopes alive, the Bobcats faced Temple in a winner-advances game in the MAC East.

Temple, which was outscoring MAC opponents by an average of 16.5 points per game, never led Ohio in losing 35-17.

It sets up a rematch of the 2006 MAC Championship game between CMU and Ohio, where the Chippewas won 31-10.

“It’s a championship football game,” Jones said. “It’s everything at stake.”

Jones said CMU, voted to win the MAC in the preseason, has handled expectations well.

“It’s always harder to be the hunted than the hunter,” he said. “These kids, since MAC
Media Day, have had a bullseye on the front and the back, and they’ve answered all expectations to date.”