Black and Bruised: Mistakes, inept offense doom CMU again

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DeKALB, Ill. – The more things change for the Central Michigan football team, the more they stay the same.

Entering Saturday’s game against Northern Illinois, CMU desperately needed a win to stop the bleeding in a season that is quickly turning into a nightmare.

But just like so many games before, turnovers and mistakes on the defensive side of the ball resulted in its fifth consecutive loss, a 33-7 defeat in front of 17,042 at Huskie Stadium.

“It’s like I told our team after (the game), I don’t want to hear guys yelling and screaming and banging lockers,” said CMU head coach Dan Enos. “It’s time to buck up. Everyone in the room is involved in the loss and our start.”

The loss drops the team to 2-6 overall and breaks the program’s streak of five winning seasons. At 1-4 in the Mid-American Conference, CMU moves into sole possession of last place in the West Division.

Eastern Michigan (1-7, 1-3 MAC) is now half a game ahead in the standings after losing a non-conference game against Virginia on Saturday.

CMU played well defensively in the first half. The team limited NIU to three field goals and 65 yards on the ground, keeping in check MAC-leading rusher Chad Spann.

But Spann came out on a mission in the second half, rushing for 46 yards and back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter to blow open the Huskies’ 9-7 halftime lead. He finished with a game-high 101 total yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries, while junior Cameron Bell rushed 12 times for 82 yards.

“The adjustments were there; it was just a matter of guys missing tackles,” said senior linebacker Nick Bellore, who finished with a game-high 14 tackles. “Guys are just not making plays when we need to. That’s been the story of our season, and that’s why we’re 2-6.”

Once again, the team had troubles getting its offense going. After finding senior wide receiver Kito Poblah for an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter, giving the Chippewas their only lead of the game, sophomore quarterback Ryan Radcliff threw two interceptions on back-to-back possessions to NIU linebacker Tyrone Clark. Radcliff, who finished 17-of-25 for 178 yards and a touchdown, added another pick in the third quarter before he was benched in the fourth for junior Brandon Fricke.

Senior Carl Volny provided one of the few bright spots in the absence of junior Paris Cotton, who sat out because of injury. Volny had a season-high 65 yards, while sophomore Zurlon Tipton added 31 yards.

“We’re trying to be a balanced offense,” Volny said. “Our mentality was to run the ball, and it did work in the first half. When we came out in the second half, we didn’t execute.”

Injuries take toll

Enos said the number of inexperienced players out of position isn’t helping, either. Sophomore Eric Fisher replaced an injured Darren Keyton at left guard, while sophomore Mike Repovz started his first game at right tackle. Junior Rocky Weaver, who has struggled at times replacing Jake Olson at left tackle, played with a cast on a broken wrist.

To make matters worse, the secondary took another hit as safety Jahleel Addae and cornerback Anthony Hollis each left the game with injuries and did not return.

“(We’re) rotating and revolving people all over the place,” Enos said. “That’s just how the season’s going. Is it frustrating? Yeah.”

CMU returns home to Kelly/Shorts Stadium at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against Bowling Green. The Falcons are 1-7 and 0-4 in the MAC, having lost their last five games, including a 30-6 defeat at home Saturday against Kent State.

NOTES: The loss snapped a three-game winning streak against NIU. … Nick Bellore’s 14 tackles moved him into third place all-time at CMU with 445 career tackles, passing Ray Bentley. … Sophomore Cody Wilson had a game-high 11 catches for 115 yards receiving.