CMU football team aims to win third-straight against EMU

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Central Michigan has won five of its last six Homecoming games and looks to win its third-straight game against Eastern Michigan at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

CMU is 55-28-1 in its Homecoming games and 55-27-6 against the Eagles all-time.

“The fans come out and we love the energy,” said junior Jahleel Addae. “We feed on their energy and they feed on ours. We need to come out and make some big plays.”

The defensive back leads the team in tackles (56) and interceptions (3) and is tied for first with one forced fumble this season.

Addae and the Chippewas defense have their hands full with an Eagles run game that averages 209 yards per game – third best in the Mid-American Conference.

Running back Javonti Green leads the rushers, averaging 63.3 yards per game.

“They’re a run-heavy team,” Addae said. “They have a good quarterback who can run the ball and can throw as well and they have good backs and receivers that get open and make plays for them.”

The Eagles quarterback, Alex Gillett, has thrown for 623 yards this season, completing almost 52 percent of his passes.

The junior has thrown four touchdowns and five interceptions in an offense ranked 12th in the MAC in pass offense (106.5 yards per game).

As a mobile option for EMU, Gillett averages 52.7 yards rushing, scoring twice.

CMU came out on top of a 52-14 game last season in which quarterback Ryan Radcliff threw for 254 yards and Cody Wilson caught three passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Radcliff is coming into the game looking to erase memories from his last two quarters of play in which he threw four interceptions in a 38-24 loss to North Carolina State.

“(Radcliff) forced the football in the second half, where in the first he made good decisions,” said head coach Dan Enos. “He threw 15-of-17 in the first half and we think he gives us the best chance to win. We’ve got to run the ball and remain balanced.”

Senior Paris Cotton has recorded back-to-back 100-yard performances on the ground this season.

Under head coach Ron English, EMU is a perfect 4-0 when holding its opponents under 100 yards on the ground.

“On film they’re a lot better team than last year,” Cotton said. “They want to stop the run and they’re a lot more athletic – a lot more physical.”

Enos said he liked what he saw this week at practice from Cotton and freshman Anthony Garland and expects them to take the bulk of the carries this week.

“They complement each other very well and they’re not the same kind of backs,” Enos said. “When you have two guys like that, that’s a real positive.”

On defense, the Chippewas will be without linebacker Mike Petrucci and defensive linemen John Williams and Leterrius Walton, who are sidelined by injuries.

Enos expects Williams to be out for the season, though he anticipates the injured Cody Lopez and Alex Smith to be back in the lineup at linebacker.

Getting the added depth back on defense will help a Chippewas team sitting at 1-1 in the MAC heading into six-straight conference games to close out the season.

“It’s nice to get those non-conference games out of the way,” Enos said. “We have a six-game season and they all mean a lot. It starts this weekend with Eastern Michigan and it’s good to have our focus on the conference right now.”