Chippewas offense falls flat in 32-20 loss at home to Western Michigan
Promising start hits the turf for CMU football
Through 15 minutes of play and in front of more than 17,000 people, the Central Michigan University football team looked unstoppable. Midway through the second half, the exact opposite appeared to be the case.
After jumping out to a two-touchdown lead by the end of the first quarter, CMU’s subpar performance in the ensuing three quarters was the difference in the Chippewas’ 32-20 loss to Western Michigan University on Saturday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
The Chippewas scored just three second-half points and gained no rushing yards during the last two quarters of play.
WMU was able to punch the ball into the end zone two plays after a crucial fumble by freshman Amari Coleman.
The Broncos score moved it to a 12-point game, a margin which proved to be insurmountable for quarterback Cooper Rush and the CMU offense.
“Our formula is running the ball,” Head Coach Dan Enos said. “We weren’t generating explosive runs today, which made us throw the ball more. That isn’t our formula to win.”
Enos said the Chippewas offensive struggles stemmed mainly from poor performance on first down.
“We were getting a lot of second-and-nines after that point, couldn’t establish the running game like we had been,” he said. “I’ve got to be honest, we really thought, going into the game, we could run the football but we didn’t do it very effectively.”
CMU rushed for a total of 70 yards, with senior Thomas Rawls getting a majority of the touches.
Just before halftime, the Broncos started a drive from their own two-yard line. Three plays later, they had gone 98 yards in 58 seconds, and scored a 33-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zach Terrell to wide receiver Corey Davis.
“Both sides had good players; we knew we weren’t going to shut them out,” Enos said. “They knew they weren’t going to shut us out.”
Saturday’s loss drops Enos’ record at the helm of the Chippewas to 26-35 during his five seasons in Mount Pleasant.
