Bonamego, Central Michigan football team not focused on preseason ranking, only winning


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Central Michigan University football Head Coach John Bonamego speaks with reporters during Mid-American Conference Football Media Day at Ford Field in Detroit on Wednesday. (Photo by Sydney Smith) 

DETROIT -- Despite what preseason polls or conference-wide critics have predicted, members of the Central Michigan University football team remain confident they have a significant chance to end the conference slate in the exact same place the 2015 campaign publicly began: Here. 

Upperclassmen leaders Cooper Rush, Nick Beamish along with Head Coach John Bonamego promised a focused and collectively determined effort to prove their doubters wrong Wednesday. They spoke to nationwide media during Mid-American Conference Football Media Day at Ford Field, the site of the 2015 MAC Football Championship Game in December. 

To the group, the Chippewas' second-to-last in the MAC West preseason poll ranking means nothing. 

"I don't look at that stuff at all," Beamish said. "I was told a long time ago to ignore that. The only thing that matters to me and to our team is that we think we are going to be successful. We've got a good team." 

The Chippewas begin the season at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium against Oklahoma State University, and are too focused on the season opener to pay any attention to "all that noise," the preseason poll provides. 

The poll punctuates a dynamic offseason for the CMU football program and serves as the prelude to one of the most anticipated regular seasons the program has had in recent memory. 

"There has been a lot of stuff that might have distracted some of the guys," Beamish said. "Overall, getting into football again is going to be very relieving for all of us. It just comes down to our performance. That's the thing that really matters." 

Rush, a quarterback, enters the season as the team's offensive leader on a team that graduated key offensive weapons like Titus Davis and Thomas Rawls. 

To Rush, it feels like his freshman year–during which he battled for a starting job–was just yesterday. 

"I've always held myself to high expectations," Rush said. "We do that as a team, too. It's been a pretty normal summer. People have been working hard this offseason." 

Bonamego, who has spent the offseason battling throat cancer, said his treatments are scheduled to be completed Aug. 21. He and the rest of the team remain confident they can compete in a non-conference schedule that features Oklahoma State, Michigan State and Syracuse in a four-week span. 

"We'll have some big tests," Rush said. "The first four games before MAC play are always exciting because you get to see what you are made of. It'll be a good experience for us before MAC play." 

Bonamego said the Chippewas will approach games against each "nameless and faceless" opponent the same way. 

"As long as I've been in this game, I've never looked at preseason polls or any of that stuff," he said. "Championships are won out on the field. No one is going to care who wins the preseason poll. That's why we play the games." 

The team opens training camp on Aug. 6. 

Here is the complete MAC Football Preseason Poll: 

Team (First Place Votes) Points

MAC East Division
1. Bowling Green (18) 160
T2. Ohio (1) 118
T2. Akron (2) 118
4. UMass (3) 113
5. Buffalo 70
6. Miami 47
7. Kent State 46

MAC West Division
1. Toledo (11) 121
2. Western Michigan (8) 120
3. Northern Illinois (4) 113
4. Ball State 66
5. Central Michigan (1) 56
6. Eastern Michigan 28

2015 Marathon MAC Championship Game Winner: Toledo (9); Western Michigan (8); Northern Illinois (6); Central Michigan (1).

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About Dominick Mastrangelo

Dominick Mastrangelo is the Editor in Chief of Central Michigan Life. Contact him at: editor@cm-life.com 

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