Chippewas finish regular season with win over Eastern Michigan
Sophomore defensive back Amari Coleman returns an interception for a touchdown on Friday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. (Photo by Monica Bradburn | Assistant Photo Editor).
It flirted with disaster, but the Central Michigan football team put together a 14-point comeback that avoided a major upset and likely saved its 2015 bowl game aspirations.
Freshman running back Romello Ross scored five touchdowns and junior quarterback Cooper Rush broke the single-season passing yardage record as the Chippewas defeated Eastern Michigan 35-28 on Friday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
CMU finished the regular season 7-5 overall and 6-2 in Mid-American Conference competition.
How it happened:
The Chippewas entered the halftime intermission trailing by two touchdowns following a dreadful first half.
The second half was a much different story.
CMU needed just one play to score its first touchdown of the third quarter. Junior quarterback Cooper Rush hit freshman running back Romello Ross on a screen play that went 63 yards and cut EMU's lead to 21-14 early in the third quarter.
After senior safety Kavon Frazier blocked a punt midway through the third quarter, CMU punched it in on a 3-yard run by Ross, his third score of the game, to tie the game at 21.
Ross scored his fourth touchdown of the game on a 17-yard run off a toss play that gave CMU a 28-21 lead. EMU's Darius Jackson scored on a 49-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 28.
CMU took the lead right back on a 67-yard touchdown pass from Rush to slot receiver Corey Willis, which gave CMU a 35-28 lead. The play also broke a record for Rush, who became the single-season leader in passing yards with 3,670 after the score.
On its first drive of the game, EMU went right down the field and scored a touchdown on a six-yard pass from quarterback Brogan Roback to wideout Sam Browning.
Midway through the second quarter, EMU fumbled the ball on an errant lateral near midfield and CMU linebacker Nathan Ricketts fell on it. Rush took his team right down the field on a scoring drive that tied the game at 7-7. Ross scored his first career touchdown from five yards out.
Rush was picked off late in the second quarter, and linebacker Kyle Rachwal ran the turnover back 38 yards for a score that put the Eagles up 14-7.
The Eagles took a two score lead just before halftime after CMU made one of its most costly turnovers of the season. Running back Jahray Hayes fumbled the ball on the 1-yard line with the Chippewas trailing by a touchdown. EMU ran the ball back to midfield and scored six plays later to bulk its lead up to 21-7 at halftime.
What it means:
The Chippewas ended the regular season on a high note and are virtually guaranteed a trip to a bowl game this season. Rush put a punctuation mark on one of the best single-seasons any CMU quarterback has had in program history, statistically speaking.
Ross showed plenty of potential for CMU's run game, which was among the nation's worst all season long.
The CMU defense was shaky early in the game, but made key adjustments during the opening moments of the second half and created momentum for Rush and the Chippewa offense to feed off of as it mounted the comeback.
First-year Head Coach John Bonamego took a team he inherited in the offseason and exceeded many preseason expectations.
What's next:
CMU has won six conference games for this first time since 2009, a season that ended with a league championship. Bonamego today became the fourth CMU head coach to finish the regular season with a winning record since becoming a Division I program. Herb Deromedi, Dick Flynn and Butch Jones are the other three.
The Chippewas wait until Sunday, Dec. 6 to find out which bowl game the MAC will send them to. There are at least six spots open to bowl-eligible MAC teams. There are eight of them this season.
The conference also has a backup agreement with ESPN owned and operated bowl games. They are Gildan New Mexico Bowl, Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl, Birmingham Bowl and the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.
