REWIND: Chippewas take three-game win streak into bye week as showdown with MAC leader Toledo looms
AKRON, Ohio – The stage has been set for the most significant Central Michigan football game in half a decade. And the Chippewas will have more than a week to prepare for it.
Following Saturday’s 14-6 defeat of Akron, the Chippewas enter an off week, giving players and coaches three days away from football activities and time to collect themselves physically and mentally.
When they return to practice on Thursday, the team will be getting ready for No. 20 Toledo — the only undefeated team in the Mid-American Conference and the first ranked opponent to visit Kelly/Shorts Stadium since 2013.
After dropping three of its four nonconference games, CMU has lost just one conference game and extended its winning streak to three games with Saturday’s defeat of the Zips.
The 4-1 record is the best start to a MAC season the program has had since 2009, when Butch Jones’ squad began conference competition 5-0 and won the MAC Championship that December. That was also the last season CMU topped Toledo.
This year, a conference title has become a serious possibility for the team.
“Right now, I think the best thing is that we’re relevant and we’re going into November and we get a couple days to rest up our team,” said Head Coach John Bonamego. “It’s better to win ugly than to lose pretty.”
Ugly is exactly how CMU has played during their last two games, scoring a season-low 14 points in Saturday’s win and committing a season-high 10 penalties for 55 yards two weeks ago against Ball State.
With the offense struggling to find the rhythm that helped CMU gain confidence as the MAC season began, Bonamego has turned to Defensive Coordinator Greg Colby and the Chippewa defense to win games.
On Saturday, senior defensive end Blake Serpa had the best game of his career, recording six tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles. Serpa’s biggest play of the game nearly caused a turnover and pushed the Zips back 27 yards.
He is one of CMU’s senior leaders who hopes his college career culminates in a MAC Championship victory at Ford Field in December.
“It’s kind of exciting because you know it’s still your opportunity,” Serpa said. “It’s your chance to do something. It’s on your shoulders, really, so you take that with great pride.”
Outside of Saturday’s mediocre performance at Akron, junior quarterback Cooper Rush is off to the best single-season start of any CMU quarterback in history.
Rush said he knows CMU is going to have to improve to keep up with high-octane passing attack of MAC-elite teams like Toledo and Bowling Green.
“(We played) sub-par,” Rush said. “(With) 14 points, we’re lucky to win the game. But it’s a lot better to look at the film after a win and correct yourself than a loss.”
After playing three teams that were fresh off a bye in four weeks and defeating all of them, CMU gets its turn to reflect as the final stretch of the season approaches.
“(Toledo is) one of the best teams in the country, so we’re excited,” Rush said. “We’ll be ready.”
