After finishing its nonconference schedule with a 49-35 loss to Virginia on Saturday, Central Michigan football faces its first Mid-American Conference opponent Saturday in Kelly/Shorts Stadium: undefeated Western Michigan.

Second-year head coach John Bonamego said his team didn't play of Saturday's game. Still, Bonamego insists his squad wasn't looking ahead to its matchup with the Broncos.

"We haven’t talked about Western yet," he said. "All that talk comes from the media. Inside our locker room, no one has talked about that. We just didn’t play well. This is a game of execution. When you drop balls, miss tackles and let people behind you in coverage, that’s when you get beat. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing or what their record is."

Sitting at 4-0, WMU heads to Mount Pleasant coming off a 49-31 victory against Georgia Southern at Waldo Stadium. WMU could be ranked in the AP Top 25 when it plays the Chippewas at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1.

Before conference play begins, here are three takeaways from Central Michigan's 2016 nonconference schedule.

1. Rush-led passing attack is solid

Senior quarterback Cooper Rush has led a Chippewa offense averaging 43 points per game, highlighted by a six touchdown performance against UNLV in week three.

Prior to the season, a lack of a running game was considered a weak-point in CMU's offense. Rush's passing ability has been enough to sustain drives and win three of CMU's four games.

The Chippewas totaled 1,359 passing yards against its nonconference opponents and ran for 545.

Despite lacking a consistent running game, CMU beat its first four opponents in time of possession by more than 26 minutes.

Rush is the NCAA leader in passing yards and continues to add to his total of 10,713 yards. He sits in second place in CMU history behind Dan LeFevour, needing 2,192 yards to break the all-time record.

2. Field goal kicking has been inconsistent

Senior kicker Brian Eavey has been struggling with accuracy as of late, missing four consecutive field goals dating back to last week's game against UNLV where he missed three.

Despite this, Bonamego and players have expressed confidence in Eavey, citing strong wind as a factor in his three missed field goals against UNLV. Bonamego said a bad hold was the reason Eavey missed his one attempt against the Cavaliers.

“I think it was on the hold. Mark (Chapman) is nursing an ankle and Brian (Eavey's) foot clipped Mark’s toe. The spot was too close to his foot, so when Brian swung through, they clicked toes," Bonamego said. "That’s why the ball came off the way it did. It happened once earlier in the week, but we thought it was corrected. It didn’t show up on any of the extra points, it just came up on that field goal.”

Last season, Eavey was 16-of-24 on field goal attempts, with each of his misses coming from greater than 40 yards away. His last four misses have each been on a 40-plus yard attempt.

The missed kicks haven't cost CMU any games, but missed opportunities will catch up with the team. The Chippewas won't be able to score a touchdown on every drive. It needs to be able to turn to a reliable kicker to get points, especially in competitive conference games.

3. Injury bug beginning to plague Chippewas

CMU was without multiple key players coming into its final nonconference game, including senior safety Tony Annese and junior wide receiver Mark Chapman.

During the UVA game, CMU also lost junior offensive lineman Derek Edwards, junior wide receiver Eric Cooper and senior wide receiver Jesse Kroll.

“Injuries always affect you," Bonamego said. "Guys are starters because they are the best at their position, but we expect the next guy to come in and pick up the slack. The biggest difference between the starter and the non-starter should be experience.”

CMU's depth will be tested throughout conference play if any of these players miss significant amounts of time.

The status of each of these players for the rest of the season has yet to be announced and will be a key storyline to follow moving forward.

4. The running game is unreliable

CMU was one of the worst teams in the college football last season running the ball, finishing 124th nationally with 1,317 yards gained on the ground.

Offensive line coach Derek Frazier said before the season that one of the team's goals for the season was to average over four yards per carry rather than accumulating large chunks of yardage.

This season, the Chippewas' rushing attack has improved, but has yet to prove its reliability. CMU averaged 4.1 yards per carry and scored seven touchdowns during its first four games.

With a solid passing attack, CMU hasn't needed to rely on its running backs to net big plays. But the Chippewas will need to run the ball effectively to keep defenses honest and wind down the clock late in games.

5. Defense can be MAC's best

CMU's defense has been one of the best in the country in terms of total defense the past two seasons and looked elite at times against its nonconference opponents.

Prior to Saturday's loss to Virginia, CMU's defense was ranked second nationally in third down defense and within the Top 20 in total defense.

Although the secondary allowed Virginia quarterback Kurt Benkert to throw for a school record 421 yards, CMU's defensive backfield has played well throughout the season.

The team has allowed 922 passing yards this season and has come up with six interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns by junior cornerback Amari Coleman. Led by linebacker Malik Fountain's 26 tackles, CMU's run defense ranks second in the MAC, allowing just 424 yards this season.