Bonamego: UT game a must win to stay in MAC race
Saturday's matchup between Central Michigan and Toledo will likely decide whether the Chippewas will play for a Mid-American Conference Championship or bowl eligibility at the end of the season.
Nobody knows that better than head coach John Bonamego.
"The likelihood of winning the (MAC) West (with two losses) is not very high," Bonamego said. "That's the hard facts. We're at the stage in our season where you're in a one-game elimination tournament for representing the West at Ford Field in the MAC Championship Game."
CMU hasn't played in a MAC title game since a 20-10 victory against Ohio in 2009. Although two MAC West losses doesn't eliminate the Chippewas from the race, Northern Illinois is the only team in the last 10 seasons to play for the conference championship with two MAC West losses.
Chippewas hold off Huskies for wild triple OT victory
In an up-and-down game on both sides, Central Michigan football was able to escape DeKalb with a 34-28 victory over Northern Illinois.
After senior kicker Brian Eavey missed two field goal attempts that would have given CMU a victory, the Chippewas' passing game took matters into their own hands — scoring two touchdowns in three overtime periods to win.
Toledo (5-1, 2-0 MAC) sits one game behind No. 20 Western Michigan in the MAC West Division.
"(Toledo is) a well-built football team. They look and play the way a Division I team is supposed to," Bonamego said. "When guys graduate, they just seem to plug somebody else in there that's as good."
The Rockets have one of the best offenses in the nation, leading the conference in total offense, passing yards and passing touchdowns. Junior quarterback Logan Woodside ranks 12th in the NCAA with 2,013 passing yards at a 71.3 percent completion rate, good for fifth in the country in the category.
"(Woodside) is one of the best quarterbacks we've seen," said defensive coordinator Greg Colby. "They're going to get their yards, but we've got to limit the big plays and stay on top of the ball to make sure they don't break it out."
Toledo runs the ball effectively, averaging more than 219 yards per game in an attack led by senior running back Kareem Hunt and junior Terry Swanson. The pair averages 4.9 and five yards per carry, respectively.
"We've got to do a great job tackling and getting people at the point of attack to get those running backs down," Colby said. "It's going to be a challenge tackling them because they are physical. If they get us out in the open field, they might have the advantage."
The Rockets' defense has held opponents to 21 points and 331 yards per game in 2016.
"Their front seven on defense plays physical. They've got a tackle that I think is going to be an NFL player," Bonamego said. "They are a sound team that's well coached with talented players."
CMU's offense ranks second in the MAC with nearly 300 yards passing per game, but will face a tough test in Toledo's secondary, which limits opponents to 179 yards through the air per outing.
In order to come back from the Glass Bowl Stadium with a win, Bonamego said his team will have to play fundamentally sound football and limit the self-inflicted wounds like turnovers and penalties.
As of Wednesday morning, Toledo is favored to win by 10.5. The game is being broadcast at noon on ESPN3.
