USA Today gives CMU football B grade for 2017 season
Senior defensive back Amari Coleman celebrates before the football game against the University of Rhode Island on Aug. 31 in Kelly / Shorts Stadium.
USA Today gave head coach John Bonamego's third season with the Central Michigan football team a B grade.
On an annual basis, USA Today dishes out college football grades for all 130 Division I FBS teams following the 2017 season.
Other Mid-American Conference teams earning a B included Northern Illinois and Ohio.
Toledo was the highest ranked MAC team, earning an A. Toledo head coach Jason Candle signed a six-year contract extension worth more than $1 million per year in December.
Besides the Rockets, Akron was the only other team graded higher than CMU with a B+.
The Chippewas finished the season 8-5 and 6-2 in the MAC, losing to Syracuse, Miami (Ohio), Boston College, Toledo and Wyoming. The 34-17 loss to the Cowboys came in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 22.
CMU had nine players named to an All-MAC Team this season, including cornerback Amari Coleman, defensive end Joe Ostman, wide receiver Corey Willis, running back Jonathan Ward, safety Josh Cox, linebacker Malik Fountain, tight end Tyler Conklin, wide receiver Mark Chapman and offensive lineman J.P. Quinn.
USA Today gave Ball State and Kent State a D grade and Bowling Green an F. Those three programs were the lowest-ranked teams in the MAC.
