Football travels to Michigan State with rivalry upset in mind
Despite being a 29-point underdog, Central Michigan coach John Bonamego believes his team has a chance to take down Michigan State, a program just 67 miles down US-127 South.
“I do believe we have what it takes,” Bonamego said. “I think it’s a rivalry because it’s an in-state school. They aren’t on our schedule every year, but there’s some history to this game.”
The Chippewas (1-3) kick off against the Spartans (2-1) at noon on Sept. 29 in East Lansing. The team from Mount Pleasant is coming off a 17-5 win against the University of Maine, an FCS program.
Michigan State is 40-6 against Mid-American Conference teams in program history. Of its six losses, three have been to CMU – 1991, 1992 and 2009. Legendary head coach Herb Deromedi was in charge for the wins in the early 1990s, and Butch Jones commanded the Chippewas during the 2009 victory.
"It's always been a big game for us, a rivalry game-type thing," said Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio.
CMU’s fourth-year head coach believes in an upset, and so do the players.
Up-Front Battle
The defensive line for Central Michigan is one of the best aspects of the team. With senior Mitch Stanitzek, junior D’Andre Dill, senior Nathan Brisson-Fast and junior Mike Danna starting up front, Bonamego said he is most excited to see his group matchup against Michigan State’s offensive line.
The top three edge rushers for the Chippewas are Stanitzek, Danna and backup defensive end Sean Adesanya – a graduate transfer from Illinois. Bonamego expects those three to contribute often on Saturday against Michigan State dual-threat junior quarterback Brian Lewerke.
“You don’t have a big drop off between one and the next, which makes for really consistent play,” Bonamego mentioned of his defensive line.
Brisson-Fast said his defensive group is ready to play fast, even against a larger opponent. The speed advantage is something the Chippewas hope to use by quickly running to the ball and wrapping up offensive players.
“Every offensive line is going to do similar things,” Brisson-Fast said. “Every offensive line makes mistakes, we just have to capitalize on them and go 100 percent on every play.”
While Lewerke has proven himself as a run-pass option quarterback, CMU’s defensive remains ready for senior running back LJ Scott, even though his status has not been determined for Saturday’s game due to a hamstring injury. Nonetheless, Bonamego is preparing his team as if the two-time 1,000-yard player will be active.
Bonamego also noted Michigan State’s defensive is exceptional, ranked No. 1 against the run in Division I FBS. He said the receiving core for the Spartans are as good as he’s ever seen with senior Felton Davis III, sophomore Cody White and junior Darrell Stewart Jr.
Central Michigan junior cornerbacks Sean Bunting and Xavier Crawford have the job of containing those players from catching passes from Lewerke on the perimeter.
“They’ve got three or four guys that are really, really good,” Bonamego said. “The quarterback is playing at a high-level, and they have designed runs for him. That even stresses a defense more. We have to account for him. It’s going to be a big challenge.”
Lewerke is 64-of-97 on the season for 814 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions. Running back options behind Scott include sophomore Connor Heyward and true freshman La’Darius Jefferson.
Ross Returns
Starting junior running back Jonathan Ward has yet to find the end zone in 2018, which is a concerning aspect for the Chippewas. It helps CMU has a dual-threat option in Lazzaro and a backup redshirt sophomore running back in Kumehnnu Gwilly.
Now, the team will return redshirt junior Romello Ross for his first game of the 2018 season.
Ross, at 5-foot-10, 200 pounds, missed the entire 2016 season with a torn ACL but returned for 2017. He ran 54 times for 203 yards and one touchdown. Even though Bonamego plans to keep his snap count limited against Michigan State, having a third running back for the first time is a plus.
Bonamego said speeding up and slowing down the offensive tempo of the game will be a priority to earning an upset win.
“Offensively, we have to do a very good job of making sure we don’t get behind the chains,” Bonamego added. “We can’t get into a second or third and long situation against this team. Having success on first down will be really important for our offense.”
Ward has just 52 carries for 156 yards through four games played. The stat line for Gwilly consists of 38 carries for 122 yards and one touchdown. Lazzaro has 99 yards and two rushing scores on 26 attempts.
MSU Not Rivalry Game for Childress
Junior receiver Brandon Childress, unlike Bonamego, does not see the game as a rivalry matchup. He said it’s just nice that his family will be able to travel to East Lansing to support him.
“Our only rival is Western (Michigan),” Childress said. “We hate Western. (Michigan State) is just another opponent with a different mascot, so we don’t look at them any different.”
Childress, the expected top receiver on the team, has just eight catches for 75 yards. He hopes to improve on execution in order to beat Michigan State.
Other emerging receivers include junior Cameron Cole, redshirt freshman Julian Hicks and redshirt junior Jamil Sabbagh. Lazzaro, through just a quarter and a half against Northern Illinois, found Hicks for a completion seven times. Prior to Lazzaro's entry, Hicks had not ever made a reception at the college level.
On the offensive and defensive side of the ball, the Chippewas are not afraid.
MSU isn’t superhuman,” Brisson-Fast said. “It’s man-to-man. We have to win more plays than they do to get the win.”
