Tony Poljan reflects on first game as CMU's starting quarterback
Tony Poljan was a little nervous upon taking the field for Central Michigan on the road against Kentucky.
Granted it was Poljan's first career start at quarterback for the Chippewas after sitting out in 2016 and working as a role player in 2017.
The Chippewas lost, 35-20, and were unable to score in the second half on Sept. 1 at Kroger Field.
Nonetheless, Poljan took care of the football, executed run-pass options and helped keep CMU in the game by delivering multiple completions in third-down situations.
"It was pretty cool," Poljan said following the game. "Going from a role player last year to a starter this year was pretty special."
Poljan, who completed 17-of-27 passes for 137 yards, said his confidence was high all game. The main aspect which he struggled was not being able to execute on takeaways.
“We just needed to capitalize on the turnovers, which we didn’t," he added.
Defensive end Sean Adesanya, cornerback Xavier Crawford, safety Devonni Reed and cornerback Gage Kreski all forced turnovers against Kentucky's offense.
Each play led to a score but two were for field goals.
On Kentucky's final drive of the first half, backup quarterback Gunnar Hoak replaced starter Terry Wilson.
Hoak dropped back with 14 seconds left and delivered a 24-yard strike to wide receiver David Bouvier. The touchdown put the Wildcats ahead 21-20 going into the locker room.
Poljan and the CMU offense were never able to respond in the second half of the game.
“We just went out there and played," Poljan said. "They threw a few different licks at us.”
Poljan finished with 137 yards through the air and 47 yards on the ground. CMU head coach John Bonamego was nothing but impressed.
“Well, he didn’t turn the ball over and that’s a positive," Bonamego said. "You look at that and I think he made some big plays with his legs."
Wide receiver Cameron Cole led the Chippewas with four receptions for 51 yards. Brandon Childress was behind him with two catches for 23 yards.
Poljan connected with nine different receivers, but many young players dropped passes or received offensive pass interference penalties.
"He needs some people around him to step up," Bonamego said. "We made a couple nice catches out there and we need to firm up our pass protection a little bit in those situations when we know we have to throw it."
Looking ahead, Poljan will take the field once again for CMU against Kansas on Sept. 9 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium for a chance at the Chippewas' first win of the 2018 season.
"I thought he did well," Bonamego said of Poljan. "I know he’s going to look at this and we are all going to look at this and see there is a lot to improve on across the board."
