Central Michigan CB Xavier Crawford on Kentucky loss: 'We beat ourselves'


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Central Michigan's Xavier Crawford makes an interception of Kentucky QB Terry Wilson. (Photo Credit: Central Michigan Athletics)

When asked about his first career game for Central Michigan, cornerback Xavier Crawford immediately noted the mistakes made against Kentucky. 

Crawford, instead of dishing on the enjoyment of finally donning the maroon and gold uniform, expressed the need for improvement. 

"In the second half we didn't finish," the Oregon State graduate transfer said. "They did what they did better than we did what we do. I think we had a lot of mistakes we can correct and a lot of missed assignments. 

"We can go back and correct that and we’ll be fine next week."

Crawford recorded the first interception for the Chippewas in 2018 with 14:08 left in the second quarter. He read starting quarterback Terry Wilson's eyes, made a break on the ball, kept his feet in bounds and hauled in the pass. 

The interception led to running back Kumehnnu Gwilly's four-yard score. 

Wilson, after three early turnovers and a minor injury, was replaced by backup quarterback Gunnar Hoak. 

Hoak immediately threw a 24-yard touchdown pass for to David Bouvier with 14 seconds left in the first half. 

Veering between defending dual-threat quarterback Wilson to pocket-passing quarterback Hoak, Crawford said the game plan never changed. 

"It really didn’t matter about the quarterback," Crawford said. "The game plan wasn’t going to change. As far as the cause, we really didn’t change our cause up, we knew what we had to be aware of."

The Chippewas (0-1) return home to Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant for a battle against the Kansas Jayhawks (0-1) at 3 p.m. on Sept. 8. 

“We’re good," Crawford said. "We know that the game could have went either way. Like I said we beat ourselves. We’re just looking forward to next weekend."

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