Central Michigan football's balanced attack translates to wins
Central Michigan running back Kobe Lewis breaks through the Bowling Green defensive line for a 51-yard touchdown Oct. 19 at Doyt L. Perry Stadium in Bowling Green.
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Kobe Lewis exploded through a hole in the offensive line and sprinted away for a 51-yard touchdown in Central Michigan's 38-20 win over Bowling Green on the road Saturday.
The sophomore running back finished with 125 yards on 15 carries and the touchdown as part of a 254-yard total rushing performance from the Chippewas, who earned their first road win of 2019 and first since 2017 against Kent State.
CMU (5-3, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) won its third straight game after starting the season 2-3 under first-year coach Jim McElwain.
While Lewis turned in a strong performance against the Falcons, senior running back Jonathan Ward led the way with 180 yards on 21 carries and eclipsed 2,000 career rushing yards.
"There's some confidence back there," McElwain said. "Credit to the guys up front for popping some holes. Kobe and Jonathan complement each other well as runners, and that's great to see."
Not only did the Chippewa run game get the job done, the passing game was strong with senior graduate transfer quarterback Quinten Dormady going 22 of 36 passing for 295 yards and a touchdown.
JaCorey Sullivan was his main target in the game, as the sophomore caught eight passes for 126 yards and a 24-yard touchdown to cap off CMU's first drive of the game.
"We had a better grasp of the game plan and we went out and executed as a team," Dormady said. "It helps when you have two backs who go for over 100 yards per game."
Dormady also noted that Sullivan "is hard to stop," making him a crucial weapon in the offense.
To this point of the season, the Chippewas rank second in total yards (3,431) among MAC teams, sixth in passing yards per game (241.4) and third in rushing yards per game (187.5).
During its three-game winning streak, Central Michigan has used a balanced attack offensively to score wins over Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green.
While New Mexico State was in between the two CMU wins, there was a relatively wide gap in the rushing and passing yards.
CMU had 308 yards rushing with 279 passing against EMU and 299 through the air and 254 on the ground against the Falcons. Against the Aggies, the Chippewas totaled 352 yards on the ground and 134 through the air.
In terms of scoring, CMU has put together 42, 42 and 38 points during its winning streak.
"That's a heck of a win," McElwain said after the Bowling Green victory. "We played balanced offensively. Defensively, we had a pretty good number on third down, and that was really good. That's a happy locker room, and it should be.
"I'm really proud of these guys. Like I keep saying, I really like this football team."
As for the rest of the Mid-American Conference, the leaders remain balanced, similar to the Chippewas.
Ball State, the only undefeated team in the MAC, is averaging 267.6 yards per game in the passing game while rushing for 186.9 yards per game.
Western Michigan, the Chippewas' lone conference loss, ranks second in the conference for total yards with 447.8. The averages lean more to the passing game, where the Broncos average 266.1 yards per game and just 181.6 in the running game.
Here's how the MAC ranks in yards. The teams are sorted by total yards per game.
Ball State (4-3, 3-0): 454.4 (267.6 pass, 186.9 rush)
Western Michigan (4-4, 2-2): 447.8 (266.1 pass, 181.6 rush)
Toledo (4-3, 1-2): 435.7 (208.9 pass, 226.9 rush)
Central Michigan (5-3, 3-1): 428.9 (241.4 pass, 187.5 rush)
Ohio (3-4, 2-1): 406. (241.4 pass, 187.5 rush)
Eastern Michigan (4-3, 1-2): 390.6 (290.3 pass, 100.3 rush)
Northern Illinois (2-5, 1-2): 382.4 (272.4 pass, 110.0 rush)
Kent State (3-4, 2-1): 370.0 (193.0 pass, 177.0 rush)
Buffalo (3-4, 1-2): 352.1 (127.7 pass, 224.4 rush)
Bowling Green (2-5, 1-2): 343.9 (173.0 pass, 170.9 rush)
Akron (0-7, 0-3): 291.9 (243.4 pass, 48.4 rush)
Miami (Ohio) (3-4, 2-1): 272.1 (171.6 pass, 100.6 rush)
