In Brian Brunner’s opinion, Ford Field is not just a home for the NFL’s Detroit Lions, but for the CMU football team as well.

On Dec. 26, the Chippewas will take on Florida Atlantic in the 12th annual Motor City Bowl. The game will mark the fifth time in three seasons that the Chippewas have played in Ford Field, which Brunner said has become a little bit of Kelly/Shorts Stadium Southeast.

While Chippewa players and fans alike wait on a possible bowl invitation and opponent, the wait will be spent analyzing the regular season in hopes of improvement. Here’s a position-by-position rundown of what was an up-and-down regular season for CMU.

Quarterbacks – B

CMU had two good quarterbacks this season in senior Brian Brunner and junior Dan LeFevour.

YPSILANTI- EMU quarterback Andy Schmitt made sure to send coach Jeff Genyk out with a win.

The EMU (3-9 overall, 2-6 Mid-American Conference) quarterback set an NCAA division I record with 58 completions en route to a 56-52 victory over CMU (8-4, 6-2 MAC) Friday.

Junior defensive end Sam Williams said Eastern Michigan better be ready for the football team’s best shot.

Unlike last season, when CMU lost 48-45 to Eastern at home, this season the Chippewas still have much to play at noon Friday when they enter Rynearson Stadium.

For Butch Jones, the worst part of Wednesday’s loss was the scenario it presented.

For the first time since 2005, CMU must rely on other teams to decide its placement in the Mid-American Conference West Division.

“We can only control what we can control,” he said following Wednesday’s 31-24 loss to No.

The CMU football team found itself in a familiar situation in the fourth quarter Wednesday.

It maintained a 24-24 tie with just several minutes remaining against No. 14 ranked Ball State, looking like it would take just enough offense in the final minutes to secure a third consecutive Mid-American Conference West Division championship.

The last time CMU and Ball State met, BSU coach Brady Hoke said his team tried to outsmart itself.

The Cardinals’ last Mid-American Conference loss was 58-38 last season to the Chippewas, thanks in large part to quarterback Dan LeFevour’s 506 total yards and six touchdowns.

Nick Bellore said his defense will have two decisive advantages over the Ball State offense tonight – experience and crowd noise.

Bellore said CMU’s familiarity with close games this season should help his defense contain tailback MiQuale Lewis, quarterback Nate Davis and the No.