2008 Woodie Awards
section link: /news/2007/11/30/Sports/
headline: Central wins second consecutive MAC Championship, 35-10
subheadline: LeFevour rushes for 170 yards, wins MVP and joins elite company
By: Daniel Monson
author link: /user/index.cfm?event=displayAuthorProfile&authorid=2657042
Issue date: 11/30/07
- Page 1 of 1
DETROIT - A conference season marked by ups and downs ended Saturday as the Central Michigan football team beat Miami University 35-10 to capture the Mid-American Conference Championship at Ford Field.
All season, the Chippewas' defense was its weakness. Last in the MAC in scoring defense, the unit came out and shut down the Miami offense for the majority of the game.
CMU took a 7-0 lead into halftime. It was the first time all season Central had kept an opponent scoreless in any quarter.
"We knew against a team like Miami, we couldn't play outside ourselves," said senior linebacker Ike Brown. "Throughout the year, we put in half games, not everybody did their job. But today, everybody did their job every snap. We completely trusted each other."
Brown finished with nine tackles, with two-and-a-half going for a loss.
CMU limited the RedHawks to 306 total yards and forced two interceptions, both in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
"I'm a true believer that defense wins championships," said senior linebacker Red Keith. "I told the guys before the game that it was going to come down to us today. We kept the game close until our offense came along."
Keith, sophomore safety Eric Fraser, and sophomore cornerback Chaz West led the Chippewas with 10 tackles each.
It may have taken a half to warmup, but CMU's offense began to score in its quick trademark fashion.
Sophomore quarterback Dan LeFevour threw two interceptions in the first half, including one with CMU threatening deep in Miami territory six minutes before halftime.
But as LeFevour has done all season, he was able to use his legs to pick up much-needed yards for the CMU offense. He finished with 185 yards and one touchdown through the air, and 170 yards and a touchdown rushing.
With his 170 rushing yards, LeFevour became only the second player in Division I (FBS) history to have over 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing. Texas' Vince Young (2005) was the only player to accomplish the mark before.
"That's quite an accomplishment, but again, that's the O-Line," LeFevour said. "I didn't get a whole lot of yards after contact, a lot of them were just big holes and I ran to daylight."
Junior tailback Ontario Sneed rushed for 67 yards in the absence of Justin Hoskins, who dressed for the game but did not receive a carry. Sneed scored two rushing touchdowns.
"With the season I've had, it's a great feeling to come back and play the way I did," Sneed said. "I've suffered through a lot of adversity this year, and coach actually challenged me today and I wasn't going to step down."
Central (8-5, 7-1 MAC) accepted a bid to play in the Motor City Bowl on Dec. 26 shortly following Saturday's game.
Miami, meanwhile, missed a bowl game with its two losses to finish the season 6-6 overall after its 2-10 mark in 2006.
"We've come back and done some incredible things after where we were last year," said Miami coach Shane Montgomery. "But we didn't play well enough in the last two weeks to warrant a bowl bid."
With the win, CMU coach Butch Jones became just the second coach in MAC history to lead his team to a championship in his first season.
"It didn't hit me until the water did," Jones said. "It's a great feeling, but like I always say, it's not about me, it's about the kids."
Keith said this year's title means a lot more because of the transition the team had to go through.
"I think it's better than last year, for many reasons," Keith said. "I think the adversity we faced all year long, the injuries. Not to take anything away from last year, but we're going down in the books, because we're back-back, man."
See Monday's edition of Central Michigan Life for complete analysis of CMU's back-to-back MAC Championship Game win. Also, the team's reaction to its Motor City Bowl opponent.
All season, the Chippewas' defense was its weakness. Last in the MAC in scoring defense, the unit came out and shut down the Miami offense for the majority of the game.
CMU took a 7-0 lead into halftime. It was the first time all season Central had kept an opponent scoreless in any quarter.
"We knew against a team like Miami, we couldn't play outside ourselves," said senior linebacker Ike Brown. "Throughout the year, we put in half games, not everybody did their job. But today, everybody did their job every snap. We completely trusted each other."
Brown finished with nine tackles, with two-and-a-half going for a loss.
CMU limited the RedHawks to 306 total yards and forced two interceptions, both in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
"I'm a true believer that defense wins championships," said senior linebacker Red Keith. "I told the guys before the game that it was going to come down to us today. We kept the game close until our offense came along."
Keith, sophomore safety Eric Fraser, and sophomore cornerback Chaz West led the Chippewas with 10 tackles each.
It may have taken a half to warmup, but CMU's offense began to score in its quick trademark fashion.
Sophomore quarterback Dan LeFevour threw two interceptions in the first half, including one with CMU threatening deep in Miami territory six minutes before halftime.
But as LeFevour has done all season, he was able to use his legs to pick up much-needed yards for the CMU offense. He finished with 185 yards and one touchdown through the air, and 170 yards and a touchdown rushing.
With his 170 rushing yards, LeFevour became only the second player in Division I (FBS) history to have over 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing. Texas' Vince Young (2005) was the only player to accomplish the mark before.
"That's quite an accomplishment, but again, that's the O-Line," LeFevour said. "I didn't get a whole lot of yards after contact, a lot of them were just big holes and I ran to daylight."
Junior tailback Ontario Sneed rushed for 67 yards in the absence of Justin Hoskins, who dressed for the game but did not receive a carry. Sneed scored two rushing touchdowns.
"With the season I've had, it's a great feeling to come back and play the way I did," Sneed said. "I've suffered through a lot of adversity this year, and coach actually challenged me today and I wasn't going to step down."
Central (8-5, 7-1 MAC) accepted a bid to play in the Motor City Bowl on Dec. 26 shortly following Saturday's game.
Miami, meanwhile, missed a bowl game with its two losses to finish the season 6-6 overall after its 2-10 mark in 2006.
"We've come back and done some incredible things after where we were last year," said Miami coach Shane Montgomery. "But we didn't play well enough in the last two weeks to warrant a bowl bid."
With the win, CMU coach Butch Jones became just the second coach in MAC history to lead his team to a championship in his first season.
"It didn't hit me until the water did," Jones said. "It's a great feeling, but like I always say, it's not about me, it's about the kids."
Keith said this year's title means a lot more because of the transition the team had to go through.
"I think it's better than last year, for many reasons," Keith said. "I think the adversity we faced all year long, the injuries. Not to take anything away from last year, but we're going down in the books, because we're back-back, man."
See Monday's edition of Central Michigan Life for complete analysis of CMU's back-to-back MAC Championship Game win. Also, the team's reaction to its Motor City Bowl opponent.
