COLUMN: NIU game a golden opportunity for football program
Envision this.
Kicker Ron Coluzzi nails a field goal right through the uprights and then becomes buried by men in maroon jerseys at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Simultaneously, Central Michigan fans storm the field in jubilation.
The Chippewas have defeated a top 25 team in Northern Illinois.
It would be a moment etched into the history of CMU football.
The Chippewas would be on their way back to the golden era with a win against a team that did what no other Mid-American Conference team had ever done by reaching a BCS bowl last year.
Even in the Dan LeFevour era, a Top 25 team was not beaten by CMU.
Head coach Dan Enos, the assistant coaches and the players must be fantasizing about taking advantage of the golden opportunity in front of them this weekend.
It is not like something somewhat close to this scenario has not happened before.
By now, everyone knows the Huskies' last conference loss was came against CMU and they have not won at Kelly/Shorts Stadium since 2005.
So it could happen. It is difficult to say it will, though.
The win against Ohio could have been a fluke.
Enos’ program is not above the scenario of one big win in a season that features futility down the stretch.
After all, the last time the Chippewas beat the Huskies was in 2011, when CMU finished the year 3-9.
That's why the game is so important. The team must be able to show that the Ohio game was not an anomaly.
Another reason is because there will be so many Chippewa fans fixated on the game.
I mean, who actually watched the Iowa game last year?
It was on the Big Ten Network, which some people still do not get in their cable package, while the NIU game is at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. That it's homecoming will only add to the number of attendees.
Those in attendance need something to remember, something good to bring them back to watch another game and give them evidence to confidently say this program is going in the right direction.
It is Enos' fourth year as head coach. The fourth season is known as one that coaches, including his friend Mark Dantonio, take big steps forward. A victory against No. 23 NIU after a big win at Ohio last week would be as big of a step as any.
Contact Jeff Papworth: jeffpapworth@ymail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffPapworth.
