Rawls and Davis: CMU's dynamic duo
Every team has at least one player that is head and shoulders above the competition.
As we learned on Saturday afternoon at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, the Central Michigan University football team has two.
Seniors Titus Davis and Thomas Rawls put on a show against Ohio. Right out of the gate, Davis blew past OU defenders and lit up the scoreboard.
Rawls got off to a slightly slower start, but ended up being the difference maker in a win that saved CMU’s championship dreams, effectively keeping head coach Dan Enos off the hot seat for the time being.
Rawls and Davis were a perfect one-two punch for the Chippewas Saturday. Against Toledo, both men had underwhelming performances.
This makes sense, given Davis’ nagging leg injury and Rawls’ off-the-field distractions just days before CMU’s most recent loss.
For the first time all season, the tandem CMU talents played to nearly their full potential.
Davis and Rawls seemed somehow connected Saturday afternoon. The wavelength they shared floated high above both Bobcat defenders and the team’s critics around the conference.
The two men have distinctly different personalities. Davis is a silent leader. A stone face and straight-forward approach has earned him the respect of his teammates and fans.
Rawls likes to talk. A lot.
I was in the room when Rawls learned he had broken career records on Saturday. His grin could have stretched from here to Ann Arbor and back.
When asked if he and Davis had established themselves as the best one-two punch in the MAC, Rawls replied “Who else?”
With CMU’s two most talked about athletes playing at an equally as high and incredibly advanced level, a MAC title seems a legitimate possibility for the first time in a long time.
This is the first time CMU played with confidence from beginning to end since the wheels fell off three weeks ago.
Rawls and Davis are both mostly healthy and happy. The rest of CMU’s schedule is stuffed with very beatable teams.
Let’s hope our two guys keep it up. If it was not clear before, there is no question now.
As Davis and Rawls go, so goes the 2014 season.
