CMU Football regular season report card
A regular season record of 7-5 is the highest mark during the Dan Enos era of Central Michigan University football. The Chippewas were in the running for a Mid-American Conference West Division Title until a few late-season losses.
The regular season grades are in. Here is how I graded the Chippewas efforts this season.
Quarterback
There was a quarterback controversy during spring practice between sophomore Cooper Rush and senior Cody Kater.
Rush won the job, and started every game for CMU in 2014.
The Charlotte-native finished the season with 20 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and completed 63.8 percent of his passes.
Rush threw for at least 200 yards in his final eight games and threw more than one interception in a game just twice in 2014.
While Rush didn’t singlehandedly win many games for CMU, he didn’t lose any for the Chippewas, either.
Grade: A-
Running back:
Senior Thomas Rawls highlighted the 2014 class of running backs, especially to start the season.
Rawls ran for 120 yards or more in five of his first six games, but struggled after suffering a leg injury on Oct. 25 at Buffalo.
When Rawls went out, junior Saylor Lavallii and true freshman Devon Spalding were impressive, leading CMU to three straight victories.
Final Grade: B
Wide Receiver
Senior wide receiver Titus Davis was like that smart kid in a group project, propelling this squad’s grade.
Davis’ 54 receptions, 843 yards and nine touchdowns in 2014 moves him into first all-time in CMU history with 33 touchdowns and second in yardage with 3,563.
Davis finished third in receiving yards per game in the MAC and fourth in receptions per game.
Junior Jesse Kroll surfaced as Davis battled a knee injury, but only managed 87 yards in his final five games.
Rush was able to spread around the ball among his receivers, but Davis was the only truly reliable pass-catcher for the Chippewas in 2014.
Final Grade: B
Offensive line
The CMU offensive line returned 91 starts in 2014.
The line’s biggest accomplishment was helping Lavallii and Spalding each rush for over 100 yards at Eastern Michigan University and blocking for Spalding against Miami (Ohio) when the freshman ran for 147 yards.
They allowed 24 sacks, good enough for 61st in the nation. Many of the sacks led to Rush fumbles and a shift in momentum.
The Chippewa offensive line was better than average, but with the amount of returning starters, they underachieved overall.
Final Grade: B-
Defensive line:
Enos said the defense in 2014 was the best he’s had in his time at CMU.
The defense was led by junior defensive end Blake Serpa and senior defensive tackle Leterrius Walton.
CMU led the MAC in fewest rushing yards, fewest passing yards and fewest total yards allowed.
The defensive line was the strongest Chippewa unit and should be a strength again in 2015, with three of the four starters returning.
Final Grade: A
Special teams:
Only UMass and Buffalo had fewer field goals in 2014 than CMU’s eight, although no team had fewer opportunities than CMU’s 11.
Freshman walk-on kicker Brian Eavey replaced junior Ron Coluzzi, making eight of his nine field goal attempts.
Returning punts, Davis looked explosive with a long punt return in the season opener but didn’t return any for the rest of the season after suffering his leg injury.
Freshman Amari Coleman had flashes of brilliance, but had perhaps the gaffe of the year fumbling a punt in the fourth quarter against Western Michigan University in the regular season-finale.
Final Grade: C
Coaching Staff:
Head Coach Dan Enos and his staff had one shot at dominance in the MAC West with playmakers in Rawls and Davis.
Yet the Chippewas finished in the middle of the pack.
While claiming the running back time was going to be shared, they allowed Rawls to carry the load when he was hot and milk the clock at the end of games.
Personnel wise, the coaching staff succedded. No
