Scouting Report: Breaking down the Blue Hose
Courtesy of The Clinton Chronicle.
Central Michigan's path toward a Mid-American Conference championship and bowl game appearance will begin on Sept. 1 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
CMU will face off against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent in Presbyterian, which finished 2-9 last season. The Chippewas have not lost to an FCS school since 2007, when South Dakota State beat CMU 44-14 in Mount Pleasant.
"We don't differentiate between FCS, Power Five, MAC or anybody else," said head coach John Bonamego. "It's about committing to the process and coming out here every single day and making ourselves better."
Presbyterian featured a run-heavy offense last season, gaining 1,493 yards rushing on 441 attempts and scoring 13 touchdowns.
Junior running back Darrell Bridges led the team with 1,065 rushing yards in 2015. Bridges is the Big South Conference's top returning rusher from last season.
CMU's defense ranked third-best in the MAC in rushing defense, allowing 139.2 yards per game in 2015.
The defense returns most of its starters from last year's team, which was the 16th best among Football Bowl Subdivision teams in terms of total defense.
"We've got to stop the run," Bonamego said. "We have to get people off the field on defense and have to finish drives and score points."
Senior quarterback Cooper Rush is coming off an improved season where he passed for a single-season school record of 3,848 yards. He also threw 25 touchdowns.
The Lansing Catholic graduate has been named to watch lists for both best quarterback and player in the country.
Presbyterian has a middle-of-the-pack passing defense in the Big South Conference allowing 165.2 yards per game, ranking fourth out of six teams.
When the Blue Hose played MAC East team Miami (OH) last season, they surrendered 261 yards passing and a touchdown pass to the RedHawks' offense.
The Chippewas leaned heavily on their passing attack throughout last year, and will attempt to take advantage of openings in the Presbyterian defense.
Presbyterian struggled passing the ball last season, finishing last in the conference with 902 yards.
If the Chippewas can slow down the Blue Hose's running game and build an early lead, Presbyterian will be forced to pass the ball more than it might be used to.
Where to watch/listen:
If you're unable to make to Kelly/Shorts Stadium for the game, there a few ways to still catch the action.
The game can be watched on ESPN 3, and can be heard on WUPS-FM 98.5 Houghton Lake, WXYT-AM 1270 Detroit, WLUN-FM 100.9 Midland, WJRW-AM 1340 Grand Rapids, WLAW-FM 92.5 Muskegon, WJML-AM 1110 Petoskey and WJNL-AM 1210 Traverse City.
