First big test: Jim McElwain, Central Michigan ready to visit No. 17 Wisconsin
Central Michigan running back Jonathan Ward bursts through the line of scrimmage against Albany August 29 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Jim McElwain is no stranger to big football games.
He has coached in national championships, Southeastern Conference titles and rivalry games – just to name a few different settings.
The first-year head man for Central Michigan has also faced games as an underdog.
As the Chippewas (1-0) prepare for their second game of the season, they will face the arguably the greatest test they have this season.
CMU's on the road against nationally ranked Wisconsin.
Just as the Chippewas won their season opener, the No. 17 Badgers did the same on the road against South Florida. The disparity between Wisconsin and South Florida was highlighted on the scoreboard as the visitors took home a dominant 49-0 victory.
Wisconsin was led by running back Jonathan Taylor, who ran for 135 yards and two scores against the Bulls. He added two receiving scores on two catches. Taylor, an early favorite for the Heisman Trophy, is a major force in the backfield for an offense that will aim to wreak havoc for the Chippewas.
"I hope he doesn't try to win the Heisman in our game," McElwain said of Taylor. "He's an unbelievable player, but I like our guys."
Back in 2012, McElwain began his tenure at Colorado State with a major rivalry game, the annual in-state clash against Colorado. The Rams won the Rocky Mountain Showdown, 22-17.
After leaving Fort Collins, Colorado in 2014, McElwain made the 1,783-mile voyage to Gainesville, Florida to be the head coach for the Gators after their tumultuous time with Will Muschamp.
One of McElwain's first big games was Week 4 at home against rival Tennessee. Gator fans will likely forever remember Antonio Callaway curling back toward quarterback Will Grier and turning upfield for a 63-yard touchdown with just over a minute to play. A missed field goal as time expired gave Florida the 28-27 win over the Volunteers.
However, the next game could be argued as the biggest game of the season and the first real test for McElwain's No. 25 Gators. Mississippi was coming off a win over top-ranked Alabama and was ranked third heading into the showdown in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Grier, who had the flu throughout that week as did some 20 other players, threw four touchdown passes, including a 77-yard dump-off to Brandon Powell, who streaked down the Rebel sideline for a touchdown. The Gators scored 25 unanswered points in the first half and went on to win 38-10 for McElwain's signature victory during his time in Gainesville.
"You don't downplay it," McElwain said after the Oct. 4 game. "That was a good football team we beat. That was really a good football team, and our guys took it to them."
That night four years ago, Florida was a 7-point underdog at home. As Central Michigan goes to Madison, Wisconsin, for the 3:30 kickoff Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, it will do so as a 34-point underdog.
CMU has an extra two days to prepare for the Badgers, as its season opener against Albany was on a Thursday. McElwain said that more time is huge, especially for a game like this.
"You have some extra time to think about going to play Wisconsin, which is no small task," McElwain said. "Every time you watch them, you see how physical they are. It's one of those things where you wish you had a short week, so you don't have as much time to roll around at night thinking about how you're going to do it."
Outside of Taylor, who is the reigning Doak Walker Award winner, the Badger offense is strong. Quarterback Jack Coan made four starts at quarterback last season when Alex Hornibrook went down to injury and transferred to Florida State, and Wisconsin struggled. Now, Coan is the main man for the offense – because it is his team now, yet he is young.
That said, stopping Taylor will be difficult for the Chippewa defense. Slowing him down will be a chore, too. Defensive coordinator Robb Akey and company could likely try to force Coan in the passing game and hope he makes mistakes.
"We're up for the challenge," said CMU senior safety Da'Quaun Jamison. "Wisconsin is a really disciplined team. They're not flashy at all. They do what they want to do and stick to it, and we're looking for a physical battle up front."
The Chippewas will have to deal with some massive student-athletes on both the offensive and defensive lines. All of Wisconsin's starting offensive linemen weigh over 300 pounds, while the defensive linemen are all over 290.
For the defense, discipline will play paramount in trying to contain Wisconsin's offense.
The offense will probably try to spread the ball around, just in hopes of putting points on the scoreboard. Running the ball will be tough with the Badger boys upfront.
Senior graduate transfer quarterback Quinten Dormady was able to spread the ball around to eight different receivers in the opener, going 27-of-37 through the air for 285 yards and three touchdowns. McElwain said he was pleased with the way his quarterback played against the Great Danes.
"Quinten did a good job distributing the ball," he said. "I was more excited that we had eight receivers catch passes. In doing that, it's going to help us in the long run."
McElwain also stressed the need for CMU to tighten up ball security in having four fumbles (three lost) against Albany. Although senior running back Jonathan Ward had a nice game rushing for 158 yards, he lost the ball twice trying to fight for extra yards.
"I thought (Ward) ran it extremely hard," McElwain said. "He's a talented player. It has to do more with him getting extra (yards) rather than the true ball security it takes on every play. He'll get the ball security piece cleaned up."
Central Michigan @ No. 17 Wisconsin
Date: Sept. 7, 2019
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT
Stadium: Camp Randall Stadium
Lccation: Madison, Wisconsin
Odds: Wisconsin -35
Over/Under: 51.5
TV: Big Ten Network (Lisa Byington and J Leman)
Radio: 98.5 WUPS (Don Chiodo, Brock Gutierrez and Adam Jaksa)
