Preview: CMU welcomes Akron to Kelly Shorts for homecoming
EMU junior Austin Smith (4) attempts to break away from CMU redshirt sophomore Quindario Lee (99) during the play, Saturday, Sept. 30, in Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The Chippewas won the game, with the final score being 26-23. (Central Michigan Life | Rebecca Particka)
After a crushing loss a week ago, Central Michigan football looks to bounce back in an important game where the university celebrates homecoming as the Chippewas welcome Akron to Kelly/Shorts stadium for the first time since 2019.
“Well, obviously very disappointing game (at Buffalo),” head coach Jim McElwain said. “We're really looking forward to getting home and in obviously homecoming game, which means a lot and I know the guys are hungry to get that taste out of their mouth from a week ago.”
Last year the Chippewas were able to pull out the victory against the Zips in dramatic fashion as the defense returned a fumbled for a touchdown in the final two minutes of play. The victory gave CMU its second-consecutive victory against Akron along with the Chippewas winning nine of the last 10.
Against Buffalo, CMU was blown out by a score of 37-13. In the game the Chippewas turned the ball over four times, with two of them being returned by touchdowns.
Along with turnovers, the CMU offense had eight drops along with seven penalties. The loss brought the Chippewas to 3-3 on the season along with being 1-1 in Mid-American Conference play.
“There was an awful quiet locker room, bus ride, and even Sunday meal, and in Monday’s team meeting, I think they realized the opportunity that they let slip away,” McElwain said.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jase Bauer has had a stellar season up until last week accounting for three of the turnovers through interceptions. However, the team's performance doesn’t seem to have caused worry for McElwain.
“Having played the position myself, when you win you get too much credit, when you lose you get too much blame," McElwain said. "And, in this case, it was pretty easy to show the pieces around him not doing what they were supposed to do or quite simply not doing their job.”
Meet the opponent
Akron has had less than ideal start to the season as through six games the Zips are 1-5 and are coming off a big loss against Northern Illinois, 55-14.
But for Akron, its record does not reflect the team that it is. The Zips have had a hard time finishing games with three of its five losses coming by three points or less along with two of the games being overtime losses.
“It may not look like it from a record standpoint but go back and look at the scores and look at the games that they're one possession away from winning,” McElwain said on Akron’s season.
For the Zips, they will be without senior dual threat quarterback DJ Irons who tore his ACL against Buffalo two weeks ago. Irons leads the team in passing yards but also rushing attempts. In last year’s matchup with CMU, Irons threw for 255 yards and a touchdown while also adding a touchdown on the ground.
In place of Irons will be sophomore Tahj Bullock who received his first start last week. In his start, he completed 54 percent of his passes for 145 yards, while adding a touchdown and an interception each. Similar to Irons, Bullock is a dual threat quarterback as he had 21 carries for 41-yards.
Key to victory
The key to victory this week for CMU is getting a quick start, along with limiting turnovers. Last week, the Chippewas found themselves in a 10-0 deficit early and could not find its way back from it.
“You look at the previous two wins, we had zero drops, we had one turnover, we had six hurries, and we had one penalty," McElwain said. "Those are in two games combined.”
As long as CMU can play a clean game of football, it should find itself back in the win column. During the two-game win streak the Chippewas averaged 30 points a game compared to the 13 they scored in last week’s loss.
Along with the quick start and limiting turnovers, CMU needs to establish a run game as last week the Chippewas only rushed for 80 yards in the game, compared to its season average of 148 yards per game.
Establishing a run game takes a lot of pressure off the quarterback as it helps open up the passing game. This will be big for Bauer who is coming off his first bad game of the season.
The details:
Central Michigan (3-3, 1-1) versus Akron (1-5, 0-2)
All-time series: Central Michigan 18-10-1
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Date: Saturday, Oct. 14
Stadium: Kelly/Shorts Stadium
Location: Mount Pleasant
TV: ESPN +
