Preview: CMU football looks to kickstart the Drinkall era against San Jose State
The Central Michigan University football team plays in a spring game that they host for the first time since 2018 in Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday, April 12, 2025. The team is divided into team Deromedi and team Kramer for the game. (CM Life | Jasmine Brookins)
With the long off-season finally coming to an end, Friday marks the beginning of a new era for Central Michigan football, its first under head coach Matt Drinkall. The Chippewas travel out west to California to take on San Jose State at 10:30 p.m. ET.
"I am so excited about the game Friday because, when you are going against coach Niumatalolo, he is going to have hired a great staff, he is going to have awesome team culture and they're going to play unbelievably hard," Drinkall said. "You are going to find out in game one, right now, where you are at and that is going to be a great barometer."
The game marks the first of a three-game streak of out-of-conference road games, which the Chippewas struggled with last season, going 0-6 on the road under head coach Jim McElwain.
"We are going to be road dogs and go all the way to California, then bus to Pittsburgh, then come back in our home state against Michigan," Drinkall said. "It is going to be fun, that is the fun part of college football."
Meet the opponent
SJSU comes into the matchup following a 7-6 overall record in its 2024 season. The Spartans had up-and-down results in games against fellow Mountain West opponents, leading the squad to finish 3-4 in conference play.
The team from California is led by head coach Ken Niumatalolo who enters his second season as the teams head coach.
Looking to build on last years record, San Jose State will look to senior quarterback Walker Eget who threw 2,504 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season despite missing the first three games of the season.
The Spartans retain a majority of its experience from 2024, returning 57% of the teams total production, slightly more than the 53% that CMU was able to retain.
Keys to victory
Offensively, the path to victory comes through the air as SJSU's secondary is depleted as three of the squads top contributors depart from the team.
Spartan safety Isiah Revis returns for his senior year, but will be surrounded by mostly new faces, making the secondary a potential weak spot for San Jose State's defense.
CMU's ability to stay multidimensional will be essential, with returning veteran quarterback Joe Labas leading a revamped Chippewa offense.
"We love our quarterback room right now from top to bottom," Drinkall said. "We feel really, that out of every position group that is the one where we are maybe blessed the most."
The Central Michigan defense will be in charge of keeping Eget in check, but with SJSU losing triple crown winning receiver Nick Nash to the 2024 National Football League's draft, the Spartan's offensive production has a chance to take a notable step back.
If the Chippewas are able to control the pace of the game against a high powered San Jose State offense, it could start the Matt Drinkall era in Mount Pleasant with an early statement victory.
Central Michigan (0-0) vs. San Jose State (0-0)
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT
Date: Friday, Aug 29
Stadium: CEFCU Stadium
Location: San Jose, California
TV: FS1
