Central Michigan football will head back out on the road again this weekend for its ninth game of the season after having two straight wins against Mid-American Conference opponents.

This week, the Chippewas head down to Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan in their annual Battle for the Victory Cannon Trophy.

For offensive coordinator Jim Chapin and his team, the focus this week in practice has been on adjusting to a new opponent and on the details needed for the team to win.

“ Western presents new challenges with personnel, with scheme, and of course, we have guys that are hurt with no Angel (Flores), and so we pivot to what we need to do to win,” Chapin said. “We just focus our attention on, as they say, winners win because that's what winners do, and focusing our attention on all the factors that are gonna help us win. So not getting lost in the big picture, but focusing on the details that are gonna contribute to success.”

Central Michigan has won its last two games and is coming off a win against the University of Massachusetts on homecoming weekend. Western Michigan lost its first MAC game last weekend, falling to Miami (OH).

Last season, the Chippewas hosted the Broncos and came out of the scrum with a 16-14 victory, returning the Victory Cannon Trophy to Mount Pleasant. A win on Saturday would mark the first time since 2010 that Central Michigan would have won back-to-back games against its rival.

The game on Saturday also has MAC standings and bowl eligibility implications for Central Michigan. The Chippewas currently sit with an overall record of 5-3 and need just one more win on the season to qualify for their first bowl game since 2021.

Finally, Central and Western Michigan are tied in the conference standings, both with 3-1 records against fellow MAC teams, so a win for either team bumps the other down the rankings.

Meet the opponent

The Broncos come into the game tied with CMU and two other teams for second place in the MAC with a 3-1 record, giving the game serious implications for the conference championship.

WMU is led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Broc Lowry, who has proven to be a versatile threat, totaling 1,164 yards and 6 touchdowns through the air as well as 509 yards and an additional 7 touchdowns on the ground.

Western Michigan has found its identity in dominating the ground game defensively, limiting its opponents to only 117 rushing yards per game, making the rivalry match-up a battle of strength versus strength as CMU enters the game second in rushing offense in the MAC.

"Every week is a new defense, it's like Groundhog Day where you wake up and you do it all over again," Chapin said.

However, CMU will be without leading rusher Angel Flores for the game.

"Joe is a senior captain, and he is ready for this," Chapin said. "He has earned this stage, he has worked so hard for this, and he has played so well this year. The guys have nothing but support for him."

Western Michigan’s defense has much improved since the beginning of the season, leading the MAC in sacks with 28 on the season.

It is important that the squad in maroon and gold stays disciplined, as WMU also remains the least penalized team in the conference.

Keys to victory

One key thing to look out for in Saturday’s matchup is how CMU’s rushing offense performs against the Broncos.

Coming into the game, the Chippewas rank 25th in the country in rushing attack, averaging 201.6 yards per game on the ground. Western, however, ranks 29th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing opponents an average of just 117 yards per game from the rush.

For Central Michigan to be successful, it needs to find a way to either get the run game going or jumpstart a passing attack that is ranked towards the bottom of both the MAC and the country.

A big factor to watch for Central Michigan’s ground game will be how it performs without its lead rusher. As mentioned before, the Chippewas will be without quarterback Angel Flores this weekend as he deals with an injury. Flores currently leads the team on the ground in total rushing yards with 519 and most rushing touchdowns with eight.

Without Flores in the lineup, the team will turn fully to Joe Labas, the other quarterback in the starting lineup.

Lastly, as it has been in the past, starting quickly could be of benefit to the Chippewas. In each of its five wins this season, Central Michigan jumped out to an early lead over its opponents in the first half. In the losses they have had this year, the team hasn’t displayed the same success.

Chapin, however, wants his team to stay focused no matter how the game begins.

“Going into the game, we know that we want to be aggressive and swing and play our brand of football,” Chapin said. “But we also know that no matter what the start is, even if we punt on every possession for the first half, we can still go win the game. So our guys, it's just one play at a time. They hear a play call, and they go execute an assignment with relentless violence.”

Going into his first coaching experience of this historic rivalry, Chapin knows how much this game means to both the Central Michigan and Mount Pleasant community, and he says the team is going to play this game for them.

Preview: CMU football prepares for rivalry game against Western Michigan

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