For the first time since 2021 Central Michigan football will be playing in the post season as the Chippewas have accepted their bid to the 2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl against Northwestern.

The game takes place in CMU's backyard on Dec. 26 as the maroon and gold will head down to play at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan at 1 p.m.

"We were really excited for about a million different reasons about being here," CMU head coach Matt Drinkall said. "It's in our home state of Michigan which is unbelievable, and our alumni footprint in the Detroit area is massive, so for a lot of our alumni and family and friends of the program to be able to bump right over to the game is going to be a great experience."

The Chippewas come into the postseason boasting a 7-5 record after a turnaround season captained by first year head coach Matt Drinkall as well as the many upperclassmen who chose to stay with the program after the departure of former coach Jim McElwain.

"This senior class is incredibly personal to me I got hired here and we started up operations really in mid-January," Drinkall said. "The portal opened two times with this group of seniors in it, and the ones that stayed had two different opportunities to leave."

Meet the opponent

The Wildcats enter this bowl game in their third year under head coach David Braun, who has upkept the programs tradition of frequent bowl play as Northwestern has landed in a bowl game 13 times in the last 20 years.

The Wildcats enter the game 6-6, coming off of a close 20-13 loss to in-state foe Illinois during rivalry week.

However, the squad from Evanston always seems to find its rhythm in the postseason as the Wildcats will enter Dec. 26 on a five game bowl win streak.

"The week leading up to it is just fantastic and an awesome experience for our guys," Drinkall said. "The matchup with a Big Ten opponent and coach Braun's team, a team that's historical and a team that just plays really great in the post season, that has been great for us."

Northwestern intends to make this game a clash of strengths as the Chippewas physical ground game has been as much of a staple for CMU as the Wildcats rush defense has been for NU.

"This is a great matchup because it is going to be very physical," Drinkall said. "If you like football this is going to be a game you are going to want to watch for sure."

The squad in purple has only allowed 200 yards on the ground twice this season against Tulane and Michigan, and has held teams to 140 rushing yards per game.

"When you watch Northwestern on film... when you look at their team this year, you have to go back to the middle of October to find a game that they either did not win or wasn't a one possession game at the end," Drinkall said.

The defensive success for the Wildcats stems largely from the units defensive line, led by senior lineman Aidan Hubbard, who has totaled 4.5 sacks for the Wildcats.

Offensively, Northwestern closely mirrors the Chippewas with a strong and physical ground attack akin to what you would expect from a midwestern opponent.

"I chuckled a little bit when he [Coach Braun] said this game would be like looking in a mirror," Drinkall said. "You knew exactly when you drew him in the bowl game I was like 'aw man I already know what this film is going to look like before I turn it on,' and then you turn it on and it reaffirms everything."

Keys to victory

All eyes will be on Central Michigan's defense as the unit prepares to face off against Northwestern quarterback Preston Stone.

Throughout the season, Stone has proven to be poised and accurate when in rhythm, but multiple games this season he has also shown to be extremely accident prone when the offensive rhythm is disrupted.

While only throwing a respectable 12 interceptions on the season, 11 of those interceptions came in four games where the offense experienced a meltdown, resulting in a loss in all four games.

Quarterback Joe Labas will be another crucial key for the Chippewas as he will see his first power five defense since the contest with Michigan back in September.

This game is expected to be a mirror match stylistically and whichever team is able to establish their offensive identity first will likely be the team wearing GameAbove Sports champion apparel when the game concludes.

Central Michigan (7-5) vs. Northwestern (6-4)

Time: 1:00 ET

Date: Friday, December 26

Stadium: Ford Field

Location: Detroit, Michigan

TV: ESPN