Turnovers doom CMU foobtall in GameAbove Sports Bowl
Chippewas turn the ball over four times in blowout loss to Northwestern
Central Michigan redshirt senior linebacker Dakota Cochran tackles Northwestern redshirt sophomore wide receiver Rickey Ahumaraeze during the GameAbove Sports Bowl between Central Michigan University and Northwestern University at Ford Field in Detroit, on Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. Cochran had five tackles in the game. (CM-Life| Mark Hoover)
For the final time this season, Central Michigan football took the turf, this time for the GameAbove Sports Bowl against the Wildcats of Northwestern at Ford Field in Detroit.
After a tight, scoreless first quarter in which both defenses shined, several consecutive turnovers in the second quarter from the Chippewas allowed Northwestern to blow the game wide open. In the end, the mistakes on offense were too much for Central Michigan to overcome, and the Chippewas fell 34-7, officially bringing the season to a close.
“ Just give Northwestern a ton of credit,” head coach Matt Drinkall said. “Those guys did an unbelievable job today. They have a first class team and program and organization. I thought they played a really, really good football game today."
The Chippewas came into the bowl game having finished the regular season with a 7-5 overall record and a 5-3 record in Mid-American Conference play, earning their 16th ever postseason berth and first since 2021. In its last time out bowling, Central Michigan won the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl against Washington State.
“For our kids today, if you'd have told us a year ago… to knock out seven wins and get to be playing after Christmas in a bowl game in Ford Field is a pretty good situation,” Drinkall said.
The bowl game appearance marked the first for Drinkall as the head coach of a football program. Drinkall took over the program from Jim McElwain and led the team to its best record since that 2021 season.
After missing bowl eligibility last season, Northwestern came into the game after a regular season that ended with a 6-6 record and a 4-5 record in Big Ten conference play to earn a bid.
The first quarter was a defensive slugfest on both sides of the ball. From the first play from scrimmage, Central Michigan’s defensive unit made its presence felt. A stop on fourth-and-one by the Chippewas, led by linebacker Jordan Kwiakowski, set up the offense with excellent field position at the Wildcat's 33-yard line.
Northwestern’s defense, however, began the game strong as well. A sack on third down from the Wildcat defense kept Central Michigan out of the end zone, and a missed field goal from kicker Cade Graham left the game tied at zero at the end of five minutes.
Both teams traded blows for the rest of the first quarter without finding any points. Neither team’s offense was able to move the ball downfield more than 15 yards in a drive, hindered by sacks. At the end of the first, Northwestern had gotten to the quarterback twice and Central once.
At the 8:01 mark of the second quarter, Northwestern came up with a huge interception, picking off quarterback Angel Flores who was in his first game back from an injury that had sidelined him since the end of October.
Set up on the CMU 29-yard line, the Wildcats only needed three plays to find the end zone. As a pass from quarterback Preston Stone found its target, wide receiver Griffin Wilde, Northwestern was able to put up the first points of the game.
On the first play of Central’s next drive, Northwestern’s defense forced another turnover. This time, quarterback Joe Labas was sacked and the ball was knocked out of his hands and jumped on by a Wildcat at the CMU 18-yard line. Northwestern again converted on the good field position, this time with a rushing touchdown from running back Caleb Komolafe.
With 3:38 left in the half, Central Michigan needed something to go right on offense to avoid going into the break down big. Instead, yet another fumble on the first play of the drive by Labas allowed Northwestern to tack on seven more, ballooning the lead to 21-0 at halftime.
Central Michigan’s turnover problems continued into the second half. Just five plays into the third quarter, Flores fumbled the ball for his second turnover of the game. Northwestern picked up the ball and returned it to the end zone for a scoop-and-score, increasing the lead to 27-0.
The Wildcats added another touchdown with 2:31 left in the third quarter, and the defense continued to suffocate the Chippewas, who were still scoreless at the start of the fourth.
Central Michigan finally broke through with 6:11 left in the game, courtesy of a touchdown pass from Labas to running back Brock Townsend. Central Michigan added an interception from cornerback Kalen Carroll in the fourth, but it was too late.
Central Michigan finished the game having committed four total turnovers. Before Saturday, the Chippewas had only given the ball up a total of 12 times over the season.
“They didn't do one single thing that we didn't prepare for, and we had good practice,” Drinkall said. “We just didn't execute really well. We talk about that all the time, how important that is. It was frustrating to watch it go that way outside of those four snaps because the rest of the time we played really hard and played really well.”
Offensively, Labas finished with 178 passing yards. Running back Trey Cornist led the team in rushing yards with 66. The wide receiver room was led by Langston Lewis, who finished with 83 yards.
Kwiatkowski, who is a senior and played in his final game as a Chippewa, reflected after the game about what this season has meant to him.
“Looking back a year ago when we didn't even know where this thing was gonna go and you just really reflect, you just gotta be grateful,” Kwiatkowski said. “A lot of outsiders, they doubted us. They weren't even expecting us to win five games. So, for us to do this with these seniors and then these guys, and kind of help Coach Drinkall and the staff and this university get a good kickstart at the future of this program, there's nothing better.”
While the game left what was described by the players as a “sour taste”, Drinkall believes Central Michigan football is moving forward as a program.
“It was so cool to see the entire stadium filled with Central Michigan fans,” Drinkall said. “The word I've used is renewed. It looks like there's a renewed spark and interest with our fan base, with our alumni, with our players, with the state. … I know today did not go the way we wanted it to, but there are things trending in the right direction.”
