Central Michigan vs. Ball State: Exciting MAC Showdown in Muncie

2023-10-18 00:45:54

By: Greg Hotchkiss

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GAME EIGHT • CENTRAL MICHIGAN (4-3, 2-1 MAC) AT BALL STATE (1-6, 0-3 MAC)
Game Eight/Fourth MAC Game • Saturday, October 21, 2023 • 3:30 p.m. ET
Scheumann Stadium (22,500) • Muncie, Ind.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON MATCHUP

Television: ESPN+ (Jim Barbar, pbp; Charles Arbuckle, analyst; Producer: BradenPretzsch).

Chippewa Sports Radio Network: Adam Jaksa, play-by-play; Brock Gutierrez, color analyst; spotter: Steve Powers; sidelines/engineer: Riley Edwards.

Live Stats: visit

CMU Social Media: Twitter (@cmu_football); Facebook (@cmufootball); Instagram (cmufootball); Website: www.cmuchippewas.com.

Coaches: CMU-Jim McElwain, 5th year at CMU (28-24), 11th year overall (72-51), 38th year in coaching. Ball State- Mike Neu, 8th year at BSU (34-54), 14th year overall (88-99).

Series: CMU and Ball State meet for the 56th time in series history with the series deadlocked at 27-27-1. Central Michigan has won each of the last four consecutive games played in Muncie since 2013 and Ball State has won three straight in Mount Pleasant. CMU is 15-13 all-time vs. Ball State in Muncie.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN GAME NOTES

THE ESSENTIALS

Central Michigan (4-3, 2-1 MAC) plays its eighth overall and fourth Mid-American Conference contest when it travels to Ball State (1-6, 0-3 MAC) for the final Saturday game of its 122nd season of college football. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET at Scheumann Stadium.

WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME

The game will be live streamed on ESPN+ with Jim Barbar (play-by-play) and Charles Arbuckle (color analyst) calling action. Braden Pretzwill handle production.

WHERE TO LISTEN TO THE GAME

Fans can also listen to the Chippewa Sports Radio Network broadcast presented by Fabiano Brothers. Adam Jaksa (play-by-play) and former Central Michigan/NFL player and CMU Athletic Hall of Famer Brock Gutierrez (color analyst) call action on the seven-station network (Mount Pleasant, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Petoskey, Traverse City) and  nationally on the Varsity Network app. Coverage begins with a one-hour pre-game show.

TODAY’S TOP STORYLINES

•With a victory on Saturday, Central Michigan would start MAC play with a 3-1 record for the first time since it began a year with a 4-1 record in 2019.

•All four Central Michigan wins this year have come in close  fashion as all four games were decided by seven points or less.

•Central Michigan enters the game on a four-game win streak vs. Ball State in games played in Muncie.

•Head Coach Jim McElwain has guided the Chippewas to two bowl games (2019 New Mexico Bowl and 2021 Sun Bowl) and two winning seasons in each of the past three full years.

ABOUT THE CHIPPEWAS

Central Michigan (4-3, 2-1 MAC) travels to Muncie, Ind. and Scheumann Stadium to take on Ball State (1-6, 0-3 MAC) on Saturday, Oct. 21 for its eighth game of the year and fourth MAC contest.

The Chippewas find themselves in a three-way tie for second place in the MAC West Division with Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois with identical 2-1 league records. The three teams are all one game behind undefeated Toledo (3-0).

A win at Ball State would give Central Michigan a 3-1 start for the first time since 2019 and put CMU within striking distance of a MAC West Division title. After Saturday, three of CMU’s last four games are once morest MAC West Division foes. The Chippewas have already defeated Eastern Michigan (26-23), host Northern Illinois on Oct. 31, play at Western Michigan on Nov. 7, and close out the regular season once morest Toledo in their final regular season game on Nov. 24. CMU also plays at Ohio on Nov. 15.

With its four victories in seven games, Central Michigan has already matched its win total from the 2022 season. Central Michigan needs two more victories to become bowl eligible for the third time in four years under Head Coach Jim McElwain.

Central Michigan enters Saturday’s game coming off a defensive-oriented 17-10 home victory over Akron on Homecoming. CMU’s defense held Akron to season opponent lows for total yards (193), first downs (10), held the Zips to 3-13 on third downs, and intercepted a season-best two passes in registering the victory. CMU’s defense also applied pressure as it totaled nine quarterback hurries, broke up six passes, registered one sack and one forced fumble with 5.0 tackles for loss for 28 yards.

CMU tied the game at 3-3 right before halftime when placekicker Tristan Mattson converted a school and stadium record 58-yard field goal. The field goal fueled the Chippewas and changed the momentum of the game. In the third quarter, the Chippewas took the lead, 10-3, when Jase Bauer scored on a 5-yard run, then used a time-draining 18-play, 76-yard drive spanning 9:36 to take a commanding 17-3 lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by Myles Bailey with 1:01 left in the third quarter. CMU’s defense held Akron off the rest of the way as the victory improved Central Michigan to a perfect 3-0 at home this year.

Bauer, in his fourth start of the year and third consecutive, accumulated 242 total yards (181 passing, 61 rushing), carried a career-high 20 times for 61 yards with a touchdown and completed 53 percent (17-32) of his passes for 181 yards.

Central Michigan is hoping to erase the memory of a 2022 season which saw it finish 4-8 overall and 3-5 in the Mid-American Conference. The Chippewas finished No. 129 in the nation out of 130 teams in turnover margin (-1.50), 128th nationally in turnovers lost (28) and 130th in fumbles lost (18). During the season, the 2022 Chippewas also lost the majority of their playmakers on offense due to injuries, including two of their top wide receivers, an NFL bound tight end (Joel Wilson) and their top three running backs. Still, Central Michigan had an opportunity to become bowl eligible late in the season and had several opportunities to get to six wins.

Last season’s results were a drastic change from the course that Head Coach Jim McElwain has put the Chippewas on since his arrival in 2019. In his first year guiding the program in 2019, he took over a team that finished 1-11 and 0-8 in MAC play and led the Chippewas to one of the nation’s top turnarounds, an 8-6 record, 6-2 in the MAC with a berth in the 2019 New Mexico Bowl. After a COVID-shortened 2020 season, he led CMU to a 9-4 overall, 6-2 MAC record and berth in the 2021 Sun Bowl, where the Chippewas closed the year on a five-game win streak, including a 24-21 Sun Bowl win over Washington State.

Central Michigan returned 14 players who started a significant amount of games in 2022, including five on offense and nine on defense. Several transfers were added in who will play significant roles in 2023, several players return from injury, and a variety of players have improved over the offseason and are ready to contribute.

WINNING DEFENSE

In each of its last two games, Central Michigan’s defense has risen to the challenge. This year’s defense has adopted a bend but don’t break mentality. Statistically, the Chippewas don’t put up a ton of sacks or tackles for loss, or force numerous turnovers, as they have in previous seasons, but they play good solid defense and keep the Chippewas in games when needed.

In the last two games at Buffalo and vs. Akron, one win and one loss, Central Michigan’s defense has limited its opponents to just 16.5 points per game, 274.0 yards of total offense per game, 14.0 first downs per game, 96.5 rushing yards, and a third down conversion percentage of only 23 percent (6-26).

Here is a breakdown of what CMU’s last two opponents have managed once morest the Chippewa defense:

Statistic      Buffalo Akron   Total    Avg.

Points Allowed     23 10 33     16.5
Total Offense     355 193 548   274.0
Rushing Yards   123 70 193     96.5
First Downs         18 10 28     14.0
3rd Down Conv. 3/13    3/13    6/26    23%

bold text indicates season-lows

CARDIAC KIDS

Central Michigan has thrived in close games with all four of its wins coming by seven points or less. CMU’s average margin of victory is 4.25 points per win (17 points-4 wins). Three of the four wins were decided in the final minute of each game. Consider the following:

•In CMU’s first win of the year, a 45-42 win over New Hampshire on Sept. 9, placekicker Tristan Mattson converted a 47-yard field goal following a 13-play, 47-yard drive as time expired to give the Chippewas the win. Mattson was kicking his first career field goal. After CMU led the entire game, New Hampshire rallied to tie the game at 42-42 with 3:14 to play.

•Against South Alabama on Sept. 23, quarterback Jase Bauer rushed for a 4-yard score with 13 seconds left to play as the Chippewas won a 34-30 road victory in Mobile, Ala. following Bauer engineered an 11-play, 75 yard drive. The quarterback was responsible for five touchdowns (four rushing and one passing). South Alabama was coming off an impressive 33-7 win over Oklahoma State.

•On Sept. 30, CMU rallied from a 23-19 deficit with a 24-yard touchdown run by Marion Lukes with 7:55 to play to take a 26-23 lead. The Chippewas’ defense then held off Eastern Michigan in the closing seconds as a 46-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right with 55 seconds. The offense ran out the clock and the Chippewas improved to 3-2.

•At South Alabama, Central Michigan trailed 14-0 in the second quarter before taking a 20-14 lead with 20 unanswered points. The host Jaquars once more took a 30-27 advantage with 2:42 to play, but CMU drove down the field and scored when quarterback Jase Bauer found the end zone on a four-yard run with 13 seconds left.

COMEBACK KIDS

In each of its last three wins, Central Michigan has rallied from behind to register victories.

Against Akron, Central Michigan trailed 3-0 through the majority of the first half before placekicker Tristan Mattson converted a school-record 58-yard field goal to tie the contest going into halftime. CMU scored 17 unanswered points and ended up winning 17-10.

In a back-and-forth game once morest Eastern Michigan, the Chippewas trailed 23-19 when the Eagles scored with 2:14 left in the third quarter. But CMU grabbed the lead 26-23 and held on to register the win.

TURNOVER TURNAROUND

The key to Central Michigan’s success in the early-going this year has been cutting down on turnovers. On the year, and following seven games, Central Michigan has turned the ball over just 10 times. CMU has lost just one fumble this year, ranks No. 6 in the nation and leads the MAC in that category.

Six of those turnovers have come in the last two games once morest Akron (two) and at Buffalo (four).

Through its first five games, Central Michigan committed just four turnovers and entered its contest at Buffalo ranked No. 18 nationally and second in the MAC in fewest turnovers lost on offense. Even more impressive was the fact that the Chippewas went 14 consecutive quarters with just one turnover and 12 straight quarters without commiting a turnover (last two quarters vs. New Hampshire, four quarters at Notre Dame, four quarters at South Alabama, and two quarters vs. Eastern Michigan).

Against Buffalo, the Chippewas turned the ball over four times (three interceptions, one fumble) leading to 24 Buffalo points and a 37-13 road loss. Against Akron, the Chippewas threw two interceptions.

Even with those numbers, CMU ranks No. 70 nationally and No. 6 with 10 turnovers on the year. Those numbers are in stark contrast to the 2022 season when the Chippewas ranked No. 128 out of 133 teams in turnovers lost (28 total/18 fumbles lost/10 interceptions), No. 130 in fumbles lost (18) and No. 130 in turnover margin (-1.50).

BEST MAC STARTS

A win over Ball State on Saturday would give Central Michigan a 3-1 record to start in Mid-American Conference play, its best start in league play since Jim McElwain’s first year at CMU in 2019.

Since Central Michigan joined the MAC in 1975, CMU has had starts of 3-1 or better in 22 seasons. The Chippewas began a league slate with a 4-0 record in eight of those years: 1979, 1980, 1983, 1990, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

Since 2009, CMU has started with 3-1 records in 2015 and 2019.

SERIES VS. BALL STATE

•  Central Michigan and Ball State meet for the 55th time in series history.
•  The series is deadlocked at 27-27-1.
•  Central Michigan has won four consecutive games and owns a 15-13 record in games played in Muncie.
•  Ironically, Ball State has claimed each of the last three matchups vs. CMU in Mount Pleasant. CMU owns a 12-14 record vs. Ball State in Mount Pleasant.

CMU IN NATIONAL STATISTICS

After seven games, Central Michigan finds itself ranked among top-35 national leaders in several statistical categories. The Chippewas rank:

•  No. 6 in fumbles lost (1).
•  No. 11 in fourth down conversions (75%).
•  No. 21 in kickoff returns (24.5).
•  No. 27 in blocked kicks (1).
•  No. 28 in time of possession (31:31).

In addition, several individuals are ranked among the nation’s top-35 in a variety of statistics:

•  Marion Lukes, No. 2 in kickoff return touchdowns (1).
•  Marion Lukes, No. 10 in kickoff returns (25.9).
•  Marion Lukes, No. 16 in combined kick returns (337).
•  Jase Bauer, No. 18 in rushing touchdowns (7).
•  Jake Walrath, No. 24 in punting (44.7).
•  Jase Bauer, No. 31 in total touchdowns (7).

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