Wow! CMU/WMU Analysis

Holy cow! Where do we begin?

First off, if you didn't see it, you really missed out on a special game. Just about everything in the game was really fun to see (well, besides maybe the second quarter).

It starts off very heated because it is indeed a rivalry game. Things are a little chippy, Hiller spoke of a "clean" hatred for one another, and of course the biggie tonight and the probable game-changer for the Broncos: Jamarko Simmons' ejection.

Simmons was ejected for "kicking" (more like a "get-away-from-me" kind of shove and he happened to have his foot entangled) Red Keith, the Central Michigan linebacker. He sort of did an acting job because there's no way he was shoved that hard by somebody's foot and it didn't look like he exerted enough force on Keith to really move him that far. Anyway, the ref saw this and ejected Simmons. Simmons couldn't control his frustration and was sent to the lockeroom.

Western Michigan did start out strong scoring early and taking a 7-0 lead. The Broncos had a shot at taking a 10-0 lead off of a Dan LeFevour INT, but the snap was bobbled and they lost possession. Central responded with a FG near the middle of the second quarter. The receivers were not helping Hiller or LeFevour out at all. Both teams suffered a ton of dropped passes all of the way until the third quarter. Also, I haven't seen either team play as well defensively as these teams did for the first three quarters of the game. It was refreshing to see because CMU has been getting torched and Western has totally stunk defensively so far this season. I did notice one thing and Ray Bentley pointed out was the fact that CMU didn't burn a timeout which caused all sorts of confusion. They were in the red zone and had to settle for a FG instead of a TD.

The fourth quarter was when things really began to heat up. Western knocked a FG through the uprights to tie things up at 10 a piece. At this point in the game, Dan LeFevour starting ripping through the Western defense. It really wasn't pretty, but the Broncos did respond time and time again on offense. The spearing penalty really hurt Western on one of CMU's scoring drives and Bryan Anderson really stepped up to the plate being the only Chippewa who could catch a pass longer than 5 yards tonight....

Anyway, a great rush prevented Tim Hiller from making a wise choice, so he flung a football right at Calvin Hissong. He couldn't take it into the endzone though and CMU had to settle for a FG. I turned the channel over to Dennis Miller's new show on Versus for a second because even I had lost hope for the Broncos. The instant I flip it back to ESPN2, I see a fantastic catch by Herb Martin which put the Broncos within three points.

And, with a bit of foreshadowing in the mix, LeFevour failed to call a timeout (audibling instead) while the play clock was running low which caused all kinds of confusion. The blockers on the left side didn't pick up their blocks and LeFevour fumbled the ball right into Western's hands. Western scored on a dash from Brandon West which included two hideous arm tackles.

So, the score is now 31-27 and it looks like all hope is lost. After all, it's about time that something goes Cubit's way.

Turns out that wasn't the case. Wilson bit on a combo of the LeFevour pump fake and the great route running by Bryan Anderson. One accurate bomb later from the sophomore QB, CMU was setting up shop inside the one yard line with a little under a minute to go. CMU tried a QB sneak that probably was a TD and, after much reviewing, was ruled incorrectly due to lack of substantial evidence to overturn the call. The Chippewas tried it one more time (reminding me of the "Bush Push" which Bentley pointed out) and that should've been stopped due to FORWARD PROGRESS. It's clear that he was stuffed and the refs should have blown the whistle. Instead, LeFevour gets pushed into the endzone and after yet another review, the play stood.

But wait! It's not over. After a failed lateral on the kickoff return, the Broncos had two seconds. They were actually pretty successful on some of the laterals after a Tim Hiller completion and I started thinking, "Hmmmmmmm........Trinity/Millsaps, perhaps?" But, it didn't work out that way. Western suffered yet another devastating blow.

There are a few things we can take away from this game. Central Michigan finally played some defense which I suppose is newsworthy. Western Michigan played a little bit of that too by not getting steamrolled in the early going. I think both teams have some good resolve and they know how to bounce back from adversity. The Broncos had nothing to play for in this game besides embarrassing a despised rival and they played with an amount of intensity I haven't seen before. Central Michigan never lost faith that they could win and I think the coach, Butch Jones, deserves some credit for that.

One thing is for sure: This game cracks my all-time favorite-game list. No, it's not just because they're MAC teams, this was just a great rivalry game that won't be forgotten up here at least.

Recappin' the MAC: Week 9

On TV......

Ohio 38, Bowling Green 27

In what was a somewhat-poorly executed game with some flashes of brilliance for each team, Ohio wound up victorious.

The game certainly wasn't exiguous in terms of excitement. Bowling Green and Ohio each made multiple mistakes that kept the game interesting. ESPN Gameplan switched after the Louisiana Tech/Utah State game was over, so the beginning of the first quarter was unavailable in my parts, but if you saw this game, you'd notice that Kalvin McRae is a huge game-changer. Almost every time he touched the ball, he was penetrating the front four and getting to the linebackers. It seemed that whenever he did get stuffed, he was able to turn that potential loss into a minor gain which is exactly what any coach would want from his running back. Early on, the offensive lines for each team were winning the battle in the trenches with Willie Geter getting to the edge and creating some plays.

The decision to bench Brad Bower turned out to be a great one with Theo Scott filling in fairly well. His decision-making was solid even though he was never really asked to do that much. His ability to scramble made life difficult for Bowling Green whereas with Bower, that option isn't exactly available. Scott's only crucial mistake wasn't exactly a poor decision, but it was a risky throw. He seemed like he forced the ball that got intercepted by John Haneline.

Even though Kalvin McRae was tremendous and became the Bobcat's all-time leading rusher, you couldn't help but get the sense that Bowling Green shot themselves in the foot far too often. As you might have noticed, Bowling Green really hurt themselves with Ohio/Toledo-esque fumbled punt returns. Gregg Brandon tried mixing things up with a gadget play that they've tried before I believe, but that got intercepted. Bowling Green's intricate offense was rolling when Geter got to the outside and when the screens developed. This was obvious on the touchdown pass where Ohio's all-out blitz backfired for a touchdown.

Of course, the major turning point of this game was the interception by Kris Luchsinger. Tyler Sheehan had his arm basically karate-chopped and the ball floated in the air before it was picked off. It was a thing of beauty for the Ohio defense.

Ultimately, this wasn't a well-played game, but Ohio did outplay Bowling Green on BGSU's homefield. This game was huge for each team's hope of going bowling, but you come away with the feeling that Gregg Brandon's bunch has rebounded from 2006. Even though they weren't good enough to come away with the win, the passing game is back on track with Sheehan. This QB has all of the physical tools and with a year under his belt by 2008, he should be one of the MAC's best. Ohio on the other hand looked like Nebraska, pounding Kalvin McRae consistently up the middle.

Illinois 28, Ball State 17

Ball State couldn't quite hang on in this valiant effort against Big 10 foe, Illinois.

After a very uneventful first quarter, Illinois opened up the scoring on a Rashard Mendenhall touchdown. On that very drive, Juice Williams gashed open the Ball State run defense for two runs of twelve yards in the process.

Soon after, Ball State responded with a Jake Hogue FG and an INT return from Mike Dorulla. Unfortunately in this game though, Frank Edmonds had to leave the game twice so the Ball State rushing attack was a little bit weakened.

Once BSU was down 21-10, Nate Davis started lighting up the Illini defense. Dante Love made some big catches, but Darius Hill was the recipient of the 24-yard TD pass. However, Jake Hogue missed a huge FG in the latter stages of the game that really swung the momentum. The Cardinals in effect got shut down offensively in the 4th quarter and that was that.

Arrellious Benn hurt the Ball State D more often than not and they also utilized him properly as a decoy. Also on the Illinois side, Juice Williams continued his poor reads and that showed on the INT return.

As for Ball State, they can take away from this game the fact that they were able to compete against one of the better Big 10 teams on the road (during homecoming no less). Nate Davis showed why he was the best QB in the MAC with his rushing ability. He didn't have a great day passing, but he was effective enough to keep them in the game. I know Brady Hoke probably isn't worried about gaining moral victories, but whatever momentum they got from this game will be used next week against Indiana.

And the Rest.....

Buffalo 26, Akron 10

Man, what is the deal with Buffalo? Turner Gill has been doing a magnificent job with the Bulls program that Jim Hofher struggled so much to turn around. Drew Willy was the exact opposite of Chris Jacquemain throwing for 125 yards and 3 TDs compared to Jacquemain's 185 yards and 2 INTs. Akron opened up the scoring with a TD run from Alex Allen, but Buffalo closed out the game with a 26-3 run.


Central Michigan 42, Kent State 31

Central Michigan is the most schizophrenic football team of all time. It's not like the Chippewas are FIU-dreadful or anything, but they've played like it in the non-conference schedule. Well, good-CMU showed up Saturday with a solid drumming of Kent State. Dan LeFevour was tremendous with a 77% completion percentage and 359 yards passing. The Golden Flashes are a little bit depleted at QB with the injury to Julian Edelman, so Giorgio Morgan filled in and did a nice job.


Vanderbilt 24, Miami OH 13

Miami OH came through with a solid effort against Vanderbilt unlike the one they experienced in Boulder a few weeks ago. The Miami OH offense got shut down late after they took a 13-10 lead in the 3rd quarter. Earl Bennett became the SEC's leading receiver, so Miami OH gets that dubious distinction.


Eastern Michigan 19, Western Michigan 2

In what is probably the most disappointing season of any MAC team, Western Michigan suffered yet another tough defeat. After opening the game 2-0 on a safety, the Broncos just couldn't hold onto the football. Due to six, that's correct, S-I-X turnovers, Eastern eventually got the best of WMU. The Eagles didn't let Tim Hiller do anything. Kyle McMahon wasn't exactly spectacular, but he got the job done.


Toledo 70, Northern Illinois 21

Has Northern Illinois ever been this bad under Joe Novak? It seems that every year, he manages to field a decent team. With their lone win coming against Idaho, they gave up an FBS season-leading 812 yards of offense to Toledo! The Rocket's offense didn't need a "show-me" kind of effort with the way they've been playing, but the 2007 Huskie defense is good for any team trying to pad their stats.