Central Michigan Football Analysis: Chippewas Could Shock The MAC

First-year head coaches at Central Michigan are no strangers to the MAC title game. 

In 2007, Butch Jones led the Chippewas to the conference title in his first season at the helm. There, they defeated Miami (Ohio) for their second MAC crown in program history.

Jim McElwain did the same in 2019 in his first year as head coach, but the Chippewas lost that game to Miami.

Now in his first year leading the program, can Matt Drinkall do the same and guide CMU to a conference championship game appearance?

If he’s going to, the Chippewas will need to go on the road and beat Western Michigan this week where the Victory Cannon won’t be the only thing at stake. With a win, they’ll clinch bowl-eligibility and take control of the Michigan MAC trophy, which is given to whichever program has the best head-to-head records between CMU, WMU, and Eastern Michigan. CMU has already defeated EMU.

And with a win, the Chippewas, at the very least, will remain tied for second in the MAC. They’re currently 5-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Miami (4-0) sits atop the conference while Buffalo, Ohio, and WMU are also 3-1. Ohio and Miami play next Tuesday. 

The race at the top of the league is tight and will likely remain that way throughout the final month of the regular season. The Chippewas’ schedule is favorable, though, and winning the rest of their league games isn’t out of the question. Following this week, they host Buffalo, visit Kent State, and then host Toledo to close out the regular season.

The first step for CMU, though, is defeating the Broncos on Saturday. And from there, who knows? Anything can happen in this league. Especially once weekday MACtion rolls around next week.

Behind its power-spread offense, CMU’s rushing attack has been its bread-and-butter so far this season. The Chippewas are averaging 201 rushing yards per game and have four players with 260-plus yards on the ground. 

They also utilize a healthy dose of two quarterbacks between Joe Labas and Angel Flores. Labas is typically the one who will drop back while Flores is the run-first signal-caller. Flores leads the team with 519 rushing yards, and his eight rushing scores are second-most in the league.

However, the Chippewas will be without Flores, who will miss this week’s matchup with an injury. That means CMU could be more pass heavy than usual. It’ll be interesting to see how the offense adapts.

The Chippewas have attempted a league-low 140 passes this year, and in a 27-6 win over Bowling Green two weeks ago, they only had five pass attempts. They controlled the line of scrimmage against the Falcons and bounced back from a disappointing loss to Akron. It was also CMU’s first road conference win since 2022. 

Drinkall comes from Army where he spent six years on the offensive staff, so it makes sense CMU now has a physical, run-first identity. It seems like it’s the type of identity and culture that fits well in the MAC with other physical teams like WMU, Northern Illinois, and Miami.

And after three lowly seasons, Drinkall’s style looks to have the Chippewas as a contender in the league once again.

The offense will be challenged this week against WMU, especially without Flores. The Broncos rank second in the league in total defense, allowing 298 YPG. They’re also surrendering only 18 PPG.

I think Saturday’s matchup will be very telling when it comes to CMU and whether they’re a real threat to win the MAC. 

Entering the season, the Chippewas had the ninth-best betting odds to win the league at +1500, and they were predicted to finish ninth in the preseason coaches poll.

Fast forward four months, and things are looking much different. They now have the fourth-best odds to win the league (+900) and have a real opportunity to sneak into the MAC Championship.

Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan Prediction

I predict Western Michigan wins a close game but Central Michigan covers the spread. As of this writing, the Broncos are a 4.5-point college football betting favorite.

I like this Chippewas team, but I think the loss of Flores is huge and WMU’s defense will be able to hold off CMU enough to pick up the home victory.