Rapid Reaction: Central Michigan 14, Akron 6
AKRON, Ohio — On a day when both offenses struggled to get off the ground, the Central Michigan football team navigated a turbulent struggle for momentum and claimed its third consecutive victory.
The Chippewas defeated host Akron 14-6 on Saturday at InfoCision Stadium to improve to 5-4 overall and 4-1 in Mid-American Conference competition.
How it happened:
With CMU leading by eight points with less than five minutes in the game, Akron was faced with third-and-8 deep in its own territory. Backup Chippewa linebacker Tyree Waller came unblocked from Zips quarterback Tommy Woodson's blindside and brought him to the ground for CMU's fourth sack of the game, forcing the Zips to punt.
The Zips trailed by eight and had the ball inside their own 10-yard line with no timeouts remaining and less than a minute to go, but could not score.
The Chippewas gained more yards in the third quarter than they did during the entire first half.
CMU opened the scoring when junior quarterback Cooper Rush found full back Joe Bacci on a designed roll-out pass during the opening minute of the second quarter, and CMU took the initial 7-0 lead. The Zips answered when quarterback Tommy Woodson hit wideout Jerome Lane from 54 yards out, but Akron missed the extra point and CMU maintained a one-point lead.
Rush and the Chippewas opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive culminating in a 14-yard grab by slot receiver Anthony Rice, and CMU bulked the lead up to 14-6.
What it means:
Many people considered last week's 23-21 win at Ball State the grittiest victory of CMU's season. The Chippewas reset that standard with Saturday's victory in Northeast Ohio.
CMU is severely banged up, and it showed on many of Akron's offensive possessions. Much like Ball State, Akron could not get out of its own way and bailed CMU out on more than one occasion with a dumb penalty or poorly-executed assignment.
First-year CMU Head Coach John Bonamego has his team in a much better spot than many fans expected at this point in the season. But his club's most daunting and important test will come after this week's short vacation.
What's next:
Bonamego will give his team three days next week before the Chippewas begin practice on Thursday next week. CMU does not have a game next week, but hosts No. 20 Toledo at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10. It will be the first of three mid-week games to end the regular season.
Toledo is one of two undefeated teams in the MAC West and dispatched the Chippewas 42-24 during last year's meeting. CMU has not defeated Toledo since 2009.
When the Rockets come to Kelly/Shorts Stadium next Tuesday, they will be the highest-ranked team to do so in eight years.
The Chippewas can gain some important ground in the MAC West title race with a win, but they will need to play a near-perfect game to do so.
