Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The CMU football team wraps up one of its most difficult seasons in recent memory with a road contest at Ball State University Saturday.
The Mid-American Conference clash is slated for 1 p.m.
Saturday's contest also marks the final game for 17 seniors and Central Head Coach Dick Flynn who resigned on Nov. 9.
Flynn said the team hasn't done anything new for the game just because of his resignation.
"We're not approaching it any differently," Flynn said.
Central enters the contest with a 3-7 overall record, 2-5 in MAC play, while the Cardinals are 0-10 for the season and 0-7 in conference play.
Last week the Chips held on to defeat the Eastern Michigan Eagles, while Ball State lost to Bowling Green.
"I thought we played with a lot of heart and determination. We played some excellent football at points in the game, but we weren't quite as consistent as we would have liked," Flynn said.
Coming into the game, CMU is seventh in the MAC in total offense (354.2) and 12th in total defense (403.1). The Chippewas are fifth in passing offense (208.8) and seventh in rushing offense (145.4).
Individually, tailback Eric Flowers is second in scoring (8.3 per game) and fourth in rushing (95.8 per game), receiver Jammarl O'Neal is second in receiving yards (93.8) and fourth in receptions per game (5.2), while Pete Shepherd is fifth in passing yards per game (198.3) and sixth in total offense per game (201.1).
O'Neal is the leading freshman receiver in MAC history with 52 catches for 938 yards. The old mark of 761 was held by Western Michigan's Corey Alston in 1997.
The rookie sits second in single-season receiving yards for the Chippewas with 938. O'Neal has had six games with 100 or more yards receiving - the 135 performance against EMU was his best.
Shepherd is sixth in three single-season passing categories at Central - yards (1,983), attempts (285) and completions (151). He's second in career attempts (670) and completions (353) and fourth in passing yards (4,536).
Flowers is fifth in career rushing for the Chippewas with 3,116 yards and tied for fourth in career touchdowns at 35 with Jesse Lakes (1969-71) and Willie Todd (1978-81). Flowers has been over 100 yards four times this season and 14 times in his CMU career.
The key for the Chippewas though does not lie with their big play offense, but on the other side of the ball.
"We can't let them run the ball," Flynn said. "They have a big, strong, physical offensive line and will look to run it."
Stopping the running game will also be a factor in how well Central is able to control the Cardinals outstanding wide receiver Adrian Reese.
"He's an outstanding player and most of their passing game is based around play action," he said.
The strength of that CMU defense is most definitely up the middle.
Junior free safety Brian Leigeb has 335 career tackles and is tied for sixth in Chippewa annals with Bill Schmidt (1973-75). He has led CMU in tackles for the past three seasons and is on top of the charts again this year with 113.
Freshman linebacker Darvin Lewis, the MAC co-leader with five interceptions, is tied for first among linebackers in CMU history with former Buffalo Bills great Ray Bentley, who snared five in 1982.
So who has that all-telling psyche edge coming into the season finale for the two disappointing teams?
Is it the Chippewas who will look to send Flynn off with their fourth win of 1999 and the 30th of his career? Or is it Ball State who has wallowed through the league with no wins this season.
"I'm sure Ball State has a lot of incentive coming into this game without a win. It'll be an emotional game for Ball State and a real challenge for our football team," Flynn said.
"The key for our football team will be to enter the game in the right frame of mind. We have to put a real premium on being ready to play"