Eagles fly past Chippewas 43-0
Chris McCarty
Three turnovers and six penalties cost CMU, as it lost 43-0 at Boston College.
The Chippewas only had turned the ball over seven times and committed a conference low 13 penalties heading into the game.
“Certain things can always hurt you in games. Turnovers are the biggest. The next thing is penalties. We’ve been leading the conference in fewest penalties. We’ve been playing smart. Today our penalties took us out of drives,” said Head Coach Mike DeBord.
Saturday, fumbles by junior quarterback Derrick Vickers and senior wide receiver Rod Means on the Chippewas first two drives put the Eagles up 10-0 with 7:50 to play in the first quarter.
“We were driving into the redzone, but the turnovers hurt us. It caused them to have good field position,” said Robbie Mixon, the lone bright spot for the Chippewas. The senior runningback rushed for 98 yards on the day.
BC senior quarterback Brian St. Pierre connected with Jamal Burke for a 31-yard touchdown pass and Keith Hemmings on a seven-yard pass, giving the Eagles a 24-0 halftime lead.
“We knew coming in here that Boston College is a heck of a football team. But I did not think physically there was that much of a mismatch. The mismatch was in turning the ball over,” DeBord said.
CMU (3-2, 1-0 in MAC) managed only two first downs in the second half and 55 yards.
“The holes were there. They just closed a little quicker. Their defensive line is fast,” Mixon said.
“They kept us off-balance, and whenever you do that in football, that’s the way to play. I don’t believe in one-dimension offense. When you can play-action, run the ball drop back, that is hard to defend,” DeBord said.
Runningback Derrick McKnight scored on a 25-yard run with 10:27 to play in the third quarter. McKnight rushed for 106 yards on 19 carries.
The Chippewas, who were shut out for the first time since Sept. 30, 2000, at Toledo, (41-0), have the week off before hosting Bowling Green for homecoming Oct. 12.
