With a 3-0 record heading into a key contest at Big Ten rival Indiana, the Chippewas played nearly three quarters of exceptional football, taking a 29-16 lead. An Indiana interception led to a hasty momentum swing, one that not only lost the game for Central, but lost the season.

After dropping eight of the final nine games last season, Head Coach Mike DeBord made game-to-game focus the No. 1 priority at fall training camp.

“We got off to a great start last season and lost that fourth game that we had the big lead in,” he said. “We haven’t been able to regroup our focus and zero onto that next game.”

DeBord said distractions affected everyone within the program last season, and vows to attempt to keep them at a minimum this season.

“I asked every person involved with our program to raise their hands if they were distracted last year,” DeBord said. “Most people did, including myself. I’ve learned and I think they have learned.”

CMU’s schedule features an early contrast, as the Chippewas open the season at Michigan, followed by back-to-back home contests against Division I-AA opponents New Hampshire and Eastern Kentucky.

The game at Michigan Stadium will mark the first time DeBord has coached a contest in Ann Arbor since taking the CMU job. He served eight seasons as a Michigan assistant, including the 1997 campaign where he was Head Coach Lloyd Carr’s offensive coordinator for a Rose Bowl and National Champion squad.

“He (Carr) did not want to play, not that he was scared,” DeBord said. “He didn’t want to play because of our friendship. I said ‘Lloyd, think of it this way: its Central Michigan versus Michigan.’ When I said that, he agreed.”

The original schedule called for a game at Arizona State, but DeBord felt the benefits of playing an in-state Big Ten rival overshadowed a potential trip west.

“We’d have to fly clear across the country and then we wouldn’t get back until late,” DeBord said. “What I looked at was an opportunity for our team. This is a great experience for our players to be able to go in and play at Michigan Stadium.”

While the team is not looking ahead, following the Michigan game are two potential winnable games. New Hampshire was predicted to finish 10th in the Atlantic 10 Conference and Eastern Kentucky finished last season 8-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The following week, MAC action commences with a crucial game at Ball State, where DeBord will square up with BSU first-year coach Brady Hoke, another former U-M assistant. The Cardinals were picked sixth in the MAC Preseason Poll, one slot behind CMU. Ball State defeated the Chippewas 38-21 last November in Mount Pleasant.

Following a bye week, CMU will enter its toughest stretch of games, playing Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Central Florida in successive weeks. Despite the challenge ahead, DeBord said the team has done well against strong teams in the past.

“We were five points away from Marshall last year,” he said. “We were two blocked kicks away from Bowling Green. You look at us and know we are close.”

After playing at Central Florida, CMU has home contests against Eastern Michigan and Akron, followed by the Central-Western game in Kalamazoo. The team closes the regular season at Navy.

Players and coaches alike are confident this will be a big year for the football program.

“We haven’t gotten a whole lot of respect,” said senior middle linebacker Anthony Tyus. “And to a certain degree, we don’t deserve it. It’s a new year and it is time for our team to rise back up to where we used to be ... where we should be. We want to turn a lot of heads this season.”

Chippewas Roster
No.	Pos.	Name
92	DL	Ike Ajoku
96	DT	Caleb Anthony
38	CB	Scooter Archie
17	QB	Grant Arnoldink
93	DE	Dan Bazuin
47	LB	Deno Bent
18	WR	Lonell Bess
40	P	Brian Brandt
55	DE	William Brookshire
6	WR	Isaac Brown
2	WR	Jacob Brown
58	LB	De’Onte Burnam
1	WR	Obed Cetoute Genaille
34	LB	Omari Colen
84	TE	Dave Condeni
67	DT	James Cooper
36	RB	Desmond Crenshaw
31	S	Curtis Cutts
30	CB	Jesse Dailey
90	DE	Robert Daugherty
88	TE	Drew Donaldson
81	TE	David DuBois
40	RB	Jacob Flint
3	RB	Ramono Flowers
19	K	Matt Foster
13	RB	Lance Gailliard
69	C	Eric Ghiaciuc
80	WR	Scott Gibson
16	QB	Nick Gildersleeve
68	OL	Jay Gillette
75	OL	Troy Golba
20	S	Matt Gorman
43	K	Mike Gruzwalski
91	DT	Stephen Hankins
5	WR	Justin Harper
98	DL	Desmond Harris
9	WR	Willie Hill
53	LB	Eddie Hillery
32	CB	Derrick Holoman
85	TE	Tory Humphery
29	RB	Terrence Jackson
12	WR	Jemmy Jasmin
72	T	Jeff Jenerou
64	OL	Eric Karbowski
41	LB	Thomas Keith
8	S	Tyrone Kelly
70	T	Adam Kieft
27	CB	Richard Kiel
24	S	James King
47	LS	Craig Knudson
46	S	Doug Kress
86	TE	Dave Kurzen
32	FB	Adam Laakko
74	OL	Matt Lamela
73	T	Tom Langton
21	RB	Kenan Lawhorne
37	RB	Spencer Lewis
42	FB	Bryan Lindstrom
82	WR	Damien Linson
33	CB	Marlin Maxwell
60	G	Derek McLaughlin
7	WR	Steve Messam
78	OL	Drew Mormino
99	DT	Kalani Muragin
4	WR	Markus Naves
26	LB	Jon Nelson
52	LB	Mike Ogle
11	QB	Jeff Perry
97	DT	Damon Petty
48	LB	Troy Peyerk
94	DE	John Pittman
61	G	Brandon Pitzer
19	RB	Mike Pryce
45	S	Tyler Radtke
71	OL	Michael Raffaeli
23	CB	Fabrice Raymond
51	LS	Josh Reardon
39	LB	Jimmy Reese
54	DL	Anthony Rogers
35	WR	Drew Schanski
50	LB	Dexter Scott
18	LB	Jason Smith
14	QB	Kent Smith
87	TE	Joseph Staley
59	G	Bo Stanger
49	FB	Adam Supianoski
22	S	Mike Thomas
76	DT	Tony Thompson
82	WR	Nick Thompson
95	DE	Eric Tunney
45	LB	Anthony Tyus, Jr.
10	QB	Derrick Vickers
28	S	Orlando Walton
57	LB	Leython Williams
89	WR	Jovan Witherspoon
56	DT	Matt Wohlgemuth
77	OL	Dean Zarafonetis
79	OL	Brandon Zukoff