Changes, challenges pay off for the Central Michigan defense
What a difference 10 days make.
After Central Michigan laid an egg on national television against Ball State, missing tackles left and right and allowing the Cardinals to drive down the field at-will, the Chippewas' defense put together one of their strongest performances of the season last Saturday in the 27-22 win over Western Michigan.
"We were disappointed with the way we played (against Ball State)," said head coach Dan Enos. "We were embarrassed, we didn't think we competed. We thought we were making very good strides on defense the three games before that, and we challenged our group. We challenged the coaches, we challenged the players every day at practice."
The result was a different looking secondary with redshirt freshman Tony Annese and junior Kevin King starting at secondary over Kavon Frazier and Jarret Chapman. Annese, making his first career start, responded with a third-quarter interception that he returned 34 yards for a touchdown.
King was second on the team with 10 tackles, while Annese had seven. Enos said both are expected to start again Saturday vs. Massachusetts (1 p.m., ESPN3).
"It was a little competition thing, and we thought Tony deserved it," said defensive coordinator Joe Tumpkin. "(We) thought him and Kevin deserved it when they finished up the Ball State game. We talked about it as a staff, and I went at that point and talked to Kavon and Jarret.
"(We) made it a competition during the week and whoever came out would get it. I feel comfortable with any four of them playing for us right now."
Tumpkin always stresses the need for the CMU defense to eliminate "big plays" from the opposing offense, and the Chippewas were able to do that with their 4-2-5 zone defense. The Broncos reached the CMU red zone five times during the game, going four-for-five in scoring chances, but the CMU defensive limited them to three field goals.
Corners Jason Wilson and Brandon Greer, who combined for 11 tackles and three pass breakups, had their best games of the season and credited the defensive line, particularly nose guard Leterrius Walton and backup defensive end Blake Serpa, who recorded a pass breakup himself and sack, to getting some pressure on WMU quarterback Zach Terrell.
"Most of your big plays in football are not over the top, they come in when you miss tackles," Tumpkin said. "We made an effort last week to make sure we were running to the football, we were taking proper angles and I think that showed up on tape.
"If a big run-play is given up, it's not the front seven – the secondary's involved with that. If there's a big pass that's given up, it's not just the (defensive backs) – we didn't get enough pressure up front. We try to make everybody on the field accountable and we try to minimize those things."
Contact Aaron McMann: aaron.mcmann@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @AaronMcMann.
