Jim McElwain on first clash vs. rival Broncos: 'We’ll have to play our best game to come out alive'
Jim McElwain is no stranger to rivalry games.
When he was at Louisville (2000-02) as the wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator, the biggest game of the season was when the Cardinals played Kentucky for the Governor's Cup.
As McElwain made the move to work at Michigan State from 2003-05 in the same capacity, he was part of the rivalry between the Spartans and Michigan, two schools separated by 70 miles, for the Paul Bunyan Trophy.
Once McElwain became the offensive coordinator at Alabama (2008-11), the Iron Bowl against Auburn was the focal point of the entire season. The winner earned the Foy-ODK Sportsman Trophy.
McElwain, once he became a head coach at Colorado State (2012-14), competed against Colorado in the Rocky Mountain Showdown for the Centennial Cup. For the next three years as the coach of Florida, the key rival was Florida State in the Sunshine Showdown for the Makala Trophy.
Then, as the wide receivers coach at Michigan in 2018, McElwain was a member of the rivalry against Ohio State.
Again, McElwain understands what it means to play an arch-rival. He knows how it feels to win and lose. He's been blown out, and he's blown opponents out.
"What makes college football so great is the rivalries," McElwain said. "This is the reason you do this."
The first-year Central Michigan coach is tasked with a new rivalry – Western Michigan. It's a battle for the Victory Cannon, statewide bragging rights and, as a member of the Mid-American Conference, a chance at the Michigan MAC Trophy.
Neither trophies currently belong to the Chippewas.
Both sit in Kalamazoo, home of the Broncos.
For the 91st time in history, the Central-Western rivalry will be played at noon Sept. 28 at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo. WMU leads the all-time series, 49-38-2, that dates back to 1907.
"There's something between these two schools that you can feel," McElwain said. "I'm looking forward to the atmosphere, and there's something special about going into a stadium and just getting booed. You embrace it.
"We’ll have to play our best game to come out alive.”
McElwain is right. There is something between the two programs.
Dislike, infuriation, hatred, or something else along those lines.
"We don’t like each other that much, and there’s a lot of emotion," said senior center Steve Eipper. "This is a really important game for us to get."
Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain yells at referees as he paces the sidline against Albany August 29 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Lester studies McElwain
When Western Michigan coach Tim Lester was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Syracuse from 2013-15, he focused closely on McElwain.
Lester studied McElwain's game plan, specifically his offense, when the new CMU coach was at Colorado State.
"The guy has too much time on his hands," McElwain said, laughing. "That's good to hear. I've got a lot of respect for what they're doing. Hopefully, we didn't help him too much."
The Rams' quarterback at the time was Garrett Grayson. He completed 297-of-478 passes for 3,696 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2013 – McElwain's second season. Running back Kapri Bibbs logged 1,741 yards and 31 touchdowns.
During that season, the Rams made the second-largest FBS scoring offensive improvement. McElwain's group went from 100th in 2012 to 22nd the following year.
"We watched them beat Boston College, and that was the offense we chose (in the offseason)," Lester said. "I didn’t know I’d be facing him five years later. I love what he does on the offense.”
Upon hearing what Lester said, McElwain was flattered.
"That's a nice compliment when you hear something like that," he said. "Hopefully, some of the stuff he's doing doesn't work."
Colorado State operated in the same type of spread offense the Chippewas do under McElwain in 2019.
“I really respect that offense," Lester said. "Coach McElwain does a great job offensively of putting players in positions."
The offense boasted by the Chippewas surrounds junior quarterback David Moore, a signal caller that has journeyed from Memphis to Garden City Community College to CMU.
Moore has completed 46-of-92 passes for 534 yards through two full games after replacing starting graduate transfer quarterback Quinten Dormady, who left in Week 2 with a knee injury. He's made three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and one interception.
The run-pass open style McElwain presents gives Moore options as a quarterback that can stay strong in the pocket while operating with his arm and legs.
"You've taken a lot of the check game out of the quarterback's hand, and now he's reading a person and making the decision whether he's going to hand it off or pass the ball," McElwain said. "Our guys have a great understanding. He has a lot of flexibility within the play itself."
McElwain was a quarterback at Washington State in the early 1980s, and he's always been an offensive-minded coach, so he understands what it means to have the right quarterbacks to fit the system.
He picked up on that from watching others in his younger coaching days, and it's the reason why he brought in three quarterbacks – Moore, Dormady and true freshman Daniel Richardson.
All three fit the spread style offense.
"In coaching, we all look at each other and the things we are doing to see how it fits your personnel," McElwain said.
Roy Kramer, Herb Deromedi meet with team
During the week leading up to the rivalry, former Central Michigan coaches Roy Kramer (1967-77) and Herb Deromedi (1978-93) visited with the entire team and coaching staff.
Everyone on staff is new to the program, besides tight ends coach Tavita Thompson. McElwain wanted to emphasize the history of the CMU-WMU rivalry, and he said the best way to do that was to bring Kramer and Deromedi – two legendary coaches – into the mix.
"One of the things I did, when I got here, was dive into what Central is all about," McElwain said. "It’s this rivalry. Getting the perspective of those guys has been beneficial."
Kramer was 83-32-2 overall in his 11 years as coach, leading the Chippewas to a NCAA Division II Championship in 1974. He was 8-2-1 in 1975 when CMU joined Division I and the MAC.
Deromedi, who took over for Kramer, was also successful. He compiled an overall record of 110-55-10. Now 80 years old, Deromedi was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
"I felt it was important, not only for our new staff, but our players needed to understand what it is to be a Chippewa, how to play the game and the reason you're here," McElwain said. "Part of that is playing in this rivalry game, playing for this trophy."
In the battle for the Victory Cannon, the road team has won the last three games. However, it's never happened four times.
Western Michigan has won six of the last eight games, dating back to the 2011 season. Before then, the Chippewas controlled a five-game winning streak in the rivalry.
McElwain has an opportunity to earn his first signature win as at CMU, but Lester plans to get in his way.
“It’s the biggest game of the year," Lester said. "If you ask the alumni, it’s the only must-win of the year."
Here is McElwain's rivalry resume as a head coach:
2012 vs. Colorado: Win, 22-17*
2013 vs. Colorado: Loss, 27-41*
2014 vs. Colorado: Win, 31-17*
2015 vs. Florida State: Loss, 2-27
2016 at Florida State: Loss, 13-31
*Neutral site – Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado
