Inside Jim McElwain's rivalry loss to Western Michigan

But it was only noticeable for a moment.

After the opening kick from Western Michigan's Nick Mihalic, Jim McElwain retrieved his sunglasses from a Michigan State Police officer on the sideline.

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There was no sunshine.

The first-year Central Michigan coach removed them from his face sometime during the first quarter.

Sunglasses or no sunglasses, that didn't change the outcome Saturday. Outside factors weren't the difference.

Instead, it was McElwain. 

His Chippewas succumbed to penalties, turnovers, poor game management and a superfluity of self-inflicted wounds.

Western Michigan took advantage of those mistakes on the way to a robust 31-15 victory over Central. The Victory Cannon trophy will remain in Kalamazoo with coach Tim Lester for another year.

"They took it to us and beat us in every phase of the game," McElwain said. "I'm very disappointed. I let a lot of people down."

The Chippewas got the ball first, and the third play of the game showed signs of what was to come. After back-to-back 11-yard carries from running back Jonathan Ward, wide receiver JaCorey Sullivan was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The error moved CMU back from its own 41 to the 26-yard line.

Sullivan was pulled from the game. McElwain put his arm around the receiver, spoke into his ear and patted him on the butt.

The costly 15-yard penalty only made it more difficult for quarterback David Moore to move the football, but he eventually got it back to the 49-yard line before throwing an interception.

Moore's pass was on a drag route to tight end Tony Poljan. The ball hit Poljan's hands and was tipped around by several WMU players before cornerback Patrick Lupro came away with it.

"I thought he did a good job," Lester said of Lupro, who was replacing injured senior cornerback D'Wayne Eskridge. "We knew it was his first (start), so we weren't going to put him on an island all day. I thought he responded well."

On the previous play, redshirt freshman receiver Tyrone Scott dropped a pass. Nobody was near him.

With 12:55 left in the first quarter, the offense departed from the field. McElwain consulted Scott, and he patted Moore on the head after the interception.

Where the Chippewas couldn't even get the ball across the 50-yard line, Western made it seem so simple, so fast.

Four plays, 59 yards, 1:22 off the clock.

McElwain pulled his headset off, pushed his right hand through his hair twice and wiped his mouth. He clapped in frustration, then drank from a Gatorade bottle.

Western Michigan running back LeVante Bellamy wasn't hydrating like McElwain. He was in the end zone. He had just danced in from 11 yards out for a 7-0 lead after two passing plays from quarterback Jon Wassink that went for a combined 54 yards.

First quarter, 11:33 – WMU 7, CMU 0

McElwain repeatedly paced up and down the sideline between the 30- and 45-yard lines during the media timeout that followed the score.

His hands were on his head, knowing the Chippewas couldn't afford to turn the ball over and go down by two scores so early in the game.

"I'll take the responsibility – for us to not get a yard, for jumping offside, not getting into the right formation," McElwain said. "Ultimately, it's on me."

Moore zipped a pass to Sullivan for an 11-yard gain. An unsportsmanlike conduct on WMU, a few short-yardage plays and a 27-yard pass to Poljan put the ball inside the red zone.

McElwain took his hands off his head.

With 8:23 remaining in the first quarter, McElwain's hands shifted to his knees. He crouched down.

Moore picked up 3 yards on a third-and-6, making it fourth-and-3 from the WMU 9-yard line.

Senior kicker Ryan Tice jogged from the back of the sideline to the field, but McElwain motioned his hands. He wanted Tice to sit down.

The Chippewas were going for it on fourth-and-3.

Moore acted like he didn't know the play call. Meanwhile, it was sophomore running back Kobe Lewis that took a direct snap. He was stuffed by safety A.J. Thomas for no-gain.

"Those are the situations you're going to be in during rivalry games," Lester said. "Defensively, we've been good all year on that – making big plays and forcing turnovers."

McElwain clapped once in frustration, and he turned to walk toward midfield. His defensive unit was meeting 20 yards in the opposite direction.

Of course, the Broncos drove from their 9-yard line all the way to CMU 10. Two-straight 1-yard rushes from Bellamy and an incomplete pass by Wassink forced WMU to settle for a 25-yard field goal.

First quarter, 3:19 – WMU 10, CMU 0

For this, McElwain was pleased. 

True freshman cornerback Kyron McKinnie-Harper wrapped up Bellamy the first time, while defensive end Troy Hairston and linebacker Michael Oliver did it a second time.

McElwain gave every defender that came off the field a high-five for holding the high-octane WMU offense to a field goal.

With 1:30 left in the first frame, Moore was under extreme pressure from defensive end Andre Carter. The junior quarterback threw the ball to Poljan, rather than tossing it away. He was nearly intercepted.

McElwain tore off his headset and made sure Moore knew what was expected of him in that situation. He wasn't pleased.

"I hope it hurts," McElwain said how he wants his team to feel. "Believe me, I feel like I let a lot of Central Michigan people down that don't deserve to be let down."

End of first quarter – WMU 10, CMU 0

Defensive coordinator Robb Akey and defensive line coach Justin Hinds were meeting with their group, while offensive coordinator Charlie Frye and offensive line coach Mike Cummings were engaged with their side of the ball.

McElwain was just walking – up and down the sideline. For the most part, he didn't engage in conversation.

He called a timeout just 50 seconds into the second quarter, facing a third-and-7 from the WMU 35.

The Broncos blitzed, and Moore was sacked for a loss of 10 yards by senior safety Justin Tranquill. Intentional grounding was called on Moore, pushing the ball out of field goal range.

Well, not necessarily.

Tice got off the bench and confidently assumed his position. There was a little wind at his back. McElwain wanted the field goal unit to stay on the field.

It was a 62-yard attempt.

McElwain changed his mind at the last moment. He pulled Tice in place of punter Brady Buell.

With no wind and good weather conditions, Tice said McElwain will allow him to kick from 63 yards. That's not what happened Saturday against the Broncos. Buell punted the ball back to the Broncos.

Wassink aired his pass down the right sideline, but he under-threw his target enough for McKinnie-Harper to break it put by putting his arms up. McElwain clapped his hands in approval, probably just happy the Broncos didn't convert on the big-gain attempt.

After all, the deep ball is what Wassink is known for.

“Everyone is beating them over the top, so now, it was our turn,” Lester said. “It was like backyard football. Roll, throw as far as you can, and we’re going to give it a shot.”

Shortly after, a holding penalty made it second-and-39 from the WMU 19. Wassink found wide receivers Jaylen Hall and Keith Mixon Jr. for 17 and 14 yards, respectively.

First down, Broncos.

McElwain, once again, tore off his headset. It seemed as if WMU was just toying with its opponent before scoring again. 

But the Chippewas got a break. On second-and-7 from the CMU 26, Wassink's pass was intercepted by safety Gage Kreski just 4 yards from the end zone.

Backed up deep in their territory, Ward ran twice for 9 yards, thus setting himself up for a pristine third-and-1 opportunity to move the chains.

Instead, Moore threw a pass in the flat that was covered by four Broncos. All CMU needed was 1-yard, and the choice was to throw.

McElwain got in Frye's ear immediately after the play.

Two plays, 47 yards, 0:53 off the clock.

Wassink found his tight end and roommate, Giovanni Ricci for a 43-yard touchdown over the middle. It was only supposed to be a 5-yard pitch-and-catch, but Ricci shredded defenders George Douglas and Kreski off him.

After that, nobody could catch him.

"We were joking on the sideline that I finally broke a tackle," Ricci said. "It was the right play call at the right time. We were able to get them when they took the little blitz."

Second quarter, 4:19 – WMU 17, CMU 0

Having 2:15 remaining in the second half, the Chippewas were still scoreless and facing a fourth-and-1 from the WMU 24.

A timeout was called, and McElwain went on the field to talk to his offensive line. He screamed at them, pleading for a push in the trenches.

Ward turned backward to push for a first down, but it wasn't the only time in that drive CMU needed a conversion on fourth down.

"He played hard," McElwain said of his senior back. "There's no doubt about it. He could've taken another week off, but he chose to come play this game. I've got a lot of respect for that."

Fourth-and-1 from the WMU 15 with 48 seconds left in the first half. Still no points for the Chippewas.

The entire offense looked at McElwain and began motioning their bodies toward the sideline. 

McElwain threw his hands in the air for them to stay on the field. Another call by McElwain to go for it rather than take points inside the red zone.

"I've got belief in our team," McElwain said. "We go in, we know we're going to go for it, especially against a team on the road when we feel we needed to get touchdowns, especially the way they moved it on us."

Once again, it was a failure.

Lewis lost two yards on the play. 

"If you can't get a yard, you don't deserve to win a game," McElwain said.

McElwain removed his headset, turned to Frye and started yelling. He was upset. After all, it was the second time he had failed on fourth down in critical situations.

"When crunch time came, our guys stepped up," Lester said. "We're going to need more of that."

The score could've been 17-6 at halftime if only McElwain had taken the points from Tice, his consistent kicker. 

"Hindsight is pretty good," McElwain said. "Take the points. But, ultimately, we knew going in that (going for it) was what we were going to do.

"We didn't execute. It's that simple. We probably left nine points out there."

Halftime: WMU 17, CMU 0

The second half started where the first left off, as the kickoff went out of bounds for illegal procedure on CMU, giving the ball to the Broncos at the 35-yard line.

Taking 3:13 off the clock, Lester elected to go for it on fourth-and-2 just 15 yards away from the red zone. Bellamy was stopped for no gain, and the CMU players erupted on the field.

McElwain showed no emotion.

Just as momentum was shifting toward the away team, Lewis fumbled the football at the WMU 39. It was forced by cornerback Anton Curtis and recovered by linebacker Treshaun Hayward with 8:49 left in the third.

McElwain looked at Frye, hung his had and tapped Lewis on the helmet once the sophomore got to the bench.

"It's emotional, but at the same time, the disappointing thing is not going out and executing things you worked against," McElwain said. "That's on me – preparation wise, having your guys ready, giving them the answers to the test."

The first-year coach regrouped with Moore, Frye and Austin Appleby, a graduate assistant that played college ball at Purdue (2012-15) and Florida for McElwain in 2016.

At this point, nearly halfway through the third quarter, the Chippewas began showing signs of desperation – hungry for points on the scoreboard.

On the first play of WMU's drive following the fumble recovery, McKinnie-Harper made a pass breakup on a throw intended for receiver Jaylen Hall. 

McElwain ripped off his headset (happened a lot) and ran down the sideline. He was begging for offensive pass interference, making a motion to the referees with his arms.

He didn't get what he was looking for, so he walked back with the official for 15 yards to discuss the matter. 

Exactly one minute later, true freshman defensive tackle Jacques Bristol jumped offsides (for the third time). He flopped on the ground, laid on his stomach and slapped the turf.

Once Bristol got the bench, he launched his helmet to the ground and squatted. McElwain didn't say anything. Instead, it was redshirt freshman tackle LaQuan Johnson that tried to encourage the frosh.

“Just dummy counts,” McElwain said. “Nothing that you didn’t do in pee-wee ball. Pretty ridiculous, to be honest with you. It goes back to discipline, as well."

The Chippewas had 15 penalties for 95 yards. Seven of those were on the defensive line for offsides.

“There was video evidence of offsides,” Lester said. “We planned on going on multiple cadences a lot. We got a lot of free yards off that.”

The offsides call was on third-and-9, which moved the ball up five yards to create third-and-4. The next play was just a 6-yard pass. Due to the earlier penalty, it was enough for a first down.

Things only got worse.

The Broncos kicked the ball away from the CMU 41 after being stopped 3 yards from a first down. However, on the punt, Mihalic was drilled by linebacker Chuck Jones.

The ball went back into the hands of WMU for a first down at the CMU 26 with 4:54 left in the third quarter.

Less than 50 seconds later, defensive back Willie Reid allowed Western to move from the 13-yard line to the 3-yard line due to a series of actions.

Wassink's pass was completed to Hall, and Reid made the tackle leading with the crown of his helmet. He also threw Hall down and pushed him into the ground after the play was already over. 

For unnecessarily pushing Hall to the ground, Reid was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Then, upon further review, the referees called targeting.

Reid was ejected. McElwain didn't react.

With his hands on his hips, McElwain watched Wassink score a rushing touchdown from the 1-yard line on fourth down for a 24-0 lead.

"They didn't do anything we didn't see," McElwain said. "Our execution wasn't the way it needed to be. Plain and simple."

Third quarter, 2:34 – WMU 24, CMU 0

McElwain paced back and forth. He talked to the defense, and he also jumped in the offensive line huddle.

Two plays into the ensuing drive, Moore was intercepted by Tranquill. McElwain patted him on the chest four times.

The interception was a setup from Tranquill, who said his team calls it doubles-A-gun, where there's a running back, tight end and receiver on the same side of the field.

"You'll get a glance route from that (receiver),"  Tranquill said. "A lot of time, (Moore) was reading boundary safety and the corner to see what they were doing. The corner triggers since he's an extra fitter. The quarterback reads in, and he sees the corner."

Once Moore read the corner, he assumed he could connect with his receiver on a glance route.

"Instead of getting depth, like I normally would in cover 2, I know if the glance route is coming, I can't get too much depth," Tranquill added. "I took a side-step to push in, did a couple back pedals just in case he was pressing vertical.

"The moment I see (the receiver) break, I'm just driving right where he's at. The moment I broke, I saw the ball coming. I was like, 'Oh, sweet. That's tight.'"

End of third quarter: WMU 24, CMU 0

The Chippewas put points on the board in the first three drives of the fourth quarter. 

Lewis scored on a 1-yard run with 12:27 left in the game, but Moore's 2-point conversion pass attempt was incomplete.

On the next drive, after a WMU punt, Moore threw a touchdown to Sullivan on third-and-goal from the 6-yard line with 7:24 left in the game.

However, an illegal formation negated the six points. McElwain put his hands on his knees and fixated his eyes toward the ground.

CMU settled for a 29-yard field goal from Tice.

Fourth quarter, 7:14 – WMU 24, CMU 9

Even though the Chippewas were down by 15 points, it never seemed as if the Broncos lost a grip on their upper hand against their arch-rival.

That was exemplified when third-string freshman running back Sean Tyler scored from 11 yards for a 31-9 lead over CMU with 5:34 remaining.

"Huge, huge," Lester said of Tyler's score. "We needed it. When it got close, I was kind of happy. I want them in that situation."

Fourth quarter, 5:34 – WMU 31, CMU 9

McElwain's hands were behind his back; there was no return.

The emotions of a rivalry weren't to blame.

"You just go out and handle it," McElwain said. "We had a good week of practice."

The Chippewas scored a touchdown with 3:29 left in the fourth quarter on a 34-yard completion from Moore to Sullivan, trimming the lead to 31-15. The 2-point conversation failed, again.

Fourth quarter, 3:29 – WMU 31, CMU 15

CMU's onside kick wasn't successful, and neither was its final drive of the game after another WMU punt.

McElwain's group was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line.

"The great thing about sports is that you learn from your failures and move forward," McElwain said. "Hopefully, you turn it into success. You have to move on, that's the way it is."

Final: WMU 31, CMU 15

In a must-win game, McElwain wasn't able to get the job done.

A victory would've marked his first signature win as a Chippewa, and it would've brought the Victory Cannon trophy back to Mount Pleasant.

McElwain wasn't pleased with his performance, and he said Central Michigan will find out what type of team it is through the way the group responds.

"Very disappointed," McElwain said. "We've got to get better."