Jim McElwain wants Central Michigan to hurt, apologizes to Buffalo for lack of competition
Jim McElwain stood in a dark tunnel. The only light that seeped through was from the field at UB Stadium, the place where the Central Michigan football team was beaten in every facet of the game.
Once the clocked ticked to zeros in the fourth quarter, the 43-20 loss for the Chippewas on Oct. 26 was solidified.
Rain began to pour from the sky.
"I want us to hurt," McElwain said in the tunnel. "That's what I want us to do."
More than just hurting after the 23-point loss where Central Michigan turned the ball over five times and allowed 24 points off those mistakes, the first-year coach wanted his team to remember the feeling of getting demolished in a contest that should've been much closer.
McElwain pleaded that his Chippewas would learn from the loss, thus using that as preparation for their Nov. 2 game against Northern Illinois at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
A mere 73 rushing yards, 3 of 13 on third down, four sacks allowed, three fumbles lost, two interceptions, muffed kick returns and nine penalties for 53 yards.
The list goes on and on – Central Michigan was smoked and stopped in its tracks of winning four-straight games and back-to-back on the road.
McElwain even went as far as to apologize to Buffalo fifth-year coach Lance Leipold for his team's performance.
"I'm disappointed we couldn't give Lance and his guys a better game," McElwain said.
He later reiterated himself.
"Like I said before, I apologize to Buffalo for not giving them a game that was competitive," McElwain added. "They took it to us."
What if quarterback Quinten Dormady wouldn't have been sacked for a loss of 2 yards on first-and-10 at the CMU 32 with 1:34 left in the first quarter?
How about senior running back Jonathan Ward's fumble with 13:05 left in the second quarter on first-and-10 at the CMU 15? That was on the first play after getting the ball back following Dormady's fumble.
Or what about that punt return fumbled by true freshman Demarcus Governor – a silly miscue – on what would've been the Chippewas' first drive of the second half?
Then there were the two interceptions from Dormady. The first occurred on first-and-10 from the CMU 35 with 12:43 left in the fourth quarter, already trailing 33-14. The second was on fourth-and-9 with 2:26 left in the game that was returned 40 yards for a touchdown.
What if those never occurred?
"I think it would've been a competitive game," McElwain said. "It doesn't matter who you play. If you turn the ball over like that, you're going to lose games."
Playing the "what if" game shows just how detrimental the turnovers were and how much Central Michigan needs to improve going forward.
The Chippewas looked abysmal, whereas Buffalo played a clean game and capitalized on nearly every error McElwain's squad made.
Dormady's first fumble led to a Buffalo touchdown, as quarterback Kyle Vantrease completed an 8-yard pass to receiver Antonio Nunn to take a 10-7 lead.
Ward's fumble early in the second quarter resulted in a 15-yard score from Buffalo running back Jaret Patterson on the very next play for a 17-7 edge.
Dormady's first interception resulted in a 39-yard field goal from Buffalo kicker Alex McNulty for a 36-14 margin, while his pick-six made it a 43-20 game.
The only mistake that wasn't capitalized on was Governor's fumble on the punt return. The true freshman has junior safety Alonzo McCoy to thank since he intercepted Vantrease on the next play.
Of course, the ensuing offensive drive for the Chippewas after McCoy's takeaway stalled after three plays.
"I just feel like we've got to do better and focus on the small details like controlling the ball and eliminating those penalties and mistakes we made," said junior wide receiver JaCorey Sullivan.
The blowout loss dropped Central Michigan to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the Mid-American Conference, and it eliminated the opportunity for the team to control its own destiny with a shot at the MAC Championship Game on the line.
Again, despite the downfall, McElwain wants to focus on the rebound.
Following a Sept. 7 loss to Wisconsin, the Chippewas got back on track with a 45-24 victory against Akron to open conference play. A 42-16 victory over Eastern Michigan was the result after consecutive losses to Miami (Florida) and Western Michigan on Sept. 21 and 28, respectively.
Central Michigan is tasked with rebounding once again. This time, it's against Northern Illinois, a team that's 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
"We've done a pretty decent job, whether it was a win or a loss, tearing off the rearview mirror and learning from our mistakes," McElwain said. "That's the way we build our program – each opportunity to go out is a chance to learn and get better. This is no different."
The Huskies, despite a losing overall record, are no slouch, McElwain added.
First-year coach Thomas Hammock's group played a close game against Pac-12 foe Utah on Sept. 7, losing 35-17. Northern Illinois also only lost 24-18 to SEC opponent Vanderbilt two weeks later.
And Northern Illinois is riding a wave of momentum – winning two of its last three MAC games, including a recent 49-0 victory against Akron at home.
While McElwain acknowledged the desperate need to respond, it's not going to be an easy task. He understands that, as well.
"It's a matter of getting back and playing a very, very talented team," McElwain said. "We have our work cut out for us, and we'll see how we show up this week."
Sitting at 3-2 in the MAC West Division – a third-place spot with Ball State at 3-1 and Western Michigan holding a tiebreaker over the Chippewas – Central Michigan has three games remaining to make a move.
Two games are at home, where the Chippewas are 4-0 this season. One game, against Ball State, is on the road, where the Chippewas are 1-4.
Mixed in with the last three games are two bye weeks. McElwain's team will have played 10-straight games before getting a break. Then, after just one game, Central Michigan gets to rest once again.
McElwain said he doesn't know if two bye weeks split between the last three games of the season will help or hurt.
Time will tell.
"That's out of your control," McElwain said. "The things we can control are taking care of the football and continually trying to get a little bit better.
"We've got a really good plan for that last four weeks with two byes, and for us, it's a matter of right now focusing on getting another win at home."
The Chippewas haven't played well on the road, but they had all the momentum entering Saturday's contest against Buffalo, especially since winning three-straight games hadn't been done since the 2017 season.
When the players left the field at UB Stadium, heads were low, tears were forming in the eyes of some and nobody was happy with the performance.
Responding to the horrendous loss, regaining momentum and confidence, learning from mistakes and growing as a unit are all aspects of the developmental stage McElwain is seeking from his team.
It's the only way to finding consistent success.
"I think that's the biggest piece for us as a young program – just understanding the week-to-week and not getting on that rollercoaster," McElwain said. "It'll be interesting to see how our guys come out this Saturday."
