CMU football drops season opener to MSU
With just under two minutes remaining in the first half, Central Michigan football had an opportunity to take the lead from Michigan State and silence Spartan Stadium.
Facing a loud MSU student section, CMU redshirt freshman quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr. took the snap within the red zone and completed a pass to wide receiver Chris Parker for his first career passing touchdown, giving the Chippewas the 7-3 lead.
However, Central wasn't able to hold onto its lead for long, as State started to find its footing going into the second half. The Chippewas couldn’t find the end zone for the remainder of the game, losing their season opener, 31-7.
CMU head coach Jim McElwain said the Chippewas will learn from the game and it was a good experience for the team.
“There's some things I thought we did really well,” McElwain said. “And as I told this football team in the locker room, I've got a lot of trust in them. They’re a group that (cares). They're a group that came out and fought real hard against some really big guys. And, you know, I think we'll take some things in and it'll be good to learn from.”
The Chippewa defense held out strong throughout the first half, holding the Spartan offense to 10 points. MSU didn’t hit 100 total yards until the 5:30 mark in the second quarter.
The veterans on defense led the charge, with junior linebacker Kyle Moretti ending the match with a game-leading 14 tackles. Along with Moretti, senior defensive lineman Jacques Bristol disrupted the Spartan backfield, securing two tackles for loss and seven total tackles.
“I think it just shows us … where we're at, (and) how we respond to adversity in certain situations,” Moretti said. “I think this will bring us closer, and we’re just going to use this as a foundation to, you know, keep going on in the year.”
Coming into the matchup, the biggest question from Chippewa fans was who would be the starting quarterback. As the offense came out for their first drive Friday, Emanuel Jr. was the one leading the charge.
He led in both the rushing and passing categories in the game. Through the air, he went 11-for-17, totaling 87 yards while securing one touchdown and one interception. On the ground, Emanuel Jr. ran for 41 yards, averaging 2.4 yards per carry.
“I learned a lot really coming out of this game, there was a lot of positive feel really,” Emanuel Jr. said. “Because you can see like, there was (slight) explosives and sparks that I feel like we'll be able to carry out into the season.”
Following a fourth down stop from the CMU defense to begin the first quarter, Emanuel Jr. led the Chippewas offense out onto the field for their first drive of the season.
CMU had a balanced attack to begin the drive, mixing the run game and play action passes to get into MSU territory early.
After an unsportsmanlike conduct call against the Spartans, the Chippewas found themselves with a first down and goal, threatening to get the first point of the game. However, CMU couldn’t convert, going four and out to keep the game scoreless.
With just over eight minutes left in the second quarter, the Spartans started in CMU territory following a short punt from Chippewa punter Jake Walrath. MSU struck first following a 47-yard field goal to put them up 3-0 with just under seven minutes left in the half.
The Chippewa defense came up with another fourth down stop to give CMU the ball with three minutes to play in the quarter.
Emanuel Jr. started the drive on the right foot for the Chippewas with a 17-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Shatavious Hogan. Following a face mask call against MSU on the next play, Emanuel Jr. showed off his game on the ground, with a 14-yard run. CMU got to MSU’s 12-yard line on the play following another face mask call against the Spartans.
This time, the Chippewas capitalized in the red zone. Emanuel Jr. connected with redshirt sophomore wide receiver Chris Parker for a 12-yard touchdown to give CMU the 7-3 lead.
However, the Chippewas’ lead didn’t last long. The Spartans responded with a touchdown of their own, off of a two-yard touchdown from running back Nate Carter, to give MSU the 10-7 lead going into halftime.
Both teams were held scoreless to begin the third quarter. MSU stopped the second half scoring drought with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter, via a 12-yard rushing touchdown to give the Spartans the 17-7 lead.
The Chippewas offense struggled in the third quarter, only producing 28 yards and having back-to-back three-and-out drives to end the quarter. The Spartan offense, meanwhile, found its stride heading into the fourth quarter.
“Offensively I felt we didn't give our defense a chance, because we had some three-and-outs and short clocks, and they took advantage of it,” McElwain said.
After having a slow start, MSU quarterback Noah Kim got Spartan Stadium loud to begin the fourth quarter. A 72-yard pass to wide receiver Christian Fitzpatrick put the Spartans into the redzone; two plays later, Kim threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to extend MSU’s lead to 17.
The Spartans took the momentum from the previous drive and added another seven points to their tally, following an eight-yard touchdown pass that pushed the lead 31-7. The score stayed the same throughout the rest of the quarter.
“We played with energy,” McElwain said. “I love those kids in that locker room. I love this team. And we got a rough schedule, but that's okay. Let's go have fun with it.”
CMU looks to bounce back in their home opener, at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9 against New Hampshire.
