CMU football survives late comeback attempt from NIU
Central Michigan redshirt sophomore quarterback Jase Bauer, right, and redshirt sophomore tight end Mitchel Collier, left, celebrate after Bauer’s touchdown during a game against Northern Illinois, Tuesday, Oct. 31 in Kelly/Shorts Stadium. A mix of snow and turf fell from Bauer’s helmet after junior offensive lineman Brayden Swartout tapped it. (Marie Underwood | CM-Life)
With 1:16 left in the game, Northern Illinois had a chance to drive down the field and win the game. That all would change as a pass over the middle was intercepted by Nahree Biggins, sealing the victory for Central Michigan football.
Biggins, who is a sophomore, was filling in for the injured Donte Kent at the nickelback position. Biggins hasn’t seen much playing time this season but was able to get the first interception of his career in the biggest moment of the game.
“Donte Kent is a heck of a player, Nahree comes in and has a huge interception at the end. I thought he played well at the nickel position,” head coach Jim McElwain said.
The interception capped off a high-scoring victory for the Chippewas, who escaped with a 37-31 win on a snowy Halloween night. The win gave CMU its fifth-straight win on Halloween since 1948.
The snow made for an explosive game for one Chippewa. Junior running back Marion Lukes ran for a career high 202 yards on 21 attempts. He also added a new career long rush as he scampered for a 46-yard touchdown.
“Funny enough, I was watching the Sean McCoy highlights right before we went out there and his snow games are just insane,” Lukes said. “So, whenever I seen the snow, I was thinking about just letting loose and doing all the things I know I can do.”
McElwain has stressed how important offensive line play is over the season, and in this game, they stepped up to the occasion. The Chippewas rushed for over 300 yards as a team, along with adding four touchdowns on the ground.
Though the offensive output, the line struggled in the second half as the Huskies defense were able to limit CMU to only 13 second-half points.
“A little better (on the offensive line play),” McElwain said. “They got us in the second half. We had an opportunity to put the game away offensively. The second time now that we've had that opportunity in, we haven't done it.”
CMU opened up the scoring on the first drive of the game as sophomore quarterback Jase Bauer ran it in from nine yards out, giving the Chippewas a lead they would never relinquish.
After a pair of field goals from both teams, CMU would find the endzone two more times in the half with the first being the Lukes score. Sophomore tight end Mitchell Collier took a 20-yard pass from Bauer into the endzone for his first of his career.
NIU running back Antario Brown opened up the second half, with a score in just three plays on a 61-yard touchdown. He would finish the game with 167 yards on the ground on 22 attempts.
Central Michigan would answer back on the following drive, as Bauer sneaked it in the end zone from a yard out for his second score on the day. But with 6:32 left in the third quarter, this was all the scoring CMU would have the rest of the way.
“They started to load the box a little bit,” Bauer said. “It’s just kind of tough to run a lot when they have that many guys in the box. They started making adjustments, and I think we kind of struggled with that.”
Northern Illinois would attempt a comeback, scoring 20 unanswered points against the Chippewas defense with the biggest being a 72-yard catch and run by Trayvon Rudolph for NIU’s second 60-plus-yard touchdown of the game.
The Chippewas defense would hold strong on the final drive of the game. With one second left NIU attempted a lateral play but would fumble and CMU recovered as time expired.
Junior defensive back Trey Jones led the Chippewas in tackles with eight in the game; sophomore linebacker Dakota Cochran chipped in five as well.
Central Michigan will look to carry over its momentum as it travels to Kalamazoo to take on rival Western Michigan on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
