CMU football falls to Illinois
Central Michigan redshirt sophomore tight end DeCorion Temple high-fives tight ends/offensive tackles coach Brandon Torrey during the first game of the season, Thursday, Aug, 29 in Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Torrey, who is from Durham, North Carolina, is entering his second year on the coaching staff for the CMU football team. (CM-Life | Ella Miller)
Coming out of the half, Central Michigan football was looking for a stop to keep it a one possession game against University of Illinois.
Instead, the Fighting Illini offense found its rhythm, driving 75 yards down the field in four plays and ending on a 20-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead, 20-6.
Illinois controlled the momentum for the rest of the matchup, handing CMU its second-straight loss, 30-9 on Saturday.
“First drive of the first half, first drive of the second half, they just march right down the field and put it in, that’s unacceptable,” head coach Jim McElwain said. “(We) can’t do that.”
The Chippewas fall to 1-2 overall before starting Mid-American Conference play next week.
The CMU defense created a lot of pressure in the backfield, having eight tackles for loss and three sacks. Leading on the defensive side was linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski who had 12 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. Defensive back Elijah Rikard had one sack and one tackle for loss.
The Chippewa offense struggled to finish out drives throughout the matchup. In three trips to the red zone, CMU secured three field goals and no touchdowns. On the other side, Illinois had four trips to the red zone where it had three touchdowns and a field goal.
“Offensively, you get down in there you’ve got to come away with touchdowns,” McElwain said. “They’ve got a good defense; their numbers show it. Give them some credit, but we’ve got to be able to put it in the end zone.”
After a week where he threw five interceptions, junior quarterback Joe Labas went 12-for-25 with 125 yards passing and one interception.
“I thought (Labas) did a good job of competing,” McElwain said. “He used his feet, gave us some first downs and did a really good job that way and for the most part took care of the ball… He did some really good things. We’ve got to get the guys around him to help him.”
The Fighting Illini got out to the early 7-0 lead after a 12 play, 59 yard drive that ended on a 11-yard touchdown pass from Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer.
Altmyer started the game out consistently, completing five out of six pass attempts and 40 yards passing. He ended the game with 242 yards passing and two touchdowns.
The Chippewas shot back with a balanced drive that ended in a 32-yard field goal, giving CMU its first score of the game, 7-3 late in the first quarter.
However, after the early scores, both offenses went quiet for the majority of the second quarter, trading field goals to end the first half.
CMU’s defense came alive in the second quarter, only allowing 61 yards and six points to go into halftime down 13-6. In the first half, the Chippewas had six tackles for a loss and three sacks.
It was a different story to open up the second half. Illinois drove down the field with ease in its first drive of the third quarter, going 75 yards in four plays to take the two-possession lead, 20-6.
The fast start gave the Fighting Illini the momentum they needed as they outscored the Chippewas 17-3 in the second half.
Redshirt senior kicker Tristan Mattson went 3-for-3 in field goals with his longest coming from 32 yards out.
“Give the kicker credit, he made them,” McElwain said. “But at the same time we’ve got to find a way to get it in the end zone.”
Central Michigan returns to Kelly/Shorts Stadium when it hosts Ball State to open MAC play at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
“We’ve got to take care of our home field, and we’ve got a long bus ride home to think about this one,” McElwain said.
