Analysis: A tale of two contests
Central Michigan football entered Pitbull Stadium Sept. 7 looking for its first 2-0 start since 2020. However, from the beginning, Florida International controlled the game, eventually winning 52-16.
The loss shut down any momentum the Chippewas had after their win over Central Connecticut State the week before.
As CMU heads to Memorial Stadium to take on Big Ten opponent Illinois Sept. 14, head coach Jim McElwain wants to make sure the Chippeweas don’t beat themselves and limit mistakes.
“Whatever you do, wherever you play, doesn’t matter,” McElwain said. “Don’t make the mistakes that give them easy scores. And really the big piece is to make the opponent earn it, have respect for whoever you’re playing, but don’t just give it to (them).”
CMU struggled on the road in the 2023 season and it continued into this year, going 1-6 last year and starting the year off 0-1. The loss against the Panthers marked its fifth-straight loss on the road.
“Being able to embrace the uncomfortable is something that we’ve really worked on,” McElwain said. “For our guys, being able to go to an environment that we’re going to play in (Illinois), I think it’s great, it’s a lot of fun.”
Costly mistakes
One of the biggest aspects that McElwain wanted to improve on coming into the season was winning the turnover battle; the Chippewas threw 11 interceptions, compared to their opponents’ five in 2023.
After having no turnovers against CCSU, turnovers became an issue against the Panthers. In the loss, the Chippewas had six turnovers, comprising five interceptions from quarterback Joe Labas and a muffed punt from senior defensive back Donte Kent.
“I think when the game kind of got a little bit out of hand, (Labas) tried to force things a little bit, (tried) to make things happen, which you don’t need to do,” McElwain said. “You go through the progression. Take what they give you.”
It was a completely different story in week one against the Central Connecticut Blue Devils. Labas went 18-for-24 with 342 passing yards and three touchdowns in front of a rowdy hometown crowd.
The turnovers in Miami gave the Panthers good field position throughout the game, earning 39 points off of CMU’s mistakes.
“We’ve got to control the things we can control,” McElwain said. “We gave the opponent last week 39 points. And I don’t care who you’re playing, you give somebody 39 points, you aren’t going to play very good.”
Kent said the game against FIU was a learning experience for both him and the team.
“You got to have short-term memory, so I was just trying to put the play behind me,” Kent said. “(I’m) just (using) it as a learning moment.”
Another area that hurt CMU against the Panthers was penalties. The Chippewas had 10 penalties for 70 yards, resulting in more opportunities for the Panthers.
In the win against CCSU, penalties were still prominent for CMU. The Chippewas booked eight penalties for 64 yards; however, the Blue Devils had 11 penalties for 94 yards.
Mentality going ahead
CMU is looking to learn and grow from the loss while also realizing that there is a lot of season left to play.
“It’s better that this past game happened earlier in the season, because it doesn’t define us,” Kent said. “So in the moment, I’m basically just telling everybody just stay calm, stay together.”
Senior running back Marion Lukes said the team understands where they went wrong in the game, and want to make sure they execute better going forward.
“At the end of the day, the coaches can draw all the X’s and O’s,” Lukes said. “If those X’s and O’s aren’t doing their job, then it’s not going to mean much. We know we’re super talented. Talent don’t mean much if you’re not using it the proper way whenever you are supposed to use it.
“We just got to take it in stride, understand that every down, anything can happen. Just got to get back up when you get knocked down, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
The Chippewas will square off against a Fighting Illini squad that is coming off a win against No. 19-ranked Kansas.
“It’s not really about our opponent,” Kent said. “It’s really about us and how we’re going to handle the opponent when we get there.”
