Coach Zeilger preaches “think tough be tough” as his team motto, at the home opener of the new CMU events center one team on the floor played the way Coach Z loves. The problem is, it was the road team. Temple used their size to play more physical then the home standing Chippewas and got every rebound, every lose ball, and made all the hustle plays to come back from a ten point deficient, 41-31, in the second half to win by 12, 65-53. CMU started off strong much to the delight of the sold out crowd in attendance as senior Jalin Thomas’ hot shooting gave CMU a early lead. Thomas had a big day and finished with a career high 26 points, including 6 three point makes, but didn’t get much help. CMU had to work so hard to get any look and in the second half it worn on them, as they shot only 34% from the floor, Temple shot 62%. Temple pressured CMU all night long and use their physical play to frustrate the Chippewas. CMU played well for awhile but they are not ready just yet to compete with a good team like Temple, who was ranked in the top 25 until they lost to Cal last week.  Temple’s big 3 of Juan Fernandez, 18 points, Ramone Moore, 16 points, and Lavoy Allen, 13 points 10 rebounds, was too much for CMU.

Freshmen star Trey Zeilger struggled with how physical Temple played him all night and he had his worse game so far as a Chippewa, as he only had 5 points in 36 minutes on 2-11 shooting. Senior Amir Rashid had 11 points for CMU, as he was the only other Chippewa player in double figures, in fact Zeigler was the third highest scorer with his 5 points. CMU will have another chance to beat a team from a bigger conference on Saturday against Depaul. Depaul is coming off a two point win over another MAC team, NIU, and is a team with a new coach and a lot of new players that should give CMU a chance to get a road win against a BCS conference team. Much like last year when CMU beat big east team South Florida on the road. Depaul is another bottom of the big east team that gives CMU a chance to get a win.

Depaul will poise some of the main problems as Temple as they have some size, and will look to go inside. CMU will have to rebound better then it did on Wednesday night to come away with a road win on Saturday, but I am sure Coach Zeigler and the Chippewas are preparing to do that. CMU has one win in Chicago already this year at UIC, but a second win on the road in the windy city should be a little harder.

5 total touchdowns, including two kick off returns by Eric Page were enough for Toledo to beat CMU 42-31 on Friday and end CMU’s season at a disappointing 3-9. Page also caught two touchdowns and threw another, and had 344 total yards. CMU showed a lot of fight as they continued to come back all day, and after their second block punt in a row gave them the ball inside the 15 down 11 with over 6 minutes to go Sophomore QB Ryan Radcliff fumbled on the next play and Toledo was able to run out the clock for the win. Coach Enos mentioned on that block that they were suppose to “scoop and score that, we do it everyday in practice” but that doesn’t change the fact that Radcliff fumbled the ball when CMU had a great chance to get right back in to the game. Enos also made a mistake himself in my eyes when down 18 on 4th and goal from the four right at the end of the 3rd quarter he choose to go for it instead of kicking the field goal that would make it a two score game. The conversation failed and then on Toledo’s punt CMU blocked it and recovered it in the end zone.  Those three points would have been nice but even with that, and giving up another touchdown, CMU once again had a chance, but just like the entire season they found ways to lose, instead of ways to win.

Radcliff finished with 322 passing on 28-39 with one pick and a fumble. WR Cody Wilson had another huge game, catching 10 balls for 109 yards, he will be back next year, as will RS Freshmen RB Zurlon Tipton, who only had 9 carries for 26 yards, but did score twice and showed his combination of speed and power that should make him CMU’s starting RB for the next three years.

On defense Nick Bellore finished a wonderful career with 1o tackles, and fellow senior LB Matt Berning had 8. CMU’s defense really didn’t play bad this game, or all year, they just gave up way too many big plays, and the offense didn’t make the plays that they had the last few years. The Senior class deserved better then this season, for all the success they have had, they had a lot to do with the turn around of this program, and every CMU fan should be thankful for their four, or five, years in Mt. Pleasant.

Looking to the future I believe CMU will not be down for long. Coach Enos was a first year coach and he was learning on the job. He is a tireless worker and known for being a great recruiter. I believe next year will be better, for him, it has to be, because of the last few years here, 3-9 seasons will not let you keep your job long in Mt. Pleasant anymore. 

I now can totally switch my attention to basketball, as CMU will have their home opener on Wednesday. Fire up Chips!

The renovations to the Rose Center was needed for CMU and everyone is looking forward to the opening on December 1st. But no one is looking forward to it as much as the players and coaches who have had to change their routines daily since they don’t have a home place to practice at. They have had to use the local high school for a exhibition game, and practiced most of the time at the student activity center that doesn’t have the privacy they are use to. That will all change as they now will have their own practice gym connected to the new area.  They also have started the year with 5 road games in a row. Trips to Hawaii, Alabama and finally Chicago  is how the Chippewas started the season and after a 62-52 win over UIC last night, CMU comes home at 2-3. They have been in all five games, and their three losses include two in overtime and another by three points.

It is great to come home and open a new building, but it will not be easy. Waiting for CMU on their home opener is Temple, currently ranked 20th in the country and a pre season favorite to win the A-10. CMU is a young and talented team that has shown flashes so far this year but Temple is a big and strong team that plays a lot like a Big East team. This will be a great game for CMU since head coach Ernie Zeigler preaches toughness and defense. His motto is “think tough, be tough” and I can not think of a better team to test that toughness out against them Temple.

CMU started slow in the UIC game but a 11-0 run late in the first half gave CMU a 8 point lead and it was a lead that they didn’t give up the rest of the game. UIC cut in to it a little to be down only 28-21 at halftime and then once again after CMU pushed the lead to 16, UIC went on a run to cut it back to ten. Helping CMU was Will McClure as the senior big man had his first career double double with a career best 12 points and 10 rebounds. McClure is known for his good rebounding and defense so his 12 points was a surprise to most. What wasn’t a surprise was the scoring of Freshmen Trey Zeilger, who had a game high 17. Trey didn’t start the game as his dad, and head coach, wanted to send a message to him about his defense, message sent. Trey and senior Antonio Weary played great defense on UIC second leading scorer Paul Carter, and Freshmen Derek Jackson, and senior Amir Rashid did the job on UIC’s leading scorer Robo Kreps to give CMU a nice road win.  The last of the four seniors Jalin Thomas also had a nice game scoring 13 points for CMU.

Questions of outside shooting will be asked about this team all year, and while they were only 4-12 from the 3 point line they did a much better job getting to the basket in the second half and drawing fouls. After not shooting one free throw in the first half they shot 18 in the second, making 12 of them, for 66.7% If they can stay around 70% as a team from the line they will have a successful season.

Temple will be a very hard game, but luckily the CMU faithful have gotten behind this team, the game is already sold out, which may not sound like a lot to most fans, but considering CMU hasn’t had a sold out crowd since February of 2001 it is a very big deal. Attendance has improved each year under Coach Zeilger, and with this young and talented team, and a new area, it should improve a lot this year.

The 2010 football season comes to a end on Friday for CMU, and while the year has been mostly a huge disappointment, the Chippewas last game against MAC West rival Toledo gives CMU a chance to end the year on a positive note. CMU is playing better the last few weeks, as they beat arch rival Western Michigan on senior day, and then lost by one at Navy 38-37, when they went for two and the win instead of kicking the PAT and playing for OT with 5 seconds left. They have had almost two full weeks since that game against Navy on November 13th, and should be well rested for their season finally against the Rockets.

Sophomore QB Ryan Radcliff has played his best play in the last two games, and that will need to continue if CMU wants to beat Toledo on the road. Radcliff has been throwing a lot and will most likely need to continue to do so, as the running game has struggled all year. WR Cody Wilson has shown he is a big time play maker and has done so much for this offense all year. The Sophomore only has good things ahead of him.

On defense CMU is lead by senior LB Nick Bellore and Matt Berning, who will both be playing in their last games for CMU on Friday. Both have done so much for the program in their four years here, and Bellore is the leading active career tackle leader for FBS schools. Both have seen a lot of success in their careers and it is too bad that their senior year hadn’t gone as well as they planed. Bellore missed the Navy game which was the first game of his CMU career that he didn’t start, he fought some injuries all year but finally a bad cut inside his mouth made him miss the game. He is ten tackles away from being second all time on CMU career tackle list, I would bet anything he will be on the field on Friday. If this team finishes with 3 wins or 4 wins it doesn’t mean too much, but it is always nice to win your last game, and winning two of your last three, with a one point loss to a good team thrown in, would give the team confidence moving forward to the 2011 season and give Coach Enos and his staff some positives to use for the recruiting trail as they try to rebuild this program.

Despite CMU’s pure record, they have been in all but one game, at Va Tech. CMU has had 6 games decided by less then 7 points, the problem is, they are 1-5 in those six games. Being in games is the first step for a young team, winning them is the next step. A step that needs to be taking by CMU since the recent success, 3 conference titles and 4 bowl games in the last four years, have spoiled the fan base and raised expectations dramatically.

Last year CMU easily beat Toledo 56-28, and has won 5 games in a row over Toledo, including a 24-23 win in 2008 the last time the game was in the Glass Bowl. Toledo was in position to win the MAC West until they went to NIU and got rolled by the Huskies. Toledo is 7-4 and coming off a win over Bowling Green and will want to have a win on their senior day as they get ready for a bowl game.  CMU has been playing better the last few weeks and had lots of time to rest up and get ready for Toledo. There is not a lot of love lost between the two schools, and I think beating Toledo on their senior day would be a great way to end the year for CMU. That being said, I think Toledo will win the game 24-21. CMU will play hard and it will be another close game, but this season when things could go wrong they have, and that will happen again on Friday in Toledo.

It is hard not to have fun in Hawaii. And even though I am sure the players, coaches and staff that made the trip did have some good times off the court a 1-2 record is not what they were looking for on the court. As part of ESPN’s 24 hour college hoops marathon, or as I like to call it, the prefect day, CMU played host Hawaii in the last game of the Rainbow Classic at 4am this morning, or 11pm on the island.

CMU started their 3 game trip against Cal State Fullerton and played a very close game throughout and eventually won on a 3 pointer at the buzzer by senior forward Jalin Thomas after fellow senior Amir Rashid took a charge on Fullerton’s last chance to win the game with 5 seconds left. Thomas lead four Chippewas in double figures with 21 points. Freshmen Trey Zeigler had 11 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, while Amir Rashid had 13 points. Ju Co transfer Andre Coimbra had 12 points in 16 minutes off the bench as the 6’9 Brazil native was 2-2 from the three point line.

The next night, or early morning on the mainland CMU once again found its self in a close game. This time Zeigler hit a 3 to tie the game, and then had a chance at a deep 3 at the end of the game to win, but it was rushed and not the best shot they would have liked and the teams went to overt time. Sadly for CMU, Montana State controlled the extra session and won 65-58.  Zeigler lead the Chippewas with 21, while Thomas had 15, but no other CMU player had more then 7 points in the loss.

CMU then got a day off to visit Perl Harbor and another Navy base, and get a practice in, before taking on Hawaii on Monday night Hawaii time, early Tuesday morning in Michigan. Hawaii got off to a quick start but CMU was able to come back and make it another close game. For the third game in a row CMU had a 3 pointer at the buzzer but this time it was a half court heave by Derek Jackson and the freshman’s shot hit the side of the backboard. CMU found itself down only one but after they were not able to score with 16 seconds left, Hawaii did a great job of spreading the floor to let more time run off. CMU wasn’t able to foul until 5.7 seconds left, and even though Hawaii spilt the free throws to be up only one, CMU turned the ball over on the inbound and after another spilt at the line, and another knock away, CMU was left with only 3.9 seconds down 3. Despite the two close losses for a team with some many young players I still consider this a very good trip for CMU. Having that experience of playing close games on the road will only help this team. In the Hawaii game they even had the home town crowd to deal with who was very much in to the game. The biggest thing that the team needs to work on is their zone offense. I expect they are going to see a lot of it this year. They went 6-25 from the 3 point line against Hawaii and that is way too many 3s for this team. Last year that was the best part of their game, but gone are Robbie Harmon and Jordan Bitzer. This years team is longer and much more athletic and even against the zone, any kind of zone, and Hawaii did a great job switching their defenses, from a straight 2-3, to a 1-2-2, to even throwing in some 1-2-2 3/4 court press, they need to attack the basket and get the ball in the paint. Play more inside-out, instead of standing around the arch passing back and forth for 15-20 seconds and then jacking up a 3. I believe this is something that they will improve on.

For the game Zeigler again had a good game, scoring 24 points and he had 5 rebounds, but he also had 5 turnovers and only one assist.  CMU only had 5 assist for the entire game, which is too low, which shows you how much one on one and jacking up jump shots there was. Thomas was once again the only other player in double figures for CMU has he had 14 points, however 12 of those were in the first half.  CMU didn’t shoot well at all, and when that is happening you need to go to the basket even more and try to get to the foul line and get some easy baskets. Hawaii played very physical and I thought they were very well coaches. They have a lot of new players as well, in fact they have 10, to CMU’s 9, but played very hard. It was a very good college basketball game and worth waking up at 4am for. I just wish CMU could pull it out, but they will get better, and there is no question that good things are coming in Mt. Pleasant.  CMU will head back to Michigan for a few days of rest, and practice, until they head to Alabama to play at South Alabama on Saturday.

CMU traveled to Navy with not a lot to play for. A week after having a big win at home on senior day over your arch rival and a 3-7 record a late non conference game didn’t really mean anything for the Chippewas. However, CMU showed a lot of fight and played with great effor against a 7-3 Navy team that saw CMU lost a heart breaker 38-37. CMU scored with 4 seconds to go on a 4th and 2, but just like the Michigan State game last year and the Purdue game the year before CMU choose to go for two and the win instead of kicking the PAT for the tie and OT.

The first half it looked like neither defense would ever get a stop as CMU lead 24-21, and touchdowns were scored on 6 straight possessions. In the thrid quarter however CMU’s offense had some troubles while the Navy offense kept rolling.. or running as the case may be. Navy finished with 470 yards of total offense, 437 of that was on the ground. QB kriss Proctor rushed for 2o1 yards and a score on 20 carries, while RB Alexander Teich had 53 yards and 3 scores of his own. CMU on the other hand did its damage though the air. QB Ryan Radcliff had his best game of the year as he went 36-58 for 394 yards and 3 touchdowns, and the best part, no interceptions. 58 times is too much to throw the ball in a game, but if it is working and it is keeping you in the game, then you have to do it. CMU will need to continue to improve on their running game but Zurlon Tipton did have 62 yards rushing and two touchdowns. WR Cody Wilson was once again the star of the offense, as the sophomore had 13 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. Tight End David Blackburn, not used much yet in CMU’s offense, had 4 catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns for a very good day for for him. CMU did have too many drop passes as they dropped 7 in all, which of course is way too many, and also failed on a fake punt attempt but still could have tied the game against a very good Navy team if they wanted to.

CMU head coach Dan Enos and his staff did a great job after the big win against Western getting this team back up to play a non conference game on the road against a very good team, that really didn’t matter. CMU is now 3-8 and has one more game left November 26th at Toledo. CMU will have some time off in between to get ready for the Rockets who are coming off a big loss at NIU, which gives NIU the MAC West title. Finishing 3-9 or 4-8 may not be a big differences but it is always nice to win the last game of the year to make the players on the team feel good, and give the fans something positive in their minds as they think about the future. Toledo is a MAC west rival and not a lot of love is lost between the two schools. I expect CMU to once again come out ready to play and show that Chippewa pride that will at least keep them in the game.

After a big come from behind win over arch rival Western Michigan the CMU football team now goes on the road for their final two games of the 2010 season. Up first is a non conference match up with Navy. On the surface there is really no reason to play this game. CMU can not make a bowl, and they can not have a winning season. But the Chippewa football team, lead by their seniors are a proud bunch and want to end this season on a strong note if they can.

Facing Navy is a tough game for almost any team. They are a team that even when everyone knows what they are going to do, run the football, they still do it very well. Navy is 7th in the nation in rushing offense averaging 287.8 yards a game, they are 118th in passing offense. CMU on the other hand is 110th in rushing offense and in the top 25 in passing. The CMU run defense will be tested early and often but that is also the best part of the team. Senior LB Nick Bellore and Matt Berning are both tackling machine, Bellore is the active leader in tackles for D1, and with junior LB Armond Staten coming off his best game of his career, 11 tackles and forced three fumbles, good enough for MAC West Defensive player of the week, the CMU defense should be ready.

On Offense CMU’s QB Ryan Radcliff played the best second half of the season on Friday over Western and threw for 300 yards. WR Cody Wilson continued to be the best player on offense and the Chippewas will need another big day out of him if they want to beat Navy on the road. The Western game was also the first time all year when CMU had unsung players step up and make plays when they needed them the most. Senior WR Matt Torres, who only had 4 catches for 35 yards in his career going in to Friday’s game, had 3 catches for 57 yards, including two big catches in the fourth quarter, one coming on a 4th and 6 to keep a touchdown drive going, and the other being a 22 yard catch on the game winning touchdown drive.

But it has to be tough to get your self up for this game. A very late non conference game in November when you will be home for the holidays for the first time in four years. I believe the leaders on this team will get the guys ready to play, and coach Enos will want to continue to get a great effort from everyone as they try to have positives to move forward for the 2011 season, but I believe that Navy will win this football game. In the only other meeting between the two schools Navy won 63-34 in 2003. I would not expect that many points this time around for either school but Navy will score enough and win the game 24-14. I believe in CMU that they can win this game, but I just can’t bring myself to pick them to do it right now. I hope I am wrong.

From the outside CMU’s 26-22 win over Western last night was just a team having a tough year getting one win, no big deal, to have three wins instead of two, but for the Chippewa players and fans it means much much more. CMU had lost 6 games in a row and needed a win in the worst way, he comes Western, their biggest rival, on senior day for a game shown nationally on ESPNU.  WMU had lost 4 games in a row in the series, now 5, and are now 1-15-1 in Mt Pleasant since 1973.  The win helps CMU move to 3-7 overall and 2-5 in the conference, while Western drops to 3-6 overall, 2-3 in the MAC.

The game was not played at that high of a level, as both teams fumbled the ball five teams, however CMU only lost one of those fumbles, while WMU lost four, including one inside the 10 yard line with just under 2 minutes to go in the game and Western driving for the go ahead score. CMU QB Ryan Radcliff also threw a pick on the goal line at the end of the first half and got a safety. But all of that is forgotten for now. The win gives CMU something positive to build on for its final two games this year, at Navy and at Toledo, and for the 2011 season. Last nights game showed the emotion and fire that CMU fans are use to seeing from the Chippewas.  It was just a great night. All year CMU was just a few plays away from winning games, and just kept finding new ways to lose, last night when it was looking like it may happen again until Armond Staten forced the fumble and CMU recovered and were able to run out the clock behind senior running back Carl Volney, who had 18 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown on the day. Senior wide out Kito Poblah had 4 catches for 35 yards and a touchdown, but that touchdown was the game winner. WR Cody Wilson was again the star of the offense has he had 12 catches for 185 yards and a touchdown. Western was lead by their two great WR in Jordan White, 8 catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns, and Juan Nunez, 14 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown. The CMU defense came up big when it needed to though and got that one stop that they have been looking to get all year.

Head Coach Dan Enos will get some of the pressure off his back with the win as beating your rival can help you stay around for awhile. I wasn’t one of the people calling for Enos’ job since he is a first year head coach and he needs to be giving time, but many were, and for at least a week, that talk will stop. For Western you have to wonder if it may be near the end for their head coach Bill Cubit. He has never beaten Central in his career and that can not sit well in Kalamazoo today.

The win let the Chippewas keep two pieces of hard ware. The Michigan MAC trophy, which goes to the winner of the Central-Eastern-Western series, and CMU once again beat both of those teams this year, and the second was the victory cannon, which goes to the winner of the CMU-WMU game. Those trophies give the seniors and this team something positive to remember about this disappointing season. In talking to a few players after the game they are jacked up and ready to keep this going in their final two games. Said one of the senior co-captains after the win, “we are getting to five wins.”

There is one last home football game on Friday to end a disappointing season but the CMU basketball team was there to save the day Wednesday night. Playing at Mt. Pleasant High School since the new area is still getting some finishing touches to be ready for December 1st and the home opener against Temple.  The community got their first look at the new look Chippewa’s that feature 9 new players and really only 4 players who played major time last year, and only 5 players who have played at all. CMU used a great first half, especially on the defensive end where the Chippewa’s held Marygrove to 11 points in the first half on 4-24  shooting, or 16.7%. Freshmen Trey Zeigler, Coach Zeigler’s son, gave the home town crowd what they were use to seeing from him over the last four years playing at Mt Pleasant high school as he lead all scores with 20 points and also had 6 rebounds, 3 assist and 2 blocks. Fellow freshmen Derek Jackson finished with 15 and a game high 5 steals as he showed his athletic ability while also hitting 2-5 from behind the 3 point line. Returning starter Jalin Thomas has 13 points and 6 rebounds for CMU, while another newcomer Junior College transfer Andre Coimbra had 10 points. The 6’9 forward made some great hustle plays, took two of the teams 6 chargers, and also went 2-2 from the 3 point line.

The second half wasn’t as good as CMU only won that 20 minutes 34-27, but being up 43-11 at halftime it isn’t surprising the young team didn’t match the first half’s energy. Coming away with a 77-38 win however is a good start to the season as the team will continue to work on improving and get ready for the season opener next week vs Cal State Fullerton in Hawaii for the Rainbow Classic. There are a lot of new players on the team, so you can’t expect them to plat their best right away, but this team is longer more athletic and deeper then any CMU team since the 2003 team that won the conference regular season and tournament titles and also beat Creighton in the NCAA tournament before falling to Duke in the second round.

The Biggest question mark for the team will be their jump shooting. Last night it wasn’t too bad, but those shots are not always going to fall, that is why the best number I liked from last night was the 11 points they held Marygrove to in the first half, and 33 for the game, and the fact that they took 6 chargers as a team. If this team truly byes in to Coach Zeilger’s “think tough be tough” motto and they play defense like that all year, this team will be very successful.

CMU football has not had the season they wanted and the season their fans expected, and after 6 losses in a row they sit at 2-7. On Friday night CMU will host their final home game of the year against their biggest rival Western Michigan. As of now the weather looks like it will be normal November football in the Midwest, a high of 38 and snow showers. CMU and WMU have played in some bad weather in the past couple of years and Friday is looking like it will be more of the same. A Win over Western would not save the season, but it would help a lot. CMU would keep their Michigan MAC trophy with the win, which though it isn’t the trophy that they are use to winning it would be a very small positive in a year other wise full of negatives.

This is coach Dan Enos’ first game in the Central-Western rivalery so hopefully the senoirs are leading this team in their practice this week and make sure that this team is ready. This is not just another game, Western Michigan is 14-1-1 in Mt Pleasant since 1973 and in some of those years a nationally ranked Western team came in against a one win Central team and still came away with a loss. Hopefully this CMU team can find a way to win this game.

Western isn’t having a great year, but they are better then CMU on paper. To make it worse for Western and their fans they have lost four games in a row to CMU, including two in a row in Kalamazoo. Western knows the record they have in Mt Pleasant, and I am sure will smell the blood in the water and look to get some revenge on Central this year.

I expect a lot of Western fans to make the trip and with the way CMU’s season is going I can only hope that a lot of Chippewa faithful make it to the game as well. CMU needs to get off to a good start or they are in trouble, since they have continued to find new ways to lose winnable games each week. Western doesn’t want to lose five times in a row to CMU, but the game is in Mt Pleasant, and it’s Senior Day, Nick Bellore and the rest of the CMU seniors deserve to go out with a win, and I really hope they find a way to. CMU grinds out a ugly win to send out the seniors the way they should be. CMU wins 17-14