Fantastic, Functional, Forgettable: Central Michigan takes 1st leg of Michigan MAC series, Western Michigan romps

It’s an evening edition of Fantastic, Functional, Forgettable, drilling in on the trio of Michigan MAC teams, as Central Michigan is coming off a 24-13 win over Eastern Michigan. 

The victory was a major marker for the Chippewas early in the Matt Drinkall Era, and it has Eastern Michigan walking a fine line to get to a bowl game this season. 

And Western Michigan overcame a sluggish start to beat down FCS Rhode Island, 47-14.

Here’s what was Fantastic, Functional and Forgettable from the weekend. 

Fantastic

Angel Flores and Joe Labas: Flores powered the Central Michigan offense on Saturday, accounting for 136 total yards, with most of those coming on the ground at a 6.1 yard per carry clip. And Flores was key in converting a number of short yardage third and fourth downs with his legs. He did throw a touchdown pass though, connecting with Langston Lewis in the back of the end zone. And Labas has been lights out passing his last two games: 26-of-30 for 379 yards and four touchdowns. The QB tandem has worked brilliantly the last two games with Jadyn Glasser sidelined for the time being, and will be at the center of a lot more wins if they keep playing like this. 

Central Michigan’s bowl outlook: The Chippewas are 3-2, and don’t face a daunting MAC slate. Games at Akron, at home against UMass and at Kent State appear to be the best chances for Central Michigan to pick up three more wins to hit the six-win threshold. And the remainder of the games — against Bowling Green, Western Michigan, Buffalo and Toledo — left on the schedule aren’t unwinnable, by any stretch. The last two teams in Mt. Pleasant started 3-2 and missed the postseason, and the veterans who were around for that are keen to keep on their business and avoid that fate for a third year running.

Western Michigan’s 2nd quarter eruption: Western Michigan trailed FCS Rhode Island, 7-3, entering the second quarter, and it appeared like the Broncos might be in for another slog. After punching in a touchdown to cap off a 13 play, 75 yard drive with 13:35 until halftime, the Broncos defense forced a three and out, forced and recovered a fumble and then intercepted the Rams on three subsequent possessions as the Broncos scored touchdowns on all three offensive possessions as the defense swarmed. The Broncos turned a 7-3 deficit into a 31-7 lead over 13:15 of game clock and never looked back.

Nahree Biggins: Biggins had a 49 yard touchdown run that helped blow the game open, putting the Chippewas up 14-0 late in the first quarter as Central Michigan raced out to a 21-3 and eventually 21-6 lead that held up until halftime. Biggins finished with 113 yards and the touchdown on 14 carries, going for 8.1 yards a carry. It was an explosive, efficient day on the ground for the tailback, who also caught three passes for 23 yards. 

Western Michigan’s defensive front: Seven sacks and nine tackles for loss is a great day at the office, no matter who the opponent is. Forcing three fumbles along with three quarterback hurries is just a cherry on top. This group, led by Rodney McGraw and Nadame Tucker, have been a force for the Broncos for much of the season, and got to flex their collective muscle on Saturday night, changing the game for Western Michigan in the process. 

Functional

Eastern Michigan’s response: The Eagles keep playing from behind this season, but after going down 21-3 early in the second quarter and into the half trailing 21-6, Eastern Michigan stopped the Chippewas on a number of possessions through the middle of the game, scored a touchdown, and could’ve tied the game with a touchdown and a two-point conversion. It was too big a hole to climb out of, ultimately, but the Eagles stopped the bleeding and got back in the game, and were a few breaks away from making things a lot closer in Mt. Pleasant. 

Broc Lowry: The Broncos quarterback was effective in his first game as the full-time start, completing 75% of his passes (15-of-20) for 143 yards and a touchdown while adding 52 yards and a touchdown on the ground. With some short fields and a stalwart defensive showing, Lowry didn’t put up eye-popping numbers, but he didn’t need to. He marshaled the offense efficiently and keeps building out his passing ability with more and more reps. 

Eastern Michigan’s run game: The Eagles ran for 4.2 yards a carry on Saturday, and quarterback Noah Kim punched in EMU’s lone touchdown on a zone read that he kept in the red area. Dontae McMillan ran well, going for 71 yards on 13 carries to pace the Eagles on the ground. It was a fairly effective showing, but just not enough as the offense played from a multi-score deficit for much of the game.

Central Michigan’s defense: The Chippewas only gave up 13 points but the Eagles did manage nearly 300 yards. A pick by Maddix Blackwell for CMU proved to be the game-changing play as the Sean Cronin-coached unit put in a yeoman’s effort on Saturday. Nothing too flashy, with two sacks, three tackles for loss and a trio of passes defensed, but a solid outing that made for tough sledding for the Eagles, and kept points off the board for the most part. 

Lolo Matele, WMU’s running back depth: Mataele led the Broncos in rushing, carrying 10 times for 60 yards and a pair of scores. It’s his best showing of the season and a testament to the deep stable of backs that the Broncos have on offer. Along with Mataele, the Broncos have Jalen Buckley (who didn’t play Saturday), Devin Miles and Cole Cabana to tote the rock, plus Lowry. It’s a versatile, deep group that the Broncos are going to lean on as the season goes on. 

Forgettable

Eastern Michigan’s slow starts: In the Eagles’ 1-4 start, Eastern Michigan has never led at any point in the four losses. And in all of those games, Eastern Michigan got down by multiple scores in the first half, sometimes before the first quarter even ended. It happened again on Saturday, as Central Michigan took a 21-3 lead early in the second quarter, a lead that proved to be comeback proof. The Eagles have a solid offense and can be balanced, but EMU needs to avoid these bad starts to games and negative game scripts where they can’t come back. 

Eastern Michigan’s bowl outlook: With seven games to go and needing five more wins, Eastern Michigan doesn’t have much room to spare in trying to make a bowl game. And at this point, getting to 6-6 feels like it might be a real success, as it would likely involve some sort of notable turnaround for a team that has been slumping through the first five games of 2025.

Western Michigan’s defensive start: On Monday, head coach Lance Taylor warned that the Broncos were dealing with an explosive Rhode Island offense, and he was proven right on the first drive, as a 56-yard pass play (plus a 15-yard penalty) set up the Rams opening scoring drive, putting the Broncos in a 7-0 hole. The defense more than made up for it and the offense scored in bunches, so on top of being forgettable in the bad sense, the start was also forgettable in that it was more or less outweighed by the balance of the night.