Notebook: CMU D line takes leap, EMU run defense makes last stand, WMU in top-of-MAC showdown

WMU faces fellow first-place foe Miami (OH), while the CMU defense took a step and EMU's needs to.

Notebook: CMU D line takes leap, EMU run defense makes last stand, WMU in top-of-MAC showdown
(Courtesy of Central Michigan Athletics)

Central Michigan’s defense found a new wrinkle over the weekend as the defensive line surged for eight tackles for loss and a trio of sacks in a 27-6 win over Bowling Green. 

Led by Michael Heldman’s two sacks, the group had its best performance of the season with fresh and healthy bodies out of a week off, and added a new complexion to a Chippewas defense that has already been stingy on the whole. 

“There's a couple things we tweaked in practice to try to make it a little more disciplined so the kids were locked in,” head coach Matt Drinkall said Tuesday. “But boy, those guys were doing such a great job from a production standpoint. 

Central Michigan entered last Saturday with seven sacks, and the 10 the Chippewas are now sitting on only ranks toward the bottom of college football. And with the defense playing well as a whole and the defensive line playing OK against the run through the first half of the season, the lack of disruption got papered over. Turnovers and limiting explosives carried the Chippewas most of the way defensively through the first six games. 

But if the defensive line can produce more performances like the one it did on Saturday against Bowling Green, there starts to be little that this defense can’t do. 

Chock full of experienced veterans — aged 22 going on 40, as Drinkall put it — the defense has taken to the scheme installed by defensive coordinator Sean Cronin, mixing in plenty of disguise and simulated pressures to keep offenses off balance. 

And the linebackers, in particular, got some love, as Drinkall lauded Jordan Kwiatkowski, the reigning MAC defensive player of the week, along with Dakota Cochran and Lawai’a Brown, for their versatility. 

Drinkall also singled out defensive lineman JJ Douglas as playing well against the Falcons, but Heldman, above all, had the coach singing his praises. 

“Heldman is an NFL player, dude,” Drinkall said. “He is unbelievable. His get off, his bend, he plays relentless. He gets better and better every week. During the course of the year, people usually get beat up and run down and he gets better every week. He's playing his best football he's ever played in his life right now.” 

On-the-ropes EMU gets ultimate test for run defense

The worst rushing defense in the MAC has the task of slowing the best rushing offense in the MAC, as Eastern Michigan hosts Ohio at noon. 

Ohio averages 214.4 yards a game and has scored 17 rushing touchdowns to date, powered by quarterback Parker Navarro and tailback Sieh Bangura, whose seven rushing scores leads the conference. 

And Eastern Michigan has struggled to stop the run since the first drive of the season, allowing 255.3 yards per game and 21 touchdowns on the ground. Some issues have been cleaned up since the start of the season but missed tackles persist and the front seven isn’t particularly deep.

“We're going to be tested in that way for the rest of the year,” head coach Chris Creighton said. “We're going to have to figure out ways to shut people down. These guys have a good offensive line, a really good back and a quarterback that can hurt you and if you commit everything to the run, they're going to hurt you in the pass game. Makes it difficult.” 

But if there was ever a time for a backs-against-the-wall performance from the Eagles defense, this would be the weekend, as Eastern Michigan is 2-6 and can’t afford another loss if it wants to get bowl eligible.

There is some evidence to suggest the Eagles are capable of doing enough to slow the Bobcats run game, as EMU managed to stem the tide of NIU’s rushing attack two weeks ago for a 16-10 home win.

“But our guys are capable,” Creighton said. “There's — I don't have any question about that. It's about putting it together. Making tackles when we're there, being disciplined in our fits. Taking the ball away, getting off the field on third down. We know what the answers are and we just gotta get more and more confidence and get some stops to get some momentum. We'll certainly be tested with the run game.” 

But the difference between NIU and Ohio is the presence of a passing game, meaning the Eagles can’t sell out to stop the run quite like they did against the Huskies. If they do, Navarro is happy to throw it to Chase Hendricks, the MAC’s leading receiver. 

There are no easy answers for Eastern Michigan matching up against this Ohio offense, just a big test the Eagles need to pass to keep bowl hopes alive. 

“Just talked about being grown men and analyzing the game and figuring out the places where we've gotta get better and put a plan together now for Ohio and get ready for those guys,” Creighton said. 

Western Michigan-Miami (OH) a MAC title teaser?

There’s a very good possibility that Western Michigan’s game this weekend at Miami (OH) is the first of two matchups with the Redhawks, as they and the Broncos are both undefeated in conference play at 3-0 and 4-3 overall. 

And whether or not these teams manage to meet again in the MAC Championship, the winner will have a very clear path at 4-0 in the league with four games to play. 

Others, like Buffalo, Ohio, Ball State, Central Michigan and Toledo, are still in solid position to be playing at Ford Field in early December, but it’s undeniable that whoever comes out on top between the Broncos and Redhawks will be in a strong position. 

“We play one of the best if not the best team in our conference in Miami this week,” head coach Lance Taylor said Monday. “They've won their last 10 regular season MAC games and I think they're the best and most complete team we have played all year from an offense, defense and special teams standpoint. They have playmakers in all three phases, they're well coached, they're disciplined and they don't make mistakes to beat themselves.”

And the two teams have very similar formulas, built on defense and running the ball, with a dual-threat quarterback running the show. Both lead their respective squad in rushing. 

But unlike Broc Lowry, who is still relatively new to being a starting quarterback, his counterpart on Saturday, Dequan Finn, is one of the most experienced players, let alone quarterbacks, currently playing CFB, having first enrolled at Toledo in 2019 before playing there, then transferring twice to end up at Miami (OH). 

And along with some real acumen running the ball, both of these defenses are among the best in the conference. 

They rank first and second in the league in sacks, with WMU at 28 and Miami (OH) at 22, and are among the top of the league in turnovers. 

Two good offenses, two great defenses, and a matchup to stay in first place in the conference, perhaps not for the first time. 

“I'm excited,” Taylor said. “This will be a great test for our football team on the road against one of the best in our conference. They've been in the MAC championship the last two years, so I'm excited to see how our guys attack the week and play this weekend.”