Notebook: CMU embracing Big House trip, WMU QB sticking with 2 QBs, EMU offense on firm footing

Mt. Pleasant — The mix of music and crowd noise flowing out of Kelly-Shorts Stadium reached across the nearby main road, as traffic couldn’t drown out the best efforts of the Central Michigan football program to mimic Michigan Stadium. 

And the playlist, featuring music mixed with crowd noise to acclimate the Chippewas to working in a loud environment, contained some tunes that are familiar favorites, especially in Ann Arbor. 

Among the tunes being piped in were “Seven Nation Army,” by The White Stripes, a staple in stadiums across the Mitten, and a number of more Big House-centric songs: “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, which the Michigan Stadium crowd sings along to between the third and fourth quarters, and Endor’s “Pump It Up,” which the Wolverines played frequently at games amidst three-straight Big Ten titles and College Football Playoff appearances.

No amount of added sound or acclimation can fully prep the Chippewas for what Saturday afternoon holds, though, which is part of why head coach Matt Drinkall isn’t going to shy away from what awaits. Central Michigan visits Michigan for a noon kickoff on Saturday, and along with the game being a meaningful non-conference matchup for the Chippewas on the field, it’s certainly something that can’t be ignored off it, either. 

“To me, I think you totally embrace it,” Drinkall said. “It's not anything — it's not like you can hide playing at the Big House from the kids. They're very smart. They probably have played this game in the video game a bunch of times in the summer. And even a little bit when I say embrace it, we're going to travel a couple more kids than we normally do and we're going to — we elected to take the earlier slot to get there so the kids can get there and experience the stadium and the environment a little bit, hopefully get acclimated.”

Drinkall, who most recently coached at Army, compared the added outside attention during the week to that of the Army-Navy game. 

Alumni will be on hand at the Big House, and plenty of well wishers and those attached to the program are paying closer attention during the week. There’s some added programming outside the game for fans and alumni. The whole week becomes an event, and a potential distraction. 

But the potential for distraction isn’t of big concern, as playing the Wolverines has just as much potential to get the attention of the Central Michigan locker room. 

Michigan is one of the two big state schools in Michigan, along with Michigan State, and is one of the biggest draws. Drinkall acknowledged that some Central Michigan fans also cheer for the Wolverines or Spartans, as well. Michigan is integral to the history and fabric of the sport, Drinkall said, and getting to play in one of the cathedrals of the sport, the 107,601-seat bowl of the Big House, which becomes one of the 10 most populous places in the state on a half dozen fall Saturdays, is a rare treat.

“Michigan's on the Mount Rushmore of college football programs and I think that's a cool thing, from the stadium being built like the Roman Coliseum, football helmets, coach Yost,” Drinkall said. “All of it. The Harbaughs and Schembechler and just — it's awesome. So, to me, embrace all of it.”

And in more direct, prosaic matters, Drinkall himself won’t tolerate another performance like Central Michigan put forth against Pittsburgh in Week 2, with missed assignments and pre-snap penalties that he attributed to himself, failing to prepare the team for the environment.

Now, he's hellbent on the Chippewas not succumbing to crowd noise this Saturday in Ann Arbor.

“That is a failure on my part,” Drinkall said of the issues in Pittsburgh. “So I've — I told those guys, I apologized to them. We will get that fixed and addressed this week and create, hopefully a more difficult environment other than who all is actually watching in there.”

Western Michigan quarterback rotation rolls on

After Brady Jones and Broc Lowry both played significant snaps in the opening loss to Michigan State in Week 1, a game in which the Broncos were shutout on offense, it was Lowry doing the bulk of the work against North Texas in a 33-30 overtime loss.

Following the Week 2 loss, in which Jones played the first two series and had a Hail Mary attempt at the end of regulation while Lowry played most of the game and accounted for three touchdowns, head coach Lance Taylor was pleased with the performance but wanted to review the tape before making any decisions. 

On Monday, the verdict was in: Western Michigan will keep using both quarterbacks.

The case for playing Lowry after Saturday was evident, as the offense looked efficient with him taking snaps as his run-first style fit the game flow. Taylor said the plan was to play Jones more, but Lowry got in, led two touchdown drives, and the Broncos staff was content to ride the hot hand. 

But the issue still remains the passing game, as Lowry hasn’t been a consistent threat to hit targets down the field. He’s 5-for-10 on the season for 91 yards, and did have a touchdown pass on Saturday on a well-designed leakout to running back Jalen Buckley, who looked strong rushing. 

And while Jones is evidently the better thrower of the two, the Broncos haven’t managed to get the offense in a rhythm with him under center. Jones is yet to lead a scoring drive in 2025; he’s 11-for-23 with 97 yards. He did throw an interception on a batted ball against Michigan State. 

The Broncos made big offensive progress in Week 2, running the ball effectively and finding an “edge” on the offensive line that Taylor hopes fuels the ground game and offense going forward. 

But the quarterback position is still leaving something to be desired, and Taylor is going to let both Jones and Lowry keep battling, leaning into whichever might be the hot hand or fit the game plan, until one seizes the role fully. 

And as Western Michigan heads into a road contest against a Top 10-ranked Illinois team, the Broncos will certainly need at least one of the quarterbacks to have a hot hand.  

“So we will assess each week, which player gives us the best opportunity against what the defense or our opponent is giving us,” Taylor said. “And then as we get in the game, who is playing the best. At some point, we would like to name a starter. I would. At some point we would like to go to a one quarterback system, name a starter. But as long as both players provide something, provide value for our football team, we're going to play both.”

Overshadowed by defensive struggles, Eastern Michigan offense settling in

Starting 0-2 with a loss to FCS Long Island in Week 2, the Eastern Michigan defense has come into focus, giving up more than 1000 yards of offense in two weeks. 

But as the defense scrabbles along, the Eagles offense, led by new quarterback Noah Kim, actually has been solid.

Averaging 25 points per game, the Eagles haven’t been high-flying, but is third among MAC teams in points per game after two weeks and is one of 47 teams nationally that is still perfect scoring on red zone trips with seven scores in seven trips. 

Further, the offense hasn’t turned it over, the group isn’t committing penalties, and Kim has completed 65.1% of his passes for 437 yards and three touchdowns while the ground game has added three more touchdowns and 265 more yards. The entire offense averages 7.1 yards per play through two games.

One area the Eagles do want to see continued improvement is in the run game, as head coach Chris Creighton said this week that he felt they could’ve done better against the Sharks. 

“We ran the ball better in Week 1 than we did in Week 2 and so certainly are putting our attention to that. It's something that we feel as though we can be good at throughout the course of the season, and are going to need to be.”

Michigan transfer tailback Tavierre Dunlap has led the team in carries with 21 for 59 yards and a score through two weeks, but it’s veteran Dontae McMillan leading the squad with 136 yards on 17 carries, plus a touchdown. McMillan’s eight yards per carry lead the MAC. Joey Mattord is also a factor in the run game, and has five carries for 38 yards and a touchdown. 

And both on the ground and in the air, the Eagles want to keep improving as the offense has outstripped the defense in the early going.