Central Michigan Chippewas

Chippewas Win Orange Bowl 27-14, Complete Undefeated Season

January 1, 2015

Game Report Posted: November 23, 2013 03:55  

There weren't many people who thought that the Chippewas would be able to hang with ACC Champion Florida State, but Coach Carlson had his boys ready to play as CMU looked to win their first ever BCS Bowl. Both teams entered the game with stout defenses ranked in the Top 10 nationally. The two teams traded TD's during the first half and went into halftime tied at 14-14. Whatever Coach Carlson said to his guys at halftime worked. The defense buckled down and the offense was more effective. The Chippewas outscored FSU 13-0 in the 2nd half on their way to a 27-14 victory in the Discover Orange Bowl. It was a monumental victory for Carlson and CMU, "This really is a dream come true for us," said Carlson. "It's not a National Championship, but no MAC school has ever won a BCS game. To be the first school to do so is really special. I really don't have any words to express how happy we all are right now."

Neither team could get much of a run game going and essentially abandoned it completely. The two teams combined for only 39 yards rushing. Cooper Rush was terrific for the Chippewa offense, completing 26 of 33 passes for 309 yards, 3 TD's and 1 INT. WR Titus Davis lead all CMU receivers en route to breaking the CMU record for receptions in a season. Davis caught 11 passes for 130 yards and 1 TD. WR Anthony Rice hauled in 7 catches for 115 yards.

It's hard to believe how fast CMU has risen back to the top of the MAC. It's clear AD Dave Heeke hit a homerun with his hire of Carlson. The success Carlson and his staff have had in two short years will mean that there is plenty of interest from other schools. There have been numerous rumors about other schools being interested in Carlson, Defensive Coordinator Danny Bryant and Offensive Coordinator Steed Lobotzke. It will be interesting to see if this staff can remain intact.

The Chippewas finish the season 14-0 (9-0) and ranked #4 in the nation.

Chippewas Defeat Bulls, Win 2nd Consecutive MAC Championship

December 5, 2014

Game Report Posted: November 23, 2013 03:50  

The Chippewas made the short trip from Mt. Pleasant to Detroit looking to capture their 2nd consecutive MAC Championship. The Bulls entered the game looking for some revenge for last season's lost, unfortunately for them, history repeated itself again.

The Bulls were able to move the ball against the CMU defense all game, but consistently ran out of steam in CMU territory. CMU jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Buffalo could only manage to put three FG's on the board in the first half as CMU entered halftime with a 21-9 lead. Buffalo would score the first TD of the the 3rd quarter to cut the lead to 21-16. That was as close as Buffalo would get. CMU would answer with a TD of their own to increase their lead back to 12 at 28-16. The Chippewas added two 4th quarter FG's to bump their lead to 34-16. The Chippewa defense took over the 4th quarter shutting Buffalo down and securing the 34-16 win and the 2nd consecutive MAC Championship for Central Michigan. "I'm just extremely happy for the guys," said Carlson. "Our goal was to finish the season undefeated, win the MAC Championship and play for a National Championship. We have accomplished two of those goals, we will have to wait and see about the third one."

Offensively, the Chippewas were led by Cooper Rush who completed 14/19 passes for 252 yards, 2 TD's and 2 INT's. Rush's favorite target, Titus Davis, caught 7 passes for 147 yards and 1 TD. Saylor Lavallii led all rushers with 75 yards on 17 carries and scored 2 TD's.

The win improved Carlson's record to 24-3 and his team has now won 19 games in a row. There is no doubt that he will be a hot commodity in the coaching carousel, but he refused to talk about that after the win. "I don't have a lot to say about any of that stuff right now. There will always be rumors, but I have stated many times my goal is to win a National Championship at CMU. We were close this year, but it doesn't seem like that will happen. I'm going to enjoy this win with my team and look forward to whatever BCS game we end up in." The BCS projections currently have CMU playing the winner of the ACC Championship game between Georgia Tech and Florida State.

The #5 Chippewas will enter their BCS game with a 13-0 (9-0) record. This will be the first ever appearance for CMU in a BCS game and only the 2nd appearance for the Mid-American Conference. Northern Illinois lost to Florida State in the 2013 Orange Bowl.

Chippewas Overcome Snow, Slow Start, Defeat RedHawks 35-6

November 29, 2014

Game Report Posted: November 22, 2013 21:09  

The Chippewas entered their game against Miami looking to complete a perfect 12-0 regular season, however, mother nature wasn't going to make it easy for CMU. A late November snow storm dropped multiple inches of snow on the field prior to game time and the snow remained consistent throughout the game. Due to the snowy conditions, both teams struggled to move the ball in the first half. CMU headed to the locker room with a 7-6 halftime lead.

The Chippewas regrouped at halftime and were able to over come the weather conditions outscoring Miami 28-0 in the 2nd half en route to a 35-6 win. "Not much better than a game in the snow," a sarcastic Carlson said. "It's always tough to get things going when you play in those types of conditions and it was clear we needed to change things up in the 2nd half. We always try to be balanced and Saylor did a good job for us on the ground. Due to the snow, we decided we needed to shorten up our pass routes to make it easier on Cooper and his WR's. They all did a great job with the adjustments and it allowed us to control the 2nd half today."

Saylor Lavallii led the way offensively rushing for 143 yards and 3 TD's on 26 carries. Cooper Rush completed 19/22 passes for 231 yards and 2 TD's. WR Titus Davis continued his campaign for the Biletnikoff award, catching 10 passes for 149 yards and 2 TD's. Davis had already broken the CMU single season records for receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and only needs 18 more receptions to break the CMU record of 110 receptions in a season.

The #5 Chippewas finish the regular season with a perfect 12-0 (8-0) record. They will travel to Ford Field for the MAC Championship game against Buffalo. This will be the 2nd year in a row these teams have faced each other for the MAC Championship with CMU coming away with a 28-18 victory last season.

Chippewas Destroy Akron, Clinch MAC West Title

November 22, 2014

Game Report Posted: November 20, 2013 16:57  

The Chippewas displayed just how dominant they can be in a 34-0 thrashing of the Akron Zips. The Chippewa defense absolutely manhandled Akron in all phases of the game, holding the Zips to only 31 yards of offense and three first downs while forcing eight punts. The offense struggled early for CMU and turned the ball over three times, but each time the defense was up to the challenge and forced Akron to punt. CMU led 24-0 at halftime before cruising to the 34-0 win and the MAC West Title. "Not the best game we have played this season," said Carlson. "Again we are making too many mistakes that our leading to turnovers. If we keep making these mistakes they are eventually going to come back and bite us."

QB Cooper Rush continued to struggle with ball security as he threw two more INT's and also fumbled at the goal line on a scramble. Rush has improved quite a bit from last season, but he is still learning and needs to cut down on his mistakes. Rush finished the game18/29 passing for 271 yards, 3 TD's and 2 INT's. WR Titus Davis broke his own school record for receiving yards in a season, catching 8 passes for 168 yards and 2 TD's. Davis has 83 receptions for 1,493 yards and 13 TD's this season. RB Saylor Lavallii once again surpassed the 100 yard mark, carrying the ball 18 times for 140 yards.

Central Michigan will be representing the MAC West at Ford Field for the 2nd consecutive season. The Chippewas will face a familiar foe, as the Buffalo Bulls have also clinched their 2nd consecutive trip to Ford Field. CMU defeated Buffalo 28-18 last season in the MAC Championship game.

The #5 Chippewas 11-0 (7-0) will look to finish their perfect regular season next week when they host the Miami (OH) RedHawks.

Chippewas Hang On to Beat Bobcats, Dream Season Continues

November 8, 2014

Game Report Posted: November 18, 2013 22:00  

The Chippewas have played with fire the past two weeks, but each time they have been able to do enough to come out on top. CMU jumped out to a 7-0 lead scoring on their first drive. A three and out by Ohio followed by a solid drive by CMU made it look like this game could get out of hand early. However, a Cooper Rush INT was returned by the Bobcats for a TD. Ohio missed the PAT to cut the CMU lead to 7-6 early on. Things only got worse for Rush and CMU as two more 2nd quarter INT's allowed Ohio to jump out to a 16-7 lead. Cooper Rush found Deon Butler on a 27 yard pass to cut the Ohio lead to 16-14 at halftime. An early 3rd quarter TD would put CMU in front 21-16 before Ohio would answer with a TD and two point conversion to take a 24-21 lead entering the 4th quarter. The Chippewas pulled away in the 4th quarter scoring two more TD's to make the lead 35-24 with 4 minutes left in the game. The Bobcats would not go quietly as a TD and failed two point conversion cut the CMU lead to 35-30. CMU would recover the ensuing onside kick and was able to run the clock out to earn the victory. "I said it last week and I'll probably say is the rest of the season, but every team is going to give us their best shot and that's what Ohio did," said Carlson. "We made some bad mistakes that led to turnovers in the 1st half, but Cooper regrouped and turned it around out there. The defense held strong and kept us in the game as we made some adjustments on offense."

Titus Davis was once again phenomenal and played a huge part in the Chippewas victory. The Senior caught 8 passes for 159 yards and 3 TD's. The 3 TD's give him 11 on the season and set the CMU receiving TD record for a single season. Antonio Brown previously held the record catching 10 TD passes in 2007. QB Cooper Rush rebounded from 3 first half INT's to finish the game 19/29 passing for 286 yards, 4TD's and 3 INT's. RB Saylor Lavallii had a solid performance rushing for 83 yards on 18 carries and scoring 1 TD.

The Chippewas continue their dream season with a 10-0 (6-0) record and are now ranked #5 in the nation. If the Chippewas can remain undefeated the rest of the way, CMU will receive an At-Large BCS bid and play in the schools first ever BCS bowl. CMU is off next week before they host Akron at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

Chippewas Survive Rockets, Improve to 9-0

November 1, 2014

Game Report Posted: November 18, 2013 21:14  

The Chippewas entered the game poised to dominate the Toledo Rockets, but Toledo had other plans in this hard fought game. The Chippewas struggled to get their offense going, but found themselves with a 14-3 lead entering halftime. The Rockets were able to answer back in the 3rd quarter scoring 11 unanswered points to tie the game at 14-14 entering the final quarter. Central could not find the endzone and had to settle for two FG's in the 4th quarter to take the lead 20-14 with less than 4 minutes to play. Needing a touchdown to win the game, the Rockets put together their best possession of the half, driving inside CMU's 15 yard line. Shortly after, the Rockets were faced with a 4th and 1 inside of the 10 yard line and had to convert to give themselves a chance to win. The Rockets decided to test the nation's #1 rush defense in the country, but CMU was up to the task, tackling the Toledo RB for a loss of one yard and forcing a turnover on downs. "Just a huge play by our defense," said Carlson. "We pride ourselves on being able to stop the run and we're ranked #1 in the nation because of that, but Toledo had some success on the ground before that play. We challenged our guys to step up and make a stop and they did it."

Offensively, CMU could never get the pass game going and it kept them from putting points on the board. Carlson wasn't pleased with the offensive performance against Toledo. "We weren't very good offensively and we turned it over two times. Luckily, the defense was able to pick up the slack today. We've won a lot of games, but this isn't going to be a cake walk for us. We have a target on our backs and teams want to knock us off." Cooper Rush struggled passing, completing 17 of 31 passes for 208 yards and 2 INT's. The Rocket defense was able to keep WR Titus Davis under 100 yards receiving for the first time in five games. Davis caught 6 passes for 82 yards. RB Saylor Lavallii accounted for two CMU TD's on the ground. He carried the ball 21 times for 106 yards. Lavallii also caught 3 passes for 31 yards.

Central Michigan improves to 9-0 (5-0) and will head into next weeks game ranked #6 in the nation. The Chippewas travel to Athens, OH to face the Bobcats.

Chippewas Dominate Broncos, Retain the Cannon Trophy

October 25, 2014

Game Report Posted: November 15, 2013 15:12  

It was an ugly scene for Bronco fans at Kelly/Shorts stadium on Saturday, as the Chippewas steamrolled Western Michigan 63-24 to earn their 2nd consecutive victory over the rival Broncos.

The Chippewas came into the game with a 7-0 record and ranked #12 in the nation and they showed just how much separation there is between the two programs. CMU trailed 3-0 after a quiet 1st quarter, but 35 2nd quarter points for the Chippewas provided them with a 35-17 halftime lead. The passing game could not be stopped in the first half as QB Cooper Rush accumulated 300 yards passing and 5 TD's in the first half. Rush finished the game 21/28 passing for 446 yards 5 TD's and 1 INT.

The 2nd half was no different as Central Michigan continued to dominate. The defense held the Bronco offense scoreless. Western's lone TD came on a fumble punt return by CMU. Saylor Lavallii accounted for all of CMU's 2nd half TD's finding the endzone on the ground four times. Lavallii finished the game with 168 yards on 23 carries and scored 4 TD's.

The story of the game may have been the performance of Senior WR Titus Davis. The outstanding play maker caught 12 passes for 304 yards and 4 TD's, setting the school record for receiving yards in a game and receiving TD's in a game. "I don't know what to say about today. I was just feeling it" said Davis. "It's obvious Cooper and I have a great relationship and he just finds ways to get me the ball. We always want to beat Western and the two of us were in a zone. There wasn't anything that was going to stop us." It was the 5th game in a row that Davis has surpassed 100 yards receiving. Davis now has 1,068 yards receiving on the season to go along with 8 TD receptions. "Titus is obviously a special player" said Carlson. He is the best WR in the NCAA in my opinion and that was before he did what he did today. Just grateful that he is playing on our side."

The win pushes Carlson's record to 2-0 against Western Michigan. Carlson now has a 4-0 record against the Michigan MAC schools. The win ensured that both the Cannon Trophy and the Michigan MAC trophy would stay in Mt. Pleasant for another year.

Central Michigan improves to 8-0 (4-0) and travels to Toledo next weekend to face the Rockets.

Chippewas Outlast NIU, Win 37-28

October 18, 2014

Game Report Posted: November 12, 2013 15:39  

The Chippewas were seeking revenge for the 45-14 thumping NIU handed the last season. CMU came away victorious, but it wasn't easy. CMU held an early 7-0 lead and were putting together a great drive looking for another early score. A Jesse Kroll fumble followed by turnovers on the next two drives saw a 7-0 CMU lead turn into a 21-7 lead for the Huskies. CMU was able to score before halftime to cut the lead to 21-14. "We really got after the guys at halftime" said Carlson. "We weren't playing Chippewa football and we made sure they knew that. Turnovers lead to losses and we didn't take care of the ball in the first half."

The Chippewas were able to get things going offensively and finally found an answer for NIU in the 2nd half. CMU outscored NIU 14-7 in the 3rd quarter and the teams entered the 4th quarter tied at 28. The turning point of the game came midway through the 4th quarter with the game still tied. NIU drove into CMU territory and looked like they would surely score the go ahead TD. However, NIU was called for a personal foul inside the redzone. The 15 yard penalty pushed them back to the 35 yard line and made it 1st and 25 yards to go. Defensive Coordinator Danny Bryant sent the house and sacks on the next two plays pushed NIU to midfield faced with a 4th and 40 yards to go. "That was a huge series for us" said Bryant. "Our guys will admit we hadn't played a great game up to that point, but we knew he had to get the ball back to our offense to win this game."

On the ensuing possession Cooper Rush was able to lead CMU down the field for the go ahead TD to put CMU back in front 35-28. After an NIU three and out, the Chippewas were able to chew some clock while moving the ball to midfield. NIU forced CMU to punt and took over with 50 seconds left in the game and needing to drive 90 yards. Bryant once again sent his guys after the NIU QB. A sack on first down took valuable time off the clock for NIU who had no timeouts remaining. On 4th and 20 from the 5 yard line the defensive line got to the QB for the 4th time sacking him for a safety and ensuring a CMU victory. Carlson was ecstatic after the game "Just a hard fought game by both teams. We still had a bad taste in our mouth after last year's meeting and we wanted to come in to DeKalb and get the victory. Really proud of the guys for hanging tough after we got down 21-7."

Cooper Rush continues to play better each week. The Sophomore QB finished the game 27/32 passing for 355 yards with 3 TD's and 1 INT. WR Titus Davis recorded his 4th consecutive 100 yard game, catching 11 passes for 173 yards. Jesse Kroll caught 3 passes for 67 and 2 TD's. Saylor Lavallii rushed for 100 yards on 17 carries and had a rushing and receiving TD.

The Chippewas now sit at 7-0 (3-0) and are ranked #12 nationally. They will host rival Western Michigan in the Battle for the Cannon on Saturday.

Chippewas Control Ball State, Win 24-6

October 11, 2014

Game Report Posted: November 11, 2013 18:31  

The Chippewas controlled most of the game against the Cardinals, but struggled to put them away. CMU was able to move the ball consistintely, but continually ran out of steam and could only manage to limp into halftime with a 7-0 lead. The offense continued to struggle to put points on the board in the 3rd quarter. Two Cardinal FG's cut CMU's lead to one with a score of 7-6 at the end of three quarters. Fortunately for CMU, the offense was able to get things moving in the 4th quarter scoring 17 points on their way to the 24-6 victory. "We obviously need to execute better and put that game away earlier." said Carlson. "We had nearly 400 yards of offense and moved the ball well, but we simply could not punch the ball in. We're happy to get the W because this is one of those games where all too often you let the opponent hang around too long and it comes back to bite you."

Cooper Rush continued his trend of stellar play completing 31 of 37 passes for 321 yards. The Cardinals bent, but didn't break against the CMU pass as Rush was unable to find the endzone through the air. Rush was able to find pay dirt with his feet on a 9 yard scramble. Titus Davis recorded his third straight game with 100 yards receiving, catching 10 passes for 111 yards. Jesse Kroll caught 6 passes for 84 yards and Anthony Rice hauled in 8 catches for 66 yards. Saylor Lavallii had 73 yards on 17 carries and scored 2 TD's for the Chippewas.

The win improved CMU to 6-0 (2-0) on the season. The Chippewas will head into their next game against Northern Illinois ranked #17 in the nation. The Chippewas will be looking to get some revenge for the 45-14 defeat NIU handed them last season and a win over NIU likely means that CMU controls their own destiny in the MAC West.

Chippewas Cruise to 38-10 Win Over Eastern Michigan

October 4, 2014

Game Report Posted: November 11, 2013 16:37  

The Chippewas opened MAC play with a convincing 38-10 win over rival Eastern Michigan. The Eagles were hanging tough with CMU through 1 half trailing by a score of 17-10, however, the Chippewas proved to be too much in the 2nd half outscoring EMU 21-0 en route toa 38-10 victory. "I thought we played pretty poorly in the 1st half and were lucky the game wasn't tied" said Carlson. "We made some adjustments at the half and they guys obviously responded and took care of business. You never know what may happen in a rivalry game and I think the first half showed that, but the guys were determined to win this game and got the job done."

The Chippewa defense was once against dominant limiting the Eagles to 176 yards of offense while sacking the QB 5 times. "It's been our goal to get to the QB all-season" said Defensive Coordinator Danny Bryant. "With the exception of a couple of games we have done a good job of doing that this season and we were able to do that again today."

Cooper Rush put together another solid game completing 21/26 passes for 288 yards throwing 1 TD and 1 INT. Rush added 2 more TD's on the ground punching it in from inside the 5 yard line. Senior WR Titus Davis had another 100 yard receiving game catching 8 passes for 139 yards and 1 TD. If Davis keeps up this pace he will likely break the CMU receiving yard record that he set last season. Saylor Lavallii had his first 100 yard game of the season carrying the ball 15 times for 105 yards and 1 TD. He hasn't been able to put up the type of yardage that Zurlon Tipton did, but Lavallii has done a good job and is more of a threat in the passing game. Lavallii had 6 catches for 56 yards.

With the win, the Chippewas 5-0 (1-0) cracked the Top 25 for the first time this season. The #23 Chippewas will host Ball St. next Saturday. The early season has been tough on the Cardinals. The pre-season favorites to win the MAC Thave struggled to replace QB Keith Wenning and enter the game 1-3.

Chippewas Edge Syracuse 24-17, Improve to 4-0

September 20, 2014

Game Report Posted: November 11, 2013 16:20  

The Chippewas concluded non-conference play on Saturday with a 24-17 victory over Syracuse. The win was CMU's third straight victory over a team from a BCS automatic qualifying conference. The Chippewas controlled most of the game, but could only muster a slim 10-3 lead after the first half. A 3rd quarter TD pushed that lead to 17-3 and the Chippewas never looked back. CMU would lead 24-10 before Syracuse cut the lead to 7 late in the game. "Just an all around good game from our guys today" said Carlson. "The offense was effective and the defense was able to hold Syracuse in check and also forced two turnovers."

The three wins over BCS schools in one season is the most in school history and something that Carlson and his team should be proud of. "Obviously we want to go undefeated, that's always one of our team goals. I also think playing these types of schools is a great way to measure your team and improve in certain areas. We had a plan for each of these teams and we executed it well enough to get the wins. Our goal of going 12-0 is still intact, but we have a whole new season starting with conference play. There is still a lot of work to do."

Cooper Rush had an excellent game finishing 18/24 passing for 260 yards and 3 TD's while only being sacked once. Titus Davis continued his excellent season catching 6 passes for 141 yards and 2 TD's. It is obvious that Rush and Davis have an excellent connection and it will be exciting to watch them for the rest of the season. Saylor Lavallii was held in check running for 72 yards on 21 carries.

The Chippewas (4-0) open MAC play against Eastern Michigan on Saturday and should be a heavy favorite in the first Michigan MAC Trophy game of the season.

Chippewas Squeak by Jayhawks, Win 32-28

September 13, 2014

Game Report Posted: November 08, 2013 15:03  

The Chippewas made the long trip to Lawrence, KS and found themselves in a heavyweight fight with the Kansas Jayhawks, but it was CMU who was able to escape with the 32-28 victory. It was a back and forth affair throughout the first half, but the Chippewas went into the half trailing 21-14. A CMU field goal in the 3rd quarter cut the Kansas lead to 21-17. Kansas found the endzone early in the 4th quarter to increase their lead to 28-17 and things did not look good for CMU. Utilizing a hurry up, no huddle offense, Central was able to score on their next drive. A 2 point conversion cut the lead to 28-25 with just over 4 minutes to play. Although the defense had struggled in the game, Carlson put his faith in the defense to get them the ball back. It was a questionable decision as Kansas advanced the ball to midfield, but ran out of steam and was forced to punt. The Chippewa offense got the ball back with 2 minutes left to play and 80 yards to find the endzone. Cooper Rush continued his fantastic game driving CMU down the field and inside the 5 yard line with under 10 seconds to play. The Chippewas needed two attempts to punch the ball in from the 2 yard line and it was RB Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore who eventually found pay dirt to put CMU up 32-28 with 5 seconds left to play.

"I'm just really proud of the guys and how they persevered" said Carlson. "This was one of those back and forth fights with each team exchanging blows. It looked like Kansas may have had the KO punch when they went up 28-17, but our guys dug deep and came out on top." Sophomore QB, Cooper Rush put together one his best games at CMU completing 28 of 32 passes for 309 yards and 2 TD's. Offensive Coordinator Steed Lobotzke was very happy with Rush's performance. "Cooper was in a zone today and was instrumental in us getting this victory. I think those two 4th quarter drives showed the type of ability he has as a QB."

The ground game was almost non-existent for both teams as the teams combined for only 111 yards rushing. Saylor Lavallii led CMU with 50 yards on 11 carries and scored 1 TD. Sophomore Anthony Rice caught 9 passes for 87 yards and Senior Titus Davis hauled in 5 catches for 90 yards and 1 TD.

The victory pushes CMU's record to 3-0. The Chippewas will return home to play their final non-conference game against Syracuse. The game will be CMU's third straight game against a BCS school. Kickoff is set for 12:30 on Saturday.

Chippewa Defense Controls Boilermakers

September 6, 2014

Game Report Posted: November 06, 2013 17:20  

Heading into the 2014 season, it was believed that the Chippewa offense would be the strong point of this team, however, through two games, it's the Chippewa defense that has been dominating. For the 2nd consecutive week, the defense held their opponent to under 100 yards of offense, limiting Purdue to only 84 yards. The front seven was in the face of the Purdue QB all game and sacked him five times. "We are obviously a confident group right now" said Defensive Coordinator, Danny Bryant. "We want to set the tone of the game early on and we have been able to do that in our first two games. Stopping the opponent and getting the ball back to our offense is going to allow us to win games and that's exactly what we did today."

The offense certainly improved from week 1, but it's hard not to wonder if losing Offensive Coordinator Eric Taylor, was a bigger loss than previously thought? With any change to a staff comes a learning process and it's pretty evident that new Offensive Coordinator, Steed Lobotzke and Head Coach, Rob Carlson are still figuring things out on offense. "Overall I thought we played better offensively, but 3 INT's really hurt us and kept this game close" said Carlson. "We were able to move the ball well, but just couldn't find the endzone enough." The three INT's came from QB Cooper Rush who was given the start after Kater struggled in week 1. Carlson was happy with Rush, but is looking for more consistency from the Sophomore QB. "You know, I thought Cooper played well. He threw for over 200 yards and was only sacked once, but I'm sure he'll tell you he wants some of those throws back. It's hard to win games when you turn the ball over, but thankfully our defense picked up the slack."

Rush finished the game 19/34 passing for 223 yards, 1TD and 3 INT's. As you might expect, Senior Titus Davis was Rush's favorite target catching 6 passes for 85 yards. Look for Rush to get the start next week and for Davis to continue to reap the rewards. Purdue was able to keep the ground game in check holding Saylor Lavallii to 67 yards on 20 carries. Lavallii and Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore each scored a TD on the ground.

The win improves CMU to 2-0 on the season. CMU has now won 8 games in a row dating back to last season. The Chippewas have another BCS test as they travel to Lawrence, KS to take on the Jayhawks on Saturday.

Chippewas Defeat Panthers 27-6 in Ugly Game

August 28, 2014

Game Report Posted: November 06, 2013 15:30  

The Chippewas struggled out of the gate against the lowly Georgia State Panthers on Thursday night, but a 21 point 4th quarter was enough to earn the 27-6 victory. The CMU defense was able to dominate the Panther offense, sacking McLane 8 times and holding the offense to 61 yards. "We obviously struggled offensively tonight, we simply could not get anything going" said Carlson. "Coach Bryant and his defense played a damn good game and they are the reason we were able to get the victory." Bryant was pleased with his defense's effort. "For it being the first game, I don't know if we could have played any better. The boys worked hard all Summer for this and it definitely showed the hard work paid off. When your offense is struggling, it's nice to be able to go out there and help out your teammates and that's what we were able to do tonight."

The Panthers lead 6-0 after the 1st quarter, but two 2nd quarter field goals allowed the Chippewas to go into the half with the score tied 6-6. Both offenses continued to struggle as neither team could get on the scoreboard in the 3rd quarter. A Georgia St. turnover and some big punt returns provided the Chippewas a short field in the 4th quarter. Running Back Saylor Lavallii was able to find the endzone three times and allowed CMU to run away to a 27-6 victory. Lavallii finished with 89 yards on 21 carries and 3 TD's. He also caught 4 passes for 25 yards to lead the team.

It was Senior QB Cody Kater who got the starting nod tonight, but much like last season, he struggled to put together any offense. Kater finished the game 8/16 passing for 73 yards, 1 INT and was sacked 3 times. It was certainly not the type of performance Carlson wanted to see out of his QB. Kater and RS Sophomore Cooper Rush were neck and neck in the Summer, so it won't be surprising to see Rush get the start in week 2. If CMU wants to crash the BCS their QB play will need to be better. They simply can't rely on their defense to win them all of the games.

The Chippewas are 1-0 on the season and will travel to Lafayette, IN to face Purdue on Saturday.