2014 Week 17

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.