2016 Week 2

In a rematch of last years National Championship game, the Chippewas and Buckeyes went head-to-head down in Columbus. It was an early season game featuring two teams that have a National Championship on their minds and the game certainly lived up to the hype.

It was all Ohio State in the early going as the Chippewas struggled to get anything going on offense. Those struggles saw CMU fall into a 14-0 hole in the 2nd quarter. CMU was able to finally get a drive going at the end of the first half and Maurice Shoemaker found the endzone from a yard out to cut the lead to 14-7.

CMU would receive the ball to start the 2nd half and was able to continue their momentum. QB Cooper Rush put together another good drive capped off by a 4 yard TD pass to TE Joe Porter to tie the game 14-14. The Buckeyes were not phased by the Chippewas pulling even as they answered back just 20 seconds later with a 63 yard TD pass to pull back in front 21-14. The Chippewas would once again return serve. Rush continued to pick up his play and Carlson utilized dual threat QB Aaron Smith to get the run game going. The Chippewas capped off the drive with an 11 yard pass from Rush to WR A. Rice. Trailing 21-20, Carlson lined up to go for two points and the lead, but a false start on the offensive line pushed CMU back 5 yards and forced Carlson to settle for the extra point to tie the game 21-21. Both defenses would pick up their play with neither team able to get much going in the 4th quarter. CMU was able intercept a Buckeye pass to get the ball back with a few minutes remaining in the game. Rush hit on some key passes to move the Chippewas down field and Carlson opted to run the clock and attempt the FG to win the game. Senior K Ron Coluzzi hit the 36 yard FG to seal the 24-21 victory for the Chippewas.

In a game that arguably had more drama than the National Championship, Carlson was obviously a happy coach after the game. "I'm really proud of these guys for pulling this one out. We dug ourselves a hole early on and we're playing a hostile stadium, but nobody let the atmosphere get to them. They stuck to the game plan and we were able to get the victory here today." Carlson was pleased with how his QB handled the adversity. "Cooper is a 5th year Senior and he has played a lot of games as our QB. I know he would be the first to admit he wasn't happy with the two INT's he threw early on, but he bounced backed and led this team to the win. That's what leaders do."

Rush completed 20 of 27 passes for 210 yards, 2 TD's and 2 INT's. Rush spread the ball around to his WR's as four guys each had over 40 yards receiving. Anthony Rice and Joe Porter each caught a TD pass. Dual threat QB Aaron Smith was effective running the ball, rushing for 65 yards on 10 carries. RB Maurice Shoemaker rushed for 55 yards on 11 carries and scored 1 TD.

The Chippewas improve their record to 2-0 on the season. CMU will be off for the next two weeks before hosting South Florida in the home opener at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.