Football Preview: Eastern Comes in for MAC Opener

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan football had its coming-out party last week in front of its home crowd, delivering a resounding 49-10 nonconference victory over Wagner.

It's time to ratchet it up with every remaining game taking on increased importance and the Chippewas fighting in their own weight class.

The Chippewas entertain Eastern Michigan in the Mid-American Conference opener for both schools on Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN Plus) on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

CMU is 2-2; Eastern is 1-3 and coming off a 34-31 win over Louisiana.

"This is the point in time," first-year CMU coach Matt Drinkall said, "when everyone associated with Central Michigan University needs to jump on board and pull the rope in the same direction.

"We need as many fans, faculty, staff members, people in the community – we need them at the game, we need them cheering like crazy because it takes everybody pulling the rope in the same direction to get over the hump.

"This is a great opportunity. We've positioned ourselves and now it's put up or shut up time."

The Chippewas impressed last week in their win over Wagner, and the result against a winless Football Championship Subdivision foe came as no surprise.

What was perhaps surprising – pleasantly, for CMU supporters -- was how dominant the Chippewas were on both sides of the ball. They held the Seahawks without a first down in the second half and on offense, rolled up 506 yards and scored touchdowns on four of their first five drives.

Starting quarterback Joe Labas threw for 241 yards and a career-high-tying three touchdowns on 12-of-14 passing, while Angel Flores, the Chippewas' QB1A, ran for two TDs and passed for another.

"The thing that was really great about (Labas') performance on Saturday was, how well he played, that probably holds up against anybody," Drinkall said. "He was accurate, on time, very decisive. There wasn't an ounce of fat on a single one of his reps.

"Joe runs it some when he's in, and Angel throws it pretty well when he's in. Those two just keep getting better and better."

Which is a good sign heading into the league opener. And while the Chippewas have answered plenty of questions through their first four games, there are plenty more and the stakes now increase.

"The mood is definitely high and we're approaching it like we approach every week – confident," cornerback Kalen Carroll said. "Going against a team like Eastern and it's MAC play, it adds a chip on your shoulder.

"Surprisingly, we came into our Sunday meeting (after the Wagner win), and it wasn't all laughing and giggles and 'good job' like you might think it would be.

"It was, 'We still need to get better on things.' People say comfort kills. We have a standard and we want to live up to that. That's the approach every week."

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Players Mentioned

Kalen Carroll

Angel Flores

Joe Labas