Tomorrow, one of the nation’s premier writers covering the MAC, Bronco Chris, will be in Mt. Pleasant for a pivotal game in the MAC West. The Odyssey often goes where GAMEDAY would never consider. Please see the Comments for post-game analysis from Bronco Chris.
In August, the Odyssey picked Toledo to win the West behind a talented offense led by veteran QB Logan Woodside. Our confidence in this pick has subsided a bit due to Rocket injuries. The latest Toledo casualty is talented wide receiver Cody Thompson. Thompson broke his leg in last Saturday’s 20-15 win over Eastern Michigan.
We remain skeptical of Central in spite of their 26-23 upset win over Ohio last week. Central was plus 3 in turnover margin and capitalized on the biggest play of the game just before halftime. Ohio, sporting a 14-7 lead, attempted a field goal when Bobcat disaster occurred. Blocked and returned for a Central TD.
CMU struggled in their opener against Rhode Island before being gifted the game in overtime. They were also less than impressive in their 28-8 loss to a so-so Boston College team. Former Michigan 5-star recruit, Shane Morris, has been very average in his graduate transfer year in Mt. Pleasant.
In the BC game, coach John Bonamego made one of the most curious coaching decisions of the year. Down 28-8, with less than 13 minutes to go in the game, CMU had a 4th and 11 at the BC 15. Bonamego brings the field goal unit on. WHY wondered the Odyssey. Even if successful, a 17-point deficit still translates into needing 3 more scoring possessions to have any chance of winning. No, given that CMU had had little success scoring in the first 47 minutes of the game, going for a touchdown was absolutely needed to preserve any realistic hope of winning. As to the WHY: was this a mental blunder on part of a math-challenged CMU coaching staff or was this just a matter of raising the white flag? Or was there just not much thought involved. Karma prevailed as the CMU field goal kicker missed the short attempt.
That sequence is reflective of this year’s Chippewa team. Somewhat down from normal standards. Even short handed, Toledo deserves every bit of their status as a 7-point favorite. The Odyssey does not foresee CMU pulling off a second consecutive upset in this pivotal game.
Bronco Chris
4th and Swanson
The Central Michigan homecoming crowd was festive prior to the start of the MAC West match up with Toledo. A rain soaked afternoon couldn’t deter many in the CMU crowd from enjoying the tailgate and kickoff. Central Michigan tried to catch the Rockets off guard to start the game by attempting an onside kick. Unfortunately for the Chippewas they could not recover the nicely placed kick. The CMU defense was able to hold Toledo scoreless despite the excellent field position by stuffing Terry Swanson on a 4th and 1. The next 3 drives were uneventful, and it was clear that the rainy conditions were making it difficult for both teams to move the ball. Toledo, on their first series of a drive, again was forced into a 4th and 1. As the rain started to intensify, the Rockets again gave the ball to Swanson. This time he burst through a gaping hole for a 48 yard touchdown. The two teams continued to trade short possessions for the remainder of the first quarter and most of the second quarter. The only significant play was a Toledo field goal moving the score 10-0. With time running down in the half Toledo started to string together several first downs and moved the ball down to the CMU 22 yard line. Again Toledo faced a critical fourth down and two. Once more the Rockets handed the ball to Terry Swanson. Swanson made a couple of nice moves in the backfield and took the ball in for a touchdown. With this score Toledo took control of the game and a 17 point lead into halftime. Throughout the second half CMU had difficultly moving the ball through the air or on the ground. With the wet conditions the Rockets were content to keep the ball on the ground and they were successful doing so. Logan Woodside, one of the best quarterbacks in the MAC, was held to 10 completions for 89 yards. However, the Toledo rushing attack continued to improve as the game went on. Terry Swanson, with key runs throughout the game, finished with 145 yards rushing while Shakif Seymour followed up with 119 yards rushing on 15 attempts. Even Woodside had a nice 9 yard touchdown run at the end of the third quarter. As a team Toledo ran for 310 yards. Central Michigan’s offense struggled to move the ball throughout the game. The running game was not successful and Shane Morris had a difficult day completing only 17 passes on 37 attempts for 182 yards. CMU added a late touchdown to make the final score 30-10. Central Michigan will look to get back on track when they face Ball State next week. A confident Toledo squad will head back to the Glass Bowl to face Akron next week.