Offense |
Defense |
Depth Chart |
Further Analysis
One of
the rising stars of the coaching ranks after putting together CMU's
first winning season since 1998, Kelly will soon attract plenty of
interest from the big boys if he can keep CMU on track and become
even more of a player in the West race. First things first, the team has
a chance to take another step up and be this year's Akron.
CMU got blown out by Penn State, lost in an opening day
heartbreaker to Indiana, and lost three MAC games by a total of 13
points. Eight of the team's 11 games were decided by a touchdown or
less, and CMU should be on the right side of more of those battles
this season with 33 lettermen and 16 starters returning.
Head coach: Brian Kelly
3rd year: 10-12
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 12, Def. 18, ST 3
Lettermen Lost: 19 |
Ten
Best CMU Players
1. DE Dan Bazuin, Sr.
2. RB Ontario Sneed, Soph.
3. LB Thomas Keith, Jr.
4. OT Joe Staley, Sr.
5. LB Isaac Brown, Sr.
6. LB Doug Kress, Sr.
7. WR Damien Linson, Sr.
8. C Drew Mormino, Sr.
9. DT Steven Friend, Jr.
10. WR Obed Cetoute, Jr. |
|
2006
Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
5-7 |
|
8/31 |
Boston College |
| 9/9 |
at Michigan |
| 9/16 |
Akron |
| 9/23 |
at Eastern Michigan |
|
9/30 |
at Kentucky |
| 10/7 |
at Toledo |
| 10/14 |
Ball State |
| 10/19 |
Bowling Green |
| 11/4 |
at Temple |
| 11/10 |
Western Michigan |
| 11/17 |
at Northern Illinois |
| 11/24 |
at Buffalo |
|
|
2005
Schedule
CFN
Prediction: 2-9
2005 Record: 6-5
Preview
2005 predicted wins |
| 9/2 |
Indiana L 20-13 |
| 9/10 |
at Miami Univ. W 38-37 |
| 9/17 |
at Penn State L 40-3 |
|
9/24 |
Eastern Mich
L 23-20 OT |
| 10/1 |
at Akron W 31-17 |
| 10/8 |
at Army W 14-10 |
| 10/15 |
Ohio W 37-10 |
| 10/29 |
Toledo W 21-17 |
|
11/5 |
Northern Illinois L 31-28 |
| 11/12 |
at Western Mich
L 31-24 |
| 11/19 |
at Ball State W 31-24 OT |
|
There's reason to worry about a porous secondary that isn't going to
be any better, and the loss of steady QB Kent Smith isn't going to help
the offense, but everything else is in place from four returning
starters on a rock of an offensive line to an improved receiving corps
to one of the MAC's best linebacking corps. And there's also star power
to rally around.
Northern Illinois RB Garrett Wolfe will likely be everyone's MAC
preseason offensive player of the year, but CMU RB Ontario Sneed will be
in the discussion with his workhorse ability and great hands as a
receiver. CMU DE Dan Bazuin should be a serious threat for 20 sacks on
his way to being every NFL scouts' hidden gem.
It's all there for the Chippewas to have a fantastic season and even
hope for their first bowl bid since 1994 while shooting for back-to-back
winning seasons for the first time since 1990 and 1991. There's reason
to get excited around Mount Pleasant, but it might still be a rough
start because of ...
The
Schedule: The good news: CMU gets four of its final seven games at
home with two of those road trips at Temple and Buffalo. Akron has to
come to Kelly/Shorts Stadium, as does Bowling Green and Western
Michigan. The bad news: CMU plays four of its first six games on the
road including a nasty three-game road swing at Eastern Michigan,
Kentucky and Toledo. Things do start off interesting with Boston College
coming to town followed up by a road trip to Michigan.
Best
Offensive Player:
Sophomore RB Ontario
Sneed. Sneed filled in as a true freshman after all the off-the-field
problems of Jerry Seymour. Now Sneed has to make sure he can hold up for
a full season after handling the ball over 20 times a game over the last
eight. He's a 1,000-yard rusher who's also one of the MAC's top
receiving backs making 51 grabs last year.
Best
Defensive Player:
Senior DE Daniel Bazuin. The senior is known for being one of the
nation's dominant pass rushers with 16 sacks and 26.5 tackles for loss
last year, but he's also a tremendous run defender finishing second on
the team in tackles. Watch his profile skyrocket if he has big games
early against Boston College and Michigan.
Key player
to a successful season: Senior CB Terrance Robinson. The secondary
was the team's weak link last year and it doesn't look like a prize
going into 2006. The corner situation is so rocky that starting safety
Pacino Horne will move to one spot, while the 5-6 Robinson will get the
first look on the other side.
The season
will be a success if ... Central Michigan wins seven games. The schedule might be a wee
bit too demanding to win the MAC West, but there's too much experience
and too many good things happening on both sides of the ball to shoot
for anything fewer than seven wins.
Key game:
Sept. 16 vs. Akron. The Chippewas will desperately need a win over
the defending MAC champions to get the conference season off to a good
start. This is the only home oasis in the with three road games to
follow and the Michigan game the week before.
2005 Fun
Stats:
- CMU opponent second quarter scoring: 119 - CMU opponent fourth quarter
scoring: 31
- Penalties: Central Michigan 92 for 857 yards - Opponents 63 for 483
yards
- Rushing touchdowns: Central Michigan 15 - Opponents 6
The Last Time Central Michigan…
…played in a bowl game…1994 (Las Vegas Bowl vs. UNLV)
…missed a bowl game…2005
…pitched a shutout…1996 (Akron)
…was shutout…2002 (Northern Illinois)
…scored 50 points…2004 (Eastern Michigan)
…went undefeated…1979
…won a conference title…1994 (MAC)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…never
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2005 (Ontario Sneed)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…1999 (Jammarl O’neal)
…had a first-round draft choice…never