Week 13: Central Michigan at Akron

As West Division champions, the Chippewas already have a date with Miami locked in for Dec. 1 at Detroit’s Ford Field for the MAC Championship Game. It will be Central Michigan’s second straight trip to the title game, where they were victorious a year ago.

The Chippewas come to Akron shopping for some momentum heading into that title game, especially since their last outing produced a disappointing 48-45 loss at home to lowly Eastern Michigan. Sophomore quarterback Dan LeFevour tried to put the best spin on the defeat.

“You’ve got to look at the big picture — we are still playing for a championship,” LeFevour said. “There’s still plenty ahead for us. This was their bowl game.”

LeFevour, who led Central Michigan to the conference championship last season as a freshman, recalled how the Chippewas were in a similar plight a year ago, and used a 55-28 explosive win over Buffalo to close out the regular season as a springboard into the title game, where they handled Ohio.

“You saw how we were able to take our Buffalo game last year and carry it into the MAC Championship,” he said, “and we are hoping to do the same this year.”

Akron has barely more than a spoiler role in this contest, but Zips coach J.D. Brookhart is hoping his senior class will make its final game one to remember. “These kids overcame a lot and they’ve been through a lot in changing a program,” Brookhart said.

Akron’s current group has fallen on hard times, but the Zips won a championship two years ago, and have been no worse than third in the MAC East in the past three years. “It is going to be sad to see some of these guys go. These guys were a big part of that first year when we tried to develop a mentality here,” he said. “They have a lot to be proud of.”

The Zips are well out of the hunt this season, but Brookhart said they have been competitive enough to maintain a positive approach despite the seven losses. He said he hopes that prevailing attitude will surface a final time and help Akron upset the MAC’s defending champion Chippewas.

“We were very close this season to having a number of wins that we didn’t have,” Brookhart said. “I believe we made some adjustments in the program that were necessary. We knew that there was some transition. We haven’t had cancer on the team, our locker rooms been good, and the attitude has been outstanding.”

Brookhart had to suspend a number of players at the start of the season, including two quarterbacks and two of his top receivers. “Are we missing some things — Yes — two NFL receivers who didn’t find it important to go to school. That obviously hurts. And I made a decision to dismiss six others. They were talented kids and it hurt in depth. Was it the right thing to do? Yes, it was right for the future of the program.”

The Zips will have their hands full with a Central Michigan team that averages 44 points per game in the MAC.

Central Michigan by 10