Coach Chambers' Journey to the Top: The Catastrophic Chippewas | A Relegation Dynasty

[MvPeterson2828]

Quote: Originally Posted by jpfine

Lane, Cox suspended indefinitely Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer August 26, 2013 ------------------------------------------- Saginaw, MI - Driving home from a trip to Saginaw, Sophomore Strong Safety Matt Lane and Sophomore Halfback Brandon Cox were pulled over and arrested for drunk driving and underage drinking. According to Saginaw Police, Lane will carry out a week-long sentence. In addition, both Lane and Cox will have to participate in 12 hours of community service and enroll in an alcohol education program. Furthermore, both will have to pay a $500 fine. Although both players are backups in their position, Cox is the kick returner for the team, and it will be a big loss for the team on that front.

Man did they get off easy! Glad they're all well and live though! I think being suspended indefinitely right now is fair. Some blows to the team right now though. But sometimes you need these things to happen, set examples, demonstrate there is no tolerance for this kind of stuff.

[jpfine]

Rittenberg Roundup: Week 1 Preview

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
August 31, 2013
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Mount Pleasant, MI - The town of Mount Pleasant and the fans for the Chippewas are buzzing with excitement. The big question in the air today is, Is Andrew Chambers the man? With an astounding win against FCS-opponent, Northern Iowa, the worries about the Central Michigan team and how they'll perform in the 8th Tier could all go away. However, a tough game between the two teams could raise more questions.

Rittenberg Roundup: Week 1 Preview | August 31, 2013
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Northern Iowa Panthers (0-0, 0-0 Away)		Central Michigan Chippewas (0-0, 0-0 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 0 Total Yards 0 0 Passing Yards 0 0 Rushing Yards 0 0 Points Per Game 0 Defensive Stats Comparison 0 Total Yards Allowed 0 0 Passing Yards Allowed 0 0 Rushing Yards Allowed 0 0 Points Allowed 0 Injury Report Alex Fisher Fractured Leg (1-2 weeks) Landon Phillips ACL (Out for Season) Julius Peterson Suspension (1 game) J.D. Reed Suspension (First Half) Matt Lane Suspension (Indefinitely) Brandon Cox Suspension (Indefinitely) Game Notes This is the first game for the Chippewas in the Chambers Era.

With the Chippewa defense in shambles, the Panthers could very well take the game by hand and tear the Chippewas to shreds, if they can't get anything going on defense. At full strength, the Chippewas would easily take care of Northern Iowa. However, with important players, such as junior linebackers, Alex Fisher and Landon Phillips, out with injury, the defense could be a wreck. Although missing from the first half, junior cornerback J.D. Reed will be able to return to the game in the second half to, if down, turn the tide on the game. Senior halfback James Mitchell should be able to take care of the UNI defense, with his powerful running, and score some points on the board for the Chippewas. With Mitchell leading the offense, Central Michigan should have no problem scoring against the Panthers.

Projected Score
Central Michigan, 38-14

Even with the defense as it is, the Chippewas should still take care of the Panthers on Blackout Night and start off the season, and the regime under Coach Chambers, strong. To start off with a win would be huge for Chambers and where he wants to end up going: Tier 1.

[jpfine]

Quote: Originally Posted by MvPeterson2828

Man did they get off easy! Glad they're all well and live though! I think being suspended indefinitely right now is fair. Some blows to the team right now though. But sometimes you need these things to happen, set examples, demonstrate there is no tolerance for this kind of stuff.

That’s exactly what needs to happen for Chambers at this point. As the first-year head coach at Central Michigan (and ever, for that matter), it’s important for Chambers to handle these situations and handle them well. Investigating the situation with Lane and Cox is the best thing to do at the moment. He has to figure how to fix the problem and set expectations for the team when these problems arise. The way he’s handled Phillips and Fisher’s injuries is also exactly what he should be doing so, right now, I think Dave Heeke is really impressed with what he’s doing and how he’s handling this new territory in his career.

[jpfine]

Rittenberg Roundup: Central Michigan handle the Panthers in Chambers' first game

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
August 31, 2013
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Mount Pleasant, MI - The first game in charge as the Chippewas head coach went exactly as planned for Andrew Chambers. During the blackout, Central Michigan beat FCS-opponent, Northern Iowa, by a score of 38-19.

In the first quarter, after a defensive stop, the Chippewas marched down the field and started right away feeding the ball to James Mitchell. On the first drive, he rushed five times. Even though they were trying to give Mitchell the ball, they ended up scoring the first touchdown in the Chambers regime by passing the ball. Marcus Jackson threw a 0-yard pass to Garrett Ward for the score.

Even with the first drive going so well, the defense allowed a couple first downs by the Panthers, and Northern Iowa ended up scoring a 52-yard field goal. Although points were allowed on the drive, Freshman Linebacker Justin Crum really showed up for the defense. Filling in for Junior Landon Phillips, who tore his ACL and is out for the season, Crum was expected to leave open his side of the field and make mistakes that you'd think freshmen would. However, he did the exact opposite of most (including myself) expected and did his job on defense. The two teams exchanged field goals to finish the half off at 10-6.

In the second half, the Chippewas took a two-minute drive to score a 37-yard pass to Ward for his, and Central Michigan's, second touchdown of the season. It took a stick play and Ward to outpace the defender to grab another touchdown. After a drive that led to nothing for the Panthers (and another defensive stop led by Crum), the Chippewas set up shop in their own territory. They took the ball all the way to the one-yard line before they went for it on fourth down, and failed to score.

After the mishap, the Panthers were able to capitalize and score a touchdown. At the time of the score, UNI was trailing the Chips, 17-12, and they decided to go for two to make the game a 3-point game. However, the Chips defense came up big and picked off the throw. After that failed 2-point conversion, the momentum was with Central Michigan for the rest of the game.

Mitchell scored twice from within the three-yard line within a matter of a minute, making the score, 31-12, in favor of Central Michigan. After allowing a heart-wrenching touchdown run for Edgar Miller, the Chips offense marched down the field and scored one more touchdown to make the final score of the game, 38-19.

Northern Iowa Panthers at Central Michigan Chippewas
Aug 31, 2013	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Northern Iowa Panthers (0-1)	0	6	0	13	19
Central Michigan Chippewas (1-0)	7	3	7	21	38

Team Stats Comparison
	UNI	CMU
Total Offense	272	418
Rushing Yards	124	122
Passing Yards	148	296
First Downs	11	21
Punt Return Yards	0	21
Kick Return Yards	126	49
Total Yards	398	488
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Conversion	2-9	6-8
4th Down Conversion	0-1	0-1
2-Point Conversion	0-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2-1-1	6-4-1
Penalties	2-30	0-0
Possession Time	10:12	13:48

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		UNI	CMU
1:24	(CMU) TD: G. Ward, 0 Yd pass from M. Jackson (T. Webb kick)	0	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		UNI	CMU
4:49	(UNI) FG: T. Sievertsen, 52 Yd FG	3	7
1:50	(CMU) FG: T. Webb, 29 Yd FG	3	10
0:00	(UNI) FG: T. Sievertsen 31 Yd FG	6	10
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		UNI	CMU
3:23	(CMU) TD: G. Ward, 37 Yd pass from M. Jackson (T. Webb kick)	6	17
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		UNI	CMU
4:04	(UNI) TD: D. Johnson, 1 Yd run (2-pt failed)	12	17
2:13	(CMU) TD: J. Mitchell, 2 Yd run (T. Webb kick)	12	24
1:14	(CMU) TD: J. Mitchell, 1 Yd run (T. Webb kick)	12	31
0:41	(UNI) TD: P. Wright, 45 Yd pass from B. Carnes (T. Sievertsen kick)	19	31
0:15	(CMU) TD: J. Dowdell, 8 Yd pass from M. Jackson (T. Webb kick)	19	38

Northern Iowa Panthers

Central Michigan Chippewas PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Marcus Jackson 21/31 296 3 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD James Mitchell 26 107 4.1 2 Marcus Jackson 2 9 4.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Garrett Ward 8 109 13.6 2 James Mitchell 5 49 9.8 0 Jarvis Dowdell 3 48 16.0 1 Joe Brown 3 61 20.3 0 Jermaine Harris 1 24 24.0 0 Fred Floyd 1 5 5.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Steve White 2 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Justin Crum 6 2.0 0 0 Jason Miller 5 0.0 0 0 Antonio Butler 4 0.0 0 0 Art Wilkerson 3 0.0 0 0 Richard Lemon 2 0.0 0 0 Kevin Robinson 2 0.0 0 0 Sean Ingraham 2 0.0 0 0 Carlos Sullivan 2 0.0 0 0 Greg Galloway 2 0.0 0 0 Cedric Mann 2 0.0 0 0 Aaron Sharpe 2 0.0 1 0 Roger High 2 0.0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Tim Webb 1-1 5-5 8 30 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Joe Brown 2 42 21.0 0 Greg Galloway 1 7 7.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Joe Brown 4 21 5.2 0

The first game for Chambers was amazingly executed and, without leaders such as Reed, Peterson, and Fisher, the Chippewas were able to pull out an astounding win. Although it does nothing for them in the tier, it is a great confidence booster and a great start for the first year coaching staff.

Central Michigan 2013 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Aug 31	vs Northern Iowa Panthers (Home Opener/Blackout)	Won, 38-19
Sep 7	vs Eastern Michigan Eagles (Rivalry)
Sep 14	at Michigan State Spartans
Sep 21	at Northern Illinois Huskies
Oct 5	vs Ball State Cardinals
Oct 12	vs Georgia State Panthers (Homecoming)
Oct 19	at Miami University RedHawks
Oct 26	at Kentucky Wildcats
Nov 9	at Western Michigan Broncos (Rivalry)
Nov 16	vs Vanderbilt Commodores (Maroon Out)
Nov 23	vs Massachusetts Minutemen (Senior Night)
Nov 30	at Notre Dame Fighting Irish

After the win against Northern Iowa, Central Michigan look to face rival Eastern Michigan on September 7.
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Update
I wanted to give you all an update on this project (I know, I've already given you two updates). After my first game, I have decided to change the quarter length from 6 minutes to 7 minutes. I felt that the game was too short and that there should be more plays, yards, etc.

Also, after tomorrow, I will be posting sporadically until Winter Break. I'm a freshman in high school and I have more first Finals next week, and I need to take time to prepare for those (obviously). I said this earlier on in the thread, but I just wanted to reiterate. Once Winter Break starts, I'm gonna try to get a lot of games done (hopefully the first season) to make up for the lack of posting this week and the next.

And that is all. I hope you are enjoying the thread and I can't wait to see how this ends up!

[jpfine]

Rittenberg Roundup: Around the League - Week 1

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
September 1, 2013
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Indianapolis, IN - After the Chips took down Northern Iowa in Mount Pleasant, the Top 25, Heisman Watch, and Tier 8 Conference Standings were all worked on and published.

In the Top 25, there were teams, such as Boise State and Vanderbilt, who tumbled out after Week 1. That being said Iowa, and Washington, after beating Oklahoma, and Boise State, respectively, were able to hop into the Top 25. The Top 10 didn't shift at all, with most playing no game on opening weekend.

NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Sep 1, 2013
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Alabama	1	0	1503
2	2	Ohio State	0	0	1413
3	3	Stanford	0	0	1346
4	4	Texas A&M	0	0	1281
5	5	Georgia	1	0	1217
6	6	Oregon	1	0	1154
7	7	Notre Dame	0	0	1093
8	8	South Carolina	1	0	1033
9	9	Clemson	0	0	975
10	10	Florida	0	0	918
11	11	Louisville	1	0	864
12	12	LSU	1	0	845
13	14	Florida State	0	0	704
14	15	Texas	1	0	654
15	16	Oklahoma State	0	0	606
16	19	Michigan	0	0	469
17	20	UCLA	0	0	426
18	21	Kansas State	1	0	385
19	22	Nebraska	0	0	345
20	23	Oregon State	1	0	306
21	17	TCU	0	1	301
22	--	Washington	1	0	279
23	13	Oklahoma	0	1	279
24	24	Northern Illinois	0	0	269
25	--	Iowa	1	0	214

Top 25 Results
(1) Alabama def. West Virginia, 16-0
(5) Georgia def. Syracuse, 38-24
(6) Oregon def. Jacksonville State, 44-0
(8) South Carolina def. Georgia Tech, 31-7
(11) Louisville def. (25) Vanderbilt, 27-20
(12) LSU def. (17) TCU, 31-28
Iowa def. (13) Oklahoma, 42-38
(15) Texas def. New Mexico State, 35-21
Washington def. (18) Boise State, 34-28
(21) Kansas State def. Southern Illinois, 49-10
(23) Oregon State def. UC Davis, 52-24

Top 25 Matchups
(1) Alabama (1-0) vs (13) Florida State (1-0)
(3) Stanford (0-0) vs Arizona State (1-0)
(4) Texas A&M (0-0) vs Missouri (0-0)
(5) Georgia (1-0) vs Virginia (0-0)
(6) Oregon (1-0) vs California (0-0)
(7) Notre Dame (0-0) vs (8) South Carolina (1-0)
(9) Clemson (0-0) vs (12) LSU (1-0)
(10) Florida (0-0) vs Georgia Tech (0-1)
(11) Louisville (1-0) vs Tennessee (1-0)
(14) Texas (1-0) vs Ole Miss (0-0)
(15) Oklahoma State (0-0) vs West Virginia (0-1)
(16) Michigan (0-0) vs Kentucky (1-0)
(17) UCLA (0-0) vs New Mexico State (0-1)
(18) Kansas State (1-0) vs Texas Tech (0-0)
(19) Nebraska (0-0) vs Southern Illinois (0-0)
(20) Oregon State (1-0) vs Utah (1-0)
(21) TCU (0-1) vs Washington State (0-1)
(22) Washington (1-0) vs Colorado (0-1)
(25) Iowa (1-0) vs Baylor (1-0)

Jesse Hines keeps his spot in the Heisman Watch, after no game. However, Alabama QB, Xavier Hicks, showed up to the game against West Virginia and performed poorly. He slipped all the way down to 5th on the Heisman Watch.

Heisman Watch - Updated: Sep 1, 2013
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		SEASON STATS
Jesse Hines	QB	Texas A&M		None
Jeff Harris	QB	Ohio State		None
Ryan Jones	QB	Louisville		21-38, 259 Yds, 20 Car, 77 Yds, 3 TD
Clarence Jack	QB	Oregon		11-20, 178 Yds, 13 Car, 57 Yds, 3 TD
Xavier Hicks	QB	Alabama		14-21, 134 Yds, 9 Car, 13 Yds, 1 TD

Finally, in regards to the Chippewas, they are at the top of the conference within the game. However, there is no leader, as no one gained points this past weekend. All three teams who won played FCS opponents.

Tier 8 Conference Standings - Updated: Sep 1, 2013
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
Central Michigan	1-0	1.000	0 pts.	38	19	W1
Kent State	1-0	1.000	0 pts.	55	20	W1
Georgia State	1-0	1.000	0 pts.	31	23	W1
New Mexico State	0-1	0.000	0 pts.	21	35	L1
Akron	0-0	0.000	0 pts.	0	0	---
UMass	0-1	0.000	0 pts.	0	48	L1

The Chippewas continue their hunt for promotion on Saturday with a game against Eastern Michigan in Mount Pleasant.

[jpfine]

Rittenberg Roundup: Week 2 Preview

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
September 7, 2013
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Mount Pleasant, MI - After the win last week against the Northern Iowa Panthers, Chippewa fans have all sighed a collective sigh of relief. Chambers' crew performed and performed well, even if they did allow 19 points. This week against Eastern Michigan, Chambers looks to improve upon the mistakes.

Rittenberg Roundup: Week 2 Preview | September 7, 2013
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Eastern Michigan Eagles (0-0, 0-0 Away)		Central Michigan Chippewas (1-0, 1-0 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 0 Points Per Game 38.0 0 Total Offensive Yards 418.0 0 Rushing Yards 122.0 0 Passing Yards 296.0 Defensive Stats Comparison 0 Points Allowed 19.0 0 Total Yards Allowed 272.0 0 Rushing Yards Allowed 124.0 0 Passing Yards Allowed 148.0 Injury Report Alex Fisher Fractured Leg (1 week) Landon Phillips ACL (Out for Season) Matt Lane Suspension (Indefinitely) Brandon Cox Suspension (Indefinitely) Game Notes This is Coach Chambers' first rivalry game.

The Chippewas defeated the Northern Iowa Panthers last week, quite resoundly, I might add. They looked good on offense and the defense was stellar compared to what I thought would happen. Look out for Linebacker Justin Crum, who made a huge debut last week as a Chippewa. He led the defense in tackles (with 6) and sacks (with 2), in a game where it could've gone quite poorly for him. Even though they had roughly 300 passing yards, Chambers said he looks to continue working on the run game because he knows that, one game, Senior HB James Mitchell will go off and create some madness for the other team.

Projected Score
Central Michigan, 31-21

Without much to go on for the Eagles, I think that Central Michigan will start off 2-0 this year and grab their first point for the Tier 8 Table. Beating rival Eastern Michigan would be huge for Chambers and his legacy at this school.

[Miles Perry]

Good win in week one! Keep things rolling against EMU!

[MvPeterson2828]

Good win man! Keep it going, build off of that win. Good momentum to start off the season.


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