Rittenberg Roundup: Central Michigan fumbles their chance to upset Northern Illinois
Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
September 21, 2013
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DeKalb, IL - The Chippewas were able to hang with the Huskies in the game this afternoon. In fact, the game ended up going to overtime, for a second instant classic in two weeks for Chambers and the Chips. However, the Huskies prevailed, defeating the Chips, 34-31.
The Chippewas got the ball to start the game and immediately went for the run game, with
James Mitchell leading the way. However, Mitchell only gained a yard or two on the first play. Chambers gave Mitchell another chance, but he only gained another two yards, so Chambers went to the air. After
Marcus Jackson threw the ball to
Julius Peterson, the Northern Illinois defense, led by
Cliff Whitfield, stopped the Chips on a three-and-out.
Josh Richard led the Huskies on offense and marched down into the red zone for a drive that would end in a score. However, quarterback
Ken Green threw a lobbing pass to
Luke Jordan, which got picked off by
Aaron Sharpe of the Chippewas. Sharpe was able to prevent the Huskies from taking an early score.
However, Mitchell wasn't able to get the run game going, even though he obtained the 1st first down for Central Michigan. After the first down, the Chippewas were shut down yet again, as the Huskies forced the second punt of the game for
Roderick Williams. With the stop, the Huskies were able to score the first set of points of the game. At the end of the first quarter, Northern Illinois led Central Michigan, 7-0.
However, the Chippewas, spearheaded by fullback
Derek Miller, scored 17 points and only allowed a single touchdown in the second quarter. Miller had both touchdowns runs and
Tim Webb scored a 29-yard chip shot.
Bobby Lawrence, for Northern Illinois, scored a 36-yard catch for the Huskies. The Chippewas led the Huskies, 17-14, at the half, as the Huskies was put on upset alert.
In the third quarter, Northern Illinois kicker,
Justin Schroeder, kicked a 40-yard field goal after just 52 seconds in the second half. After Central Michigan scored another touchdown by Jarvis Dowdell. Soon after, Northern Illinois scored a touchdown to tie the ball game at 24 apiece.
In the fourth quarter, there were no scoring plays. However,
Marquis Harris, with 20 seconds left to go in the game, fumbled the ball as he was crossing the plain. The Huskies recovered the ball in the end zone and they started on the 20-yard line with 15 seconds. Luckily, the Chippewas were able to hold on to take the game into overtime.
The Chippewas won the coin toss and deferred to give the ball to the Huskies. The Huskies were able to score, as Green ran the ball into the endzone to take a 31-24 score. However, freshman linebacker
Justin Crum showed promise under pressure, as he was able to make two huge stops, before his secondary allowed a huge pass, that led to the run by Green.
Right away, it seemed that the Chippewas were taking slow-and-steady approach to overtime, as they handed the ball to Mitchell the first five plays of overtime. In the first set of downs, the Chippewas had to have Mitchell power his way on fourth down to gain enough yardage for the first. After going through another set of downs, the Chips were desperate, and Jackson found
Joe Brown in the back of end zone to tie the game up.
On the next drive, Central Michigan didn't show as much difficulty, as they marched down to the 2-yard line. On 3rd and goal, Jackson handed off the ball to Miller, the hero in the second quarter for the Chips. However, Miller fumbled the ball into the end zone, making it the second time of the day that the Chippewas fumbled the ball, let alone in the end zone.
Even with this, the Chippewa defense came up big, as
Jason Miller picked off a pass by Green. This sent the game into the third overtime, where the Huskies scored a field goal, to make the game, 34-31, heading into the second half of the third overtime. On the first play, Jackson threw the ball to Harris, who was running a slip screen. As Harris was turning upfield, he got lit up by the Northern Illinois defender, which caused a fumble. The Huskies recovered the ball and ended the game with a final score of
34-31, in favor of Northern Illinois.
Fumbling the ball was the bane of the Chippewas. If not for the fumbles, Central Michigan could've sealed the game and defeated the Huskies. If the Chippewas ended up with the win against former conference foe, Northern Illinois, Central Michigan would've taken a huge lead in the Tier 8 table, gaining four points for defeating a top-25 team.
| Central Michigan Chippewas at Northern Illinois Huskies |
| Sep 21, 2013 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | OT | SCORE |
| Central Michigan Chippewas (2-2) | 0 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
| #23 Northern Illinois Huskies (2-0) | 7 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 34 |
| Team Stats Comparison |
| CMU | NIU |
| Total Offense | 429 | 367 |
| Rushing Yards | 162 | 161 |
| Passing Yards | 267 | 206 |
| First Downs | 24 | 14 |
| Punt Return Yards | 22 | 25 |
| Kick Return Yards | 102 | 162 |
| Total Yards | 553 | 554 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 2 |
| 3rd Down Conversion | 11-20 | 2-8 |
| 4th Down Conversion | 4-4 | 0-0 |
| 2-Point Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 8-4-1 | 5-2-1 |
| Penalties | 0-0 | 1-15 |
| Possession Time | 20:55 | 7:05 |
| Scoring Summary |
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | CMU | NIU |
| 3:49 | (NIU) TD: J. Richard, 23 Yd run (J. Schroeder kick) | 0 | 7 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | CMU | NIU |
| 6:18 | (CMU) TD: D. Miller, 4 Yd run (T. Webb kick) | 7 | 7 |
| 1:11 | (CMU) FG: T. Webb, 28 Yd FG | 10 | 7 |
| 0:46 | (NIU) TD: B. Lawrence, 36 Yd pass from K. Green (J. Schroeder kick) | 10 | 14 |
| 0:18 | (CMU) TD: D. Miller, 2 Yd run (T. Webb kick) | 17 | 14 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | CMU | NIU |
| 6:08 | (NIU) FG: J. Schroeder, 40 Yd FG | 17 | 17 |
| 2:36 | (CMU) TD: J. Dowdell, 12 Yd pass from M. Jackson (T. Webb kick) | 24 | 17 |
| 0:35 | (NIU) TD: W. Rivera, 6 Yd run (J. Schroeder kick) | 24 | 24 |
| OVERTIME SCORING | CMU | NIU |
| -- | (NIU) TD: K. Green, 6 Yd run (J. Schroeder kick) | 24 | 31 |
| -- | (CMU) TD: J. Brown, 13 Yd pass from M. Jackson (T. Webb kick) | 31 | 31 |
| -- | (NIU) FG: J. Schroeder, 35 Yd FG | 31 | 34 |
| Central Michigan Chippewas | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | Marcus Jackson | 22/29 | 267 | 2 | 1 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | James Mitchell | 34 | 92 | 2.7 | 0 | | Marquis Harris | 12 | 27 | 2.2 | 0 | | Marcus Jackson | 6 | 26 | 4.3 | 0 | | Derek Miller | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 2 | | Chad Perry | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | | Omar Cox | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | | Willie Lee | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | Joe Brown | 6 | 101 | 16.8 | 1 | | James Mitchell | 4 | 20 | 5.0 | 0 | | Julius Peterson | 3 | 30 | 10.0 | 0 | | Garrett Ward | 3 | 55 | 18.3 | 0 | | Marquis Harris | 3 | 14 | 4.6 | 0 | | Jermaine Harris | 2 | 35 | 17.5 | 0 | | Jarvis Dowdell | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 1 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | Carlos Sullivan | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Jermaine Griffith | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | J.D. Reed | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Jason Miller | 4 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | | Justin Crum | 3 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | | Sean Ingraham | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Richard Lemon | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Rian Henderson | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Art Wilkerson | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Kevin Robinson | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | | Cedric Mann | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | | James Wilcox | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | | Aaron Sharpe | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | | Tim Webb | 1/1 | 4/4 | 7 | 29 | | PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | IN20 | | Roderick Williams | 2 | 90 | 45.0 | 0 | | KICK RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | Joe Brown | 4 | 102 | 25.5 | 0 | | PUNT RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | Joe Brown | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 0 |
| | Northern Illinois Huskies | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | Ken Green | 15/23 | 206 | 1 | 2 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | Ken Green | 13 | 43 | 3.3 | 1 | | Josh Richard | 11 | 112 | 10.1 | 1 | | William Rivera | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 1 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | Josh Richard | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0 | | Tyler Thomas | 3 | 63 | 21.0 | 0 | | Luke Jordan | 3 | 61 | 20.3 | 0 | | Ron Lane | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 0 | | Bobby Lawrence | 2 | 53 | 26.5 | 1 | | Ryan Vinson | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | | Ian Hicks | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | | BLOCKING | PANCAKE | SACK | | Ian Hicks | 2 | 0 | | Bobby Lawrence | 2 | 0 | | Jayson Watson | 2 | 2 | | Michael Bailey | 1 | 1 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | Cliff Whitfield | 10 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Terrence Triplett | 10 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Tim Patterson | 8 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Roger James | 7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Julian Leach | 7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Maurice Fagan | 7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Kellen Miller | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Ryan Thompson | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Mike Newby | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Stephen McCoy | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Walter Cross | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Joe Hamilton | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Dontae Smith | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Travis Hines | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Evan Hall | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | | Justin Schroeder | 2/2 | 4/4 | 11 | 40 | | PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | IN20 | | Louis Torres | 3 | 144 | 48.0 | 0 | | KICK RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | Ian Hicks | 4 | 136 | 34.0 | 0 | | Frank Ortiz | 1 | 26 | 26.0 | 0 | | PUNT RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | Frank Ortiz | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 0 |
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| 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) | Won, 45-7 |
| Sep 14 | at Michigan State Spartans | Lost, 37-30 |
| Sep 21 | at Northern Illinois Huskies | Lost, 34-31 |
| 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 loss to the Huskies, the Chippewas have a week off to prepare for the game against Ball State on October 5th.