Central Michigan University Athletics

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Halfway there, and Central Michigan is right where any team would hope to be: Right in the thick of it.

The Chippewas are 5-3 overall, 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference after their 38-13 win over Massachusetts on Saturday on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

CMU is tied with Western Michigan, Buffalo and Ohio for second place. Miami (Ohio) leads the league at 4-0. The top two teams will play in the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit on Dec. 6.

CMU goes to Western Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 1, and then plays host to Buffalo on Nov. 12. The Chippewas' final two regular season games are at Kent State and at home with Toledo.

CMU needs one more win to become bowl eligible. The Chippewas' last bowl appearance came in 2021, when they defeated Washington State, 24-21, in the Sun Bowl.

The Chippewas last won the MAC championship in 2009.

"We can win one more game to get a bowl game, but that's not what we want," said defensive end Michael Heldman, a senior captain. "We want the championship. Every year, we've been yearning, like urging for that championship, and we never got there. We can get a winning season, yes, but what we want is that championship."

Townsend Time

Running back Brock Townsend put on display on Saturday the versatility that has made him a budding star.

Townsend, a redshirt freshman from Caledonia, produced a career-high 131 all-purpose yards – 78 on two receptions, 34 on 12 rushes, and 19 on one kickoff return.

He scored a career-high three touchdowns, two on short runs and his third on a 51-yard pitch-and-catch from quarterback Joe Labas.

His TD reception was particularly memorable as he took a short pass from Labas, turned up field, broke a tackle and then sprinted down the sideline for the goal line, picking up blocks from tight end Decorion Temple and wide receiver Tommy McIntosh.

"It was kind of an awkward kind of catch and turn," Townsend said. "I saw the (defensive back) there and just thought, try and get him off me as best I can. I knew he was going to go low. They'd been going low all game, and I just kind of threw him off me. I was still standing. I was like, 'Wow!'

"And then just kept running. Great blocks from DC, and I think Tommy -- they threw some great blocks and got it wide open for me. So I'm thankful for that."

CMU coach Matt Drinkall said that the 6-foot, 220-pound Townsend is deceptively fast and possesses the extra gear and instincts that all good running backs seem to have.

"I'm saying this as a compliment, but he doesn't look like he's super fast," Drinkall said. "But that dude is always 1 yard faster than whoever is chasing him. It is incredible. So if he was getting chased by a (defensive) linemen or Usain Bolt, he's going to outrun him by a step.

"When he plays football, he has incredibly efficient movement skills. He very, very rarely wastes time or energy moving. He's very efficient with the ball, and as a result, it makes him really difficult because he's a one-cut, glance runner, and he's a great big guy. So if you don't fit it exactly right on him, you can't tackle him, and he delivers a boom. He's really just an all-purpose back that can do everything for us."

Heldman a Beast

Heldman, who has developed into one of the MAC's top defensive linemen, was credited with just one assisted tackle on the day.

But he was as disruptive as anybody on the Chippewa defense, posting a CMU-record four quarterback hurries, giving him 25 in his career, which is also a program record.

He also registered two pass breakups in Saturday's game. A defensive end with two pass breakups? That's nearly unheard-of.

On the season, Heldman leads the Chippewas in both sacks (5 ½) and tackles-for-loss (8 ½). He ranks among the top seven in the MAC in both categories.

Statistics, particularly on defense, can be overrated and, at times, misleading. At the end of the day, defense is about each of the 11 players doing his job and taking care of his responsibilities on each and every down.

"I really give a lot of thanks to our secondary and our linebackers," Heldman said. "They do all the heavy work. They run fast. They cover great. And that gives us a lot of time to get to the QB.

"I love to go get those sacks. But you know what? If I can pressure the QB so he throws the ball away faster, so we can get incompletions and get our offense on the field, I will do whatever I can so we can go win games."

Flores Held Out

CMU quarterback Angel Flores, who has regularly split time with Labas throughout the season to great success, did not play in the second half because of an injury.

Flores is the Chippewas' leading rusher with 519 yards and eight touchdowns on the season. He ran for 63 yards and a touchdown while completing both of his pass attempts for 75 yards on Saturday.

The Chippewas led, 24-10, at halftime. Labas engineered scoring drives on CMU's first two possessions of the second half to up the lead to 38-10 and effectively putting the game out of reach.

"That really put the wind behind our sails and put us in a good spot," Drinkall said. "We were protecting a couple-score lead at that point. We didn't want to have to grind (Flores) into the ground the rest of the game.

"But Angel, we expect (him) to be okay. He's going go get imaging (Sunday) just to make sure and confirm what the doctors all thought (at the stadium). He was assessed by the whole medical staff right away and should be good to go."

Defensive Leaders

Middle linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski led CMU's defense with 10 total tackles, while fellow linebacker Dakota Cochran had six.

The Chippewas sacked UMass quarterback AJ Hairston three times.

Landon Swanson, a redshirt freshman from Charlevoix, recorded his first career sack, while Kwiatkowski, J.J. Douglas, Victor Earl and Andre Thomas were each credited with one-half sack apiece.

Cornerback Kalen Carroll made an interception, his first as a Chippewa.

Carroll's interception was CMU's 12th forced turnover of the season. The Chippewas forced only five turnovers throughout the entire 2024 season.

Kwiatkowski Crushing It

Kwiatkowski registered his third consecutive double-digit tackle total. He has been credited with 34 tackles in the Chippewas' last three games and he ranks ninth in the MAC with 63 stops on the season.

The senior from Sterling Heights was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week after making 14 tackles and a game-changing interception a week ago at Bowling Green.

Streak Extended

CMU placekicker Cade Graham kicked a 29-yard field goal in the second quarter, extending the Chippewas' lead to 24-7.

Graham, a redshirt senior from Caledonia, has hit 12 of his 14 field goal attempts on the season. He has made seven consecutive attempts.

Climbing the Ladder

At 5-3, the Chippewas have surpassed their 2024 win total (they finished 4-8) and equaled their 2023 total (5-7). CMU was 4-8 in 2022 after going 9-4 in 2021.

Rare Turnover

CMU had not committed a turnover in 15 consecutive quarters until Nahree Biggins fumbled on the second play of the fourth quarter. It was recovered by UMass at the Minuteman 40-yard line.

It was CMU's sixth turnover of the season. All six have come late in games when the outcomes had already been decided.

Homecoming Crowd

The Chippewas and Minutemen played before an announced crowd of 20,489 on homecoming on the first truly autumn-feel game of the season, with mostly cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 50s at kickoff.

It certainly helped that CMU was coming off a dominant 27-6 win at Bowling Green and entered the UMass game 4-3 and with a very positive vibe around the program under Drinkall, who was named in December to head the program.

The Chippewas rewarded the fans with their second straight dominant performance. With a 3:30 p.m. kickoff, the temperatures turned noticeably chillier as the game wore on and the sun dipped below the west side of the stadium, casting a long shadow over the field.

"It was neat to just all the pageantry and you just saw how so supportive everyone is," Drinkall said. "And it blows my mind how fast the stadium fills up from the six-minute mark before kickoff. Everybody just comes roaring in, and especially right after halftime, the fans were really into it."

UMass Series

The Chippewas improved to 3-0 against UMass in the all-time series.

CMU defeated the Minutemen in 2012 and in 2013, when UMass was a member of the MAC.

UMass rejoined the league ahead of the 2025 season. The Minutemen are 0-8, 0-4 and have lost 19 consecutive games to Football Bowl Subdivision opponents.

A Look at Western

Western Michigan fell, 26-17, at Miami (Ohio) on Saturday. The Broncos are 4-4, 3-1.

Western lost its first three games of the season, falling to Michigan State, North Texas, and then-No. 9 Illinois. They defeated Football Championship Subdivision Rhode Island in their other nonconference game.

They topped Toledo, 14-13, in their MAC opener, and also defeated UMass and Ball State before their loss at Miami, which leads the MAC at 4-0.

Toledo finished first in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll, while Miami was second. The Broncos finished seventh while CMU was ninth.

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