Game stories courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Staffs.
Central Michigan 34, Miami 27
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Ohio -- Central Michigan quarterback Cooper Rush threw three touchdown passes to Titus Davis and freshman Devon Spalding came off the bench to run for 147 yards and two scores Saturday as Central Michigan held on beat Miami, 34-27, in a Mid-American Conference football game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
The Chippewas (7-4, 5-2 MAC) have won three straight games and five of their last six. They close the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 22, at home against rival Western Michigan (7-3, 5-1).
The Chippewa defense was again solid against the run, holding the RedHawks to 102 yards on the ground. But Miami quarterback Andrew Hendrix threw for 369 yards - the most by a CMU opponent this season - and two touchdowns to keep the RedHawks in it right to the very end.
And beyond.
"I'm proud of our guys - we found a way to win," CMU coach Dan Enos said. "It was ugly at times, but that's college football week to week. I have to give Miami a lot of credit. Their coaching staff did a great job, the guys played extremely hard. I thought their quarterback was very, very good. He made a lot of good plays for them."
Rush, who completed 16-of-23 passes for 218 yards, tossed a 9-yard TD pass to Davis with 10 minutes, 3 seconds remaining to break a 27-27 tie.
Davis finished with eight catches for 102 yards. His three TD receptions tied the CMU single-game mark.
Protecting that one-touchdown lead, Central Michigan faced a fourth down at the Miami 41 with 2:00 remaining. The Chippewas needed less than 2 feet for the first down, but Enos elected to punt. The punt went for a touchback and gave Hendrix and the RedHawks the ball at their own 20 with 1:52 remaining.
"If we would have been at the 30 or inside there, we probably would have gone for it (on fourth down)," Enos said. "But at the 41 -- and I know we hadn't been stopping them, but I thought we (could get) a punt down there inside the 10 and at least make them go 90 yards to score a touchdown to tie it. I thought that was a smart play at that time."
Hendrix drove Miami to the CMU 1-yard line with 10 seconds remaining. A sack by Justin Cherocci pushed Miami back to the 9, and four incompletions later, the game was over.
"They were first-and-goal on the 2 and Justin Cherocci makes that play," Enos said. "It was a great call by our defensive staff at that time. That, to me, was the big play of the game."
Three times in the game's final seven plays, CMU was flagged for pass interference in the end zone, the last time giving the RedHawks one final shot from the 2 with no time showing on the clock.
"Yeah we had our backs against the wall and we had a few interference calls, questionable calls, that didn't go our way," safety Tony Annese said, "but in our minds we know we have heart as a defense, we know we were going to be ready the next play.
"We just let go of the past and get ready for the next play. Hats off to our defense for coming up with some plays at the end of the game. Even though we didn't play great all day, we made plays when we needed to."
It was the second consecutive big week for Spalding, who had 154 yards and two TDs two weeks ago in a 38-7 win at Eastern Michigan. The freshman has yet to draw a start, but is firmly in the rotation of three or four featured backs that Enos employs on most weeks.
"He's very explosive, he kind of piggybacked off of (the Eastern) week," Enos said. "Devon's got another gear. I think he's the fastest back we have and he has good size. I think we has a great future."
Western Michigan 51, Eastern Michigan 7
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Start fast, finish strong. Western Michigan ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown and put up 27 points in the first quarter en route to a dominating 51-7 victory over visiting Eastern Michigan Saturday at Waldo Stadium.
It was the Broncos’ fifth-straight win and improved the team’s record to 7-3, the most wins for the program since 2011. WMU is currently tied for first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 5-1 MAC record.
Redshirt freshman Darius Phillips set the tone for the game, taking the opening kickoff 93 yards to the end zone. It was the first returned kickoff for Western Michigan since 2010 when Dervon Wallace did it against Akron. From there Bronco quarterback Zach Terrell picked Eastern Michigan apart, throwing three touchdowns and completing 7-of-7 pass attempts for 231 yards in the first quarter.
Terrell ended his day halfway through the third quarter with four touchdown passes and one more on the ground. He racked up 357 yards through the air and completed 17 of 19 passes with no interceptions. The Broncos finished with 497 yards of total offense.
Sophomore wide receiver Corey Davis caught four passes for 134 yards to become the seventh different player in Bronco history to reach 1,000 yards receiving in a season, posting the 11th such season in school history. Western Michigan becomes just the second program in the country in 2014 to have a 1,000-yard receiver and a 1,000-yard rusher (freshman running back Jarvion Franklin).
Davis scored WMU’s second touchdown of the game, burning man coverage for a 54-yard catch and run in the first quarter. Daniel Braverman followed with his first of two TD’s in the game, taking a sweep pass around the end for an 11-yard touchdown. Junior cornerback Ronald Zamort picked off EMU quarterback Reginald Bell for his third interception of the year to set up WMU’s next drive. Terrell found Franklin on the screen and Franklin hit the jets through a hole, racing 54 yards for his first career receiving touchdown and the Broncos’ fourth TD of the first quarter.
Western Michigan added three more touchdown drives in the second quarter to hold a 48-0 lead at halftime. Terrell scored on a 1-yard keeper and senior running back Dareyon Chance punched in a 1-yard run. Braverman danced his way into the end zone on a 13-yard reception for his second TD of the game with 43 seconds remaining in the half to make it 48-0 at the break.
Andrew Haldeman booted a 31-yard field goal in the third quarter as the Broncos increased their margin to 51-0 and WMU turned to its reserves in the second half to close out the victory. Eastern Michigan managed to avoid getting shut out with a 76-yard touchdown strike from Bell to Bronson Hill in the third quarter.
The WMU defense registered six sacks, giving the team 27 for the year. Freshman Robert Spillane registered two solo sacks and tied Andre Turner for a team-best seven tackles. Freshman Deontae Brown recorded an interception for the second-straight game, picking off a pass late in the fourth quarter.
The Broncos close out the regular season with two remaining games. WMU travels to rival Central Michigan next Saturday, Nov. 22 for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Mount Pleasant. Western Michigan returns to Waldo Stadium to host Northern Illinois on Friday, Nov. 28.
