CENTRAL MICHIGAN READY FOR SAN DIEGO STATE IN 2019 NEW MEXICO BOWL
2019 NEW MEXICO BOWL
Central Michigan (8-5, 6-2 MAC) vs. San Diego State (9-3, 5-3 Mountain West)
Saturday, December 21, 2019 • 2:00 pm ET • Albuquerque, N.M. • Dreamstyle Stadium (39,224)
ESPN Announcers: Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Ryan Leaf (analyst), Dr. Jerry Punch (sideline)
Watch Live
Central Michigan Notes:
• Central Michigan captured its fifth MAC West Division title this season. CMU’s previous titles came in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2015. This is the first outright title since the 2009 season.
• Jonathan Ward is the 27th player in CMU history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season. He produced the 38th 1,000-yard season in program history when he rushed for 88 against Toledo. He has 1,082 yards for the season. Ward, who rushed for 1,019 yards in 2017, is the ninth player in program history to have put together multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons. With 977 rushing yards, sophomore Kobe Lewis needs 23 to reach 1,000, giving the Chippewas two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season for the first time in program history.
• Ward also ranks on both CMU’s single-season and career rushing touchdown lists. The senior ranks eighth on the career list with 28 and needs three TDs to move into a tie for seventh with Brian Pruitt (1992-94). Ward is tied with Curtis Adams (1983) for sixth on the single season list with 15 scores. He needs one more to tie Silas Massey (1996) and Eric Flowers (1998) for fourth.
• Kalil Pimpleton broke into CMU’s single season top 10 for receptions at Ball State. Pimpleton has 79 grabs, which is good for sixth all-time. He needs four more to tie Cody Wilson (2012) for fifth. Pimpleton leads the MAC in receptions and has 18 more catches than the next closest conference player.
• The Chippewas have scored 415 points this season, which is the fifth most in program history. The rankings are:
• 2007 - 487 points (14 games)
• 2009 - 475 points (14 games)
• 1974 - 450 points (13 games)
• 2006 - 416 points (14 games)
• 2019 - 415 points (13 games)
Central Michigan - San Diego State Series:
This is the first meeting between CMU and San Diego State. Central Michigan is 7-8 against current members of the Mountain West Conference. That includes Boise State (3-2), San Jose State (1-1), UNLV (2-3) and Wyoming (1-2). In bowl games, CMU is 0-3, falling to SJSU (1990), UNLV (1994) and Wyoming (2017). Coach McElwain is 0-1 against San Diego State, falling at SDSU in 2012, 38-14. He is 14-10 against Mountain West foes while at Colorado State.
Bowl History:
This is the 12th Division I bowl game in Central Michigan history. The Chippewas are 3-8. CMU was victorious in the:
• 2006 Motor City Bowl (31-14 over MTSU)
• 2010 GMAC Bowl (44-41 in 2OT over Troy)
• 2012 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (24-21 over WKU)
Central Michigan lost the:
• 1990 California Raisin Bowl (48-24 to SJSU)
• 1994 Las Vegas Bowl (52-24 to UNLV)
• 2007 Motor City Bowl (51-48 to Purdue)
• 2008 Motor City Bowl (24-21 to FAU)
• 2015 Quick Lane Bowl (21-14 to Minnesota)
• 2016 Miami Beach Bowl (55-10 to Tulsa)
• 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (37-14 to Wyoming)
Coach McElwain is 2-1 in bowl games. His squad was victorious in the 2013 New Mexico Bowl (48-45, Washington State) and in the 2017 Outback Bowl (30-3, Iowa), and lost the 2016 Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl (41-7, Michigan).
McElwain Returns To New Mexico Bowl:
Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain has taken part in this bowl before, leading his Colorado State squad to a 48-45 victory over Washington State in 2013.
