Central Michigan Chippewas 2009 Football Betting Preview

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Central Michigan 2008 Record: (8-5, 6-2)
Central Michigan 2008 Bowl: Motor City Bowl vs. Florida Atlantic (L 21-24)
Central Michigan Coach: Butch Jones (16-11 at Central Michigan, 16-11 overall)
Central Michigan Offensive Coordinator: Mike Bajakian
Central Michigan Defensive Coordinator: Tim Banks
Central Michigan Returning Stats Leaders:

• Rushing: Dan LeFevour, QB, 592 yards
• Passing: Dan LeFevour, QB, 2,784 yards
• Receiving: Antonio Brown, WR, 998 yards
• Tackles: Nick Bellore, LB, 148
• Sacks: Frank Zombo, DE, 9.0
• Interceptions: Eric Fraser, S, 2

Notable Central Michigan Returning Players: S Vince Agnew, WR Bryan Anderson, LB Matt Berning, LB Tim Brazzel, CB Kirkston Edwards, CB Josh Gordy, G Jeff Maddux, C Colin Miller, DT Sean Murnane, WR Kito Poblah, S Bobby Seay, DE Sam Williams

Central Michigan Key Losses: WR Joe Bockheim, OT Andrew Hartline, RB Ontario Sneed, OT Greg Wojt

2008 was a successful year for the Chippewas as they finished 8-5 overall. However, it was also a disappointing showing as CMU entered the final two weeks of the season with a 6-0 conference record but dropped both to miss out on the MAC Title Game. To cap off a poor ending, the Chips also lost the Motor City Bowl, giving them three consecutive losses to close a season coming off of back to back MAC Titles.

However, good news abounds, beginning with the MAC’s best player, senior QB Dan LeFevour. In his career he is a two-time 1 st team All-MAC selection, was the 2 nd team choice last year and has a career record of 27-15! Expect LeFevour to improve upon his nearly 3,400 yards of offense and 27 touchdowns from a year ago as he suffered through some nagging injuries. Despite those injuries, he was also the team’s leading rusher last fall! At receiver, the top three targets from last year are back and junior Antonio Brown (93 catches, 998 yards, 7 TDs) and senior Bryan Anderson (63, 865 yards, 6 TDs) were both 1 st team All-MAC picks! The only concern is some inexperience on the offensive line as they lose two All-MAC performers and only have two starters back. However, LeFevour’s mobility should help the line as they try to come together. I have very few concerns about this offense and expect them to eclipse last year’s 29.5 point per game output. This is probably the conference’s best offense.

Defensively, the Chippewas struggled last year, allowing 30.2 points per game. However, ten starters return from that group and they should be much improved and could start all upperclassmen! Defensive end Frank Zombo (9 sacks, 51 tackles) anchors a solid defensive line that could improve upon last season’s solid rush defense, which allowed only 137 yards per game. I really like their strength up front. At linebacker, junior Nick Bellore was the team’s leading tackler by a mile last fall with 148 stops and should anchor a very solid group that returns intact. The secondary is massively experienced and junior safety Bobby Seay’s 90 stops were good for second on the team. If they can force some interceptions, this team could be dangerous on defense. The Chips led the conference by a wide margin in sacks last year and should be equally effective this fall getting to the quarterback and the improved secondary should benefit. I expect this defense to be one of the conference’s best.

The Chips have a pretty reasonable conference schedule, facing road trips to Bowling Green and Buffalo in the East while hosting division favorite Akron. That means they have three division games at home, where the Chips are 11-4 in the past three years. Their toughest conference test looks like a trip to rival Western Michigan. Out of conference, however, they have a brutal schedule, traveling to Arizona and Michigan State in back to back weeks to open the year before traveling later in the year to face Boston College. That’s not good news as the Chips are only 1-9 against BCS conference opponents in the last five years and their only with was a squeaker last year against a putrid Indiana team.

Overall, the Chips have the conference’s best player in LeFevour, the conference‘s best passing attack in Brown, Anderson and company and the conference’s best defensive line with Zombo’s Zombies. This team looks to have a talent and experience advantage on all of their conference opponents and they don’t have any majorly unfavorable schedule issues. I expect this team to be a dominant force in the West and emerge from the regular season with a chance to play for their 3 rd conference title in LeFevour’s career. A 4 th consecutive Motor City Bowl berth seems very likely.

Central Michigan Big Games: Sept. 26th vs. Akron, Oct. 10th vs. EMU, Oct. 17th @ WMU, Nov. 27th vs. NIU

Central Michigan’s Strength:

It seems like he has been around for a long time, but Dan LeFevour is still around. The 6-3 senior threw for 2,784 yards and 21 touchdowns. LeFevour is more than just a player who can throw for a lot of yards. He keeps his interceptions down and is always a threat to make a play with his legs. In fact, LeFevour led the team in rushing with 592 yards. But it is in the air where CMU will do most of their damage. Antonio Brown, Bryan Anderson, Kito Poblah are all experienced receivers and Rocky Weaver could be the next big name to come out of Mount Pleasant. Three starters are back on the line as well and there is no reason for this team not to rank first in the conference in passing offense. The only issue might be on the ground. Ontario Sneed and Justin Hoskins are gone and there are not very many experienced options ready to take over.

Central Michigan’s Weakness:

The defense returns just about everybody, but that might not be a good thing. The pass defense was atrocious in 2008, ranking 118 th out of 119 teams in the nation. Vince Agnew, Kirkston Edwards, Eric Fraser, Josh Gordy and Bobby Seay have to do a better job keeping the ball in front of them. Usually a poor pass defense can be blamed on the lack of a pass rush, but that is certainly not the case with this team. The Chippewas topped the MAC in sacks a year ago and should do again this year with the return of Frank Zombo and Sam Williams. Yet, all the sacks in the world will do no good if Central Michigan cannot stop the pass.

Our Prediction for the 2009 Chippewas:

Coach Butch Jones should be looking at another MAC title this year. The defense was an issue last year, but the group is a year older and a year wiser. Meanwhile, the offense has some of the best passing and receiving combinations in the nation. It will take a huge effort to stop LeFevour and every defense on the schedule should be having nightmares already. With any semblance of improvement from the defense, Central Michigan will dominate the MAC.

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