2011 Central Michigan Chippewas Football Preview

After losing both Brian Kelly and Butch Jones to the head coaching job at Cincinnati in just the last five years, the Central Michigan Chippewas are simply looking for a successful coach to stay in the program.

The mantle passed to Dan Enos in 2010 and the results were not decidedly mixed; they were downright bad. Central Michigan suffered its first losing season since 2005, finishing with just three victories. It wasn’t as if the Chippewas didn’t have their chances. Five of Central Michigan’s losses were by a touchdown or less. However, this is a team that so constantly pulled tough tussles out of the fire in previous seasons. The folks in Mount Pleasant knew that they were in rebuilding mode; star quarterback Dan LeFevour, who ruled the MAC for four gloriously ascendant and triumphant seasons from 2006 through 2009, left behind an enormous void when he graduated. Enos, a former quarterback at Michigan State in the late 1980s, was not blessed with a LeFevour-like talent upon his arrival in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The CMU coach definitely gets (and deserves) a mulligan for season one, but now in season two – when elite coaches begin to put their stamps on the programs they lead (think of MAC alumnus Urban Meyer from his days at Bowling Green and then Utah and Florida) – Enos needs to show that he’s moving CMU in the right direction. One wonders if the weight of past success under elite coaches (Kelly) and quarterbacks (LeFevour) will weigh heavily on the current crop of Central Michigan recruits.

The Chippewas return eight starters on offense, including quarterback Ryan Radcliff. Radcliff had a terrific finish to the season and should improve on his performance in the coming year. Central Michigan was 17th in the country in passing yards, but scored just 24 points per game. Central will need more out of its running attack, which ranked 108th in the nation last year. Paris Cotton will be asked to carry the load.

One of the things that emerges for Central Michigan is that it pushed Northwestern (30-25 loss) and Navy (38-37 loss) quite hard in a pair of daunting road games. This team, young and unpolished last season, was still able to show glimpses of considerable ability and gumption. Enos would seem to have raw pieces in place; now the molding and sharpening of these pieces needs to take place in Mount Pleasant.

Central Michigan returns six starters on defense from a year ago and they will be tested early. The schedule is one part grueling trek and another part ease of use. After an opener with South Carolina State, the Chippewas embark on a difficult stretch. Consecutive road contests against Kentucky, Western Michigan and Michigan begin the grind. A home date with Northern Illinois and yet another BCS road game against North Carolina State finishes it off. If Central Michigan can somehow survive that early gauntlet, the remaining schedule is more than favorable.

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