Bowl Game: 1994 Las Vegas Bowl

Las Vegas Bowl III: 
Chippewas vs. UNLV Rebels

      Central Michigan played in their second-ever Division bowl game in 1994, accepting a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl. The Chippewas were coming off a great season, winning the Mid-American Conference crown with a 9-3 record (8-1 in the MAC). The team was led by All-American senior halfback Brian Pruitt, who rushed for a school record 1,890 yards (tops in the nation) and 20 touchdowns on 292 carries. Quarterback Eric Timpf passed for 1315 yards, 9 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, while also rushing for 463 yards and 5 touchdowns. First-year head coach Dick Flynn was named MAC Coach of the Year. 

     The Chippewas faced a familiar foe in this game: the UNLV Rebels. Central defeated the Rebels, 35-23, in Mount Pleasant in Week 2 of the regular season. UNLV, led by first-year coach Jeff Horton, won the Big West crown with a 7-5 record (5-1 overall). Their top running back was Omar Love, who rushed for 548 yards on 150 carries and 1 touchdown, and DeJohn Branch, who ran for 374 yards on 90 carries and 4 touchdowns. In the passing game, UNLV's Jason Davis threw for 1,539 yards, 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Jared Brown passed for 1,154 yards, 5 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. The Rebels ranked 42nd in the nation in offense (26.2 PPG) and 77th in defense (27.4 PPG).

     Las Vegas Bowl III was held at the 36,800-seat Sam Boyd Stadium, UNLV's home from 1971-2019. The attendance for the game was 17,562.

     Unfortunately for Central Michigan, Pruitt was not available for the game, due to a bruised knee during practice. Despite cutting the UNLV lead to 14-10 late in the first quarter, the Rebels went on to blow out the Chippewas, 52-24, to drop CMU to 0-2 in Division 1 bowl games. Rebels wideout Henry Bailey hauled in 5 catches for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns, as well as 7 rushes for 79 yards and 2 touchdowns, and won the MVP award.

     This is a small program, about 31 pages, mostly in black and white. Both teams had team photos in the program, with Central Michigan's being on pages 20-21. Both the commissioners of the MAC and Big West Conferences have welcome letters, as do the heads of the Las Vegas Bowl and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Local advertisements include the Las Vegas Thunder hockey team, Dollar Rent-a-Car, Del Wilber and Associates, the MGM Grand, Claire's Flowers, and WalMart.

Aftermath: The Central Michigan football program would go into a steady decline after 1994. From 1995-2005, the Chippewas would finish above .500 just twice. A particularly low point in program history occurred in 1997, when defending national champion Florida annihilated CMU, 82-6, the worst loss in school history. The Chippewas would not return to a bowl game until 2006, when they defeated Middle Tennessee State, 31-14, the program's first-ever bowl victory.

BONUS: Here's a highlight from Las Vegas Bowl III, Central's touchdown drive late in the first quarter. 

References:

"1994 Central Michigan Chippewas Stats", Sports-Reference.com

"1994 Las Vegas Bowl", found at CMUChippewas.com