Central Michigan Programs

2004 Regular Season: Chippewas vs. Western Michigan Broncos      Central Michigan Football opened the 2004 season with a new head coach, as Mike DeBord resigned after the 2003 season. Athletic Director Herb Deromedi replaced him with Brian Kelly. Kelly had recently been head coach at Grand Valley State for the last 13 seasons, leading the Lakers to a 118-35-2 record and two Division II National Championships. This was his first head coaching position at the Division I level.      CMU Football had been a struggling program for nearly a decade, having just one winning season since winning the MAC title in 1994. 2004 would be more of the same, as the Chippewas finished with a 4-7 record (3-5 MAC). That placed the Chips at fifth place in the MAC West Division, four games back of league champion Toledo.      The Chippewas offense was mediocre, just 82nd in the nation with an average of 23.6 points per game. The high point for scoring came in a wil...

1986 Football Media Guide      Central Michigan football stumbled in 1986 to a 5-5 record (4-4 MAC), the first non-winning season under head coach Herb Deromedi and first for the program since 1966. That was good enough for a tie for fifth place in the conference, but just two games back of league champion Miami (Ohio). Chippewas fans flocked to Kelly/Shorts Stadium that year, as the Chips drew 118,457 (19,742 per game).      CMU's offense averaged about 25.8 points per game, good enough for 31st in the nation. They were led at quarterback by Lansing senior Marcelle Carruthers. Carruthers was a dual-threat quarterback, who passed for 912 yards and 7 touchdowns, while rushing for 512 yards and 7 TDs as well. Rodney Stevenson, a junior from Holland, led the team in rushing with 1,104 yards and 14 touchdowns.       Defense was a weak spot that season, an unusual issue for a Herb Deromedi-coached team. The Chippewas allowed 284 points, an av...

1950 Regular Season: Chippewas vs. Ferris Institute Bulldogs      Central Michigan football opened the 1950 football season with not only a new head coach, but also a new conference. The Chippewas were now part of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC), a 7-team league featuring the following schools: Western Illinois Central Michigan Northern Illinois Illinois State Eastern Illinois Southern Illinois Michigan State Normal (Eastern Michigan)      The new coach was a familiar face: Warren Schmakel. Schmakel, 28, was an alumnus of Central and a Little All-American guard for the Chippewas in 1942. He was the third coach at Central in the past five seasons, taking over for Lyle Bennett.      Schmakel led the Chippewas to their first winning season since 1946, finishing in third place with a 6-4 record (2-2 IIAC). The Chippewas outscored their opponents, 209-125, posting three shutouts during the season. They placed three players ...