Football Preview: RedHawks Pose Yet Another Stiff Test for Chippewas on Saturday

- No time to feel sorry for themselves, no time to lick their wounds. If the Central Michigan football team is to make something of the 2026 season, it must look squarely forward and come back swinging with everything it has.

It begins on Saturday when the Chippewas welcome Miami (Ohio) for a Mid-American Conference game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The Chippewas are 3-4, 1-2 MAC and have lost back-to-back games to Ohio and then rival Western Michigan.

Those two teams are 3-0 and share first place in the MAC. Miami (4-3, 2-1) is, on paper, right with the Bobcats and Broncos among the league's best.

Western finished first in the MAC preseason poll and the RedHawks were second. "You have no choice but to figure out a way to get it done, get back on the horse," second-year CMU coach Matt Drinkall said.

"We came in and learned what we needed to on Sunday (after the 21-14 loss to Western) and feel bad about it and immediately you've got to turn the page because you've got a very, very good Miami team coming into town. It's another round in the fight for us.

The Chippewas must avoid the slow start that has plagued them in those two most recent losses. They trailed Ohio, 31-0, at halftime, and were down 21-0 to Western entering the fourth quarter.

We have to start early," said CMU 5th-year tight endJaden Allen, who caught four passes for 55 yards and a touchdown against Western. "That's a must, and everyone knows that.

And everyone's going to put their best foot forward in doing that because we know if we can put four quarters together and not, you know, a half, we can be pretty damn good and get the results that we expect. Starting fast, it just comes down to you have to execute.

Let's call it what it is. We have a huge opportunity to flip the switch, and we have everything we want as a team still in front of us."