Akron led 7-0 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday, and then Central Michigan scored 28 unanswered points across the second and third quarters. Angel Flores ran 18 times for 154 yards with a 55-yard touchdown, Jayden Clerveaux added 82 yards and a 23-yard score, and the Chippewas finished with 332 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. The win moved CMU to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the MAC.
Matt Drinkall did not treat it as a breakthrough. He said the Chippewas "needed to get this one" heading into a three-game run at Ohio, then home against Western Michigan and Miami (OH), and he credited the defense for setting the terms. "They were the aggressors early on and played fast." That is a coach telling you he knows what the win was and what it wasn't.
This is still the offense that ran on 66.5 percent of its plays in 2025, fifth-highest in FBS, while averaging 32:03 of possession per game, rushing volume and clock control, not balance. Three weeks ago against Wyoming, that formula produced its clearest statement. Fifty-nine carries for 339 yards, with Flores going for 163 and two touchdowns in what Central Michigan Life called the third-best rushing day by a CMU quarterback in program history. Against Akron, Flores threw only 14 passes, completing seven for 78 yards; the longest strikes of the night were his 48-yard touchdown to Shawn Foster II and a 71-yard touchdown pass from backup Jadyn Glasser to Langston Lewis. The faster, more open passing game CMU talked about in camp is five games old and still theoretical. When a defense finally takes away the first and second levels, nobody yet knows what this offense does next.
The defense carries a similar asterisk. Against Wyoming, CMU held the Cowboys to 10 points in the first half but recorded no sacks and one tackle for loss while Wyoming still gained 342 yards at 5.8 per play. Against Akron, the front recorded three sacks, led by Jaxon Cherry's 1.5 sacks, and also blocked an early Akron field-goal attempt. Those are two different defenses, and the version CMU takes to Athens has to pressure the quarterback without a comfortable lead doing the work for it.
Central Michigan at Ohio, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Ohio has not lost at Peden Stadium since 2023. The streak sat at 13 games entering this season and grew to 15 after a four-overtime win over Jacksonville State and a 35-7 win over Stonehill.
Central Michigan also owes Ohio two. The Bobcats won 34-20 at Peden in November 2023 behind Kurtis Rourke's 222 passing yards, then took a 27-25 game at Kelly/Shorts in October 2024, when Parker Navarro accounted for 323 total yards and two touchdowns and Marion Lukes' three second-half rushing touchdowns fell just short.
The stakes are plain. CMU's chance of reaching the MAC title game sits around 9 percent right now. Win at Ohio and that climbs to roughly 19 percent; lose and it drops to about 4 percent. There is no version of this week where the Chippewas' season gets decided, but this is the single result that most changes which conversation they're in.
Kent State at Western Michigan: root for Kent State
The model gives Kent State a 6% chance to win. Kent State is a long shot here.
A Kent State win would knock a game off Western's conference ledger and nudge CMU's title-game odds up about 2.2 percentage points.
Kent State wins this 6 percent of the time, so treat it as a bonus rather than something to wait on. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+, the same window as CMU's game, which settles the remote question. Watch your own team and check the other score at halftime.
Full week in the interactive guide. How the numbers are built is explained in the methodology.