The Chippewas are definitely in position to win their third straight MAC title and go bowling once again. That really isn’t news to anyone who follows the MAC, and it certainly wasn’t news to those who create news stories from within the MAC family of journalists. It all starts with Dan LeFevour under center with no significant losses on offense.
The MAC Offensive Player of the Year posted absolutely ridiculous numbers in ’07 with nearly 5000 total yards from scrimmage and 46 total TDs. He just barely missed joining Tim Tebow in the 20/20 club, averaged 6.0 yards per carry, completed 65% of his passes and had a better than 2:1 TD to INT ratio. His ability to scramble is really just that, a special ability; one that extends plays, picks up tough third downs and most importantly levels the playing field by, in essence, making it an 11 on 11 game rather than 11 on 10. No wonder the Chipps have left many an opponent behind in the catch me if you can MAC.
His two favorite targets return in Bryan Anderson and Antonio Brown who caught 192 passes combined while recording 1000 yard seasons a piece. Anderson is a rare talent with unbelievable size and speed at 6-5, 205 lbs. Brown provides a shifty possession receiver from the slot. Justin Hoskins and Ontario Sneed split carries last year but are often afterthoughts in a game plan. Hoskins in particular impressed me last year with a 5.8 ypc average. I would expect to see him get the majority of carries, if healthy, behind one of the biggest lines in the conference.
The offense will continue to generate a lot of the headlines and rightfully so as the defense will be just as mediocre as last year. Hell, it may be downright awful. The team needs immediate answers to replace a pair of All MAC LBs, with the biggest departure being Red Keith, the unquestioned locker room leader. Keith led the team in tackles each of the past four years and last year added six pass breakups and a pair of INTs. It isn’t just his production but his presence that will be missed. Although the secondary returns basically in tact, the six players vying for a starting spot just aren’t very good. They allowed a truly pathetic 304 yards against on 65% passing, giving up 34 passing TDs in the process. This league is chock full of experienced QBs and dangerous looking offenses making dramatic improvements a daunting task for this unit. If CMU could generate more pressure on the opposing QB, perhaps their numbers against the pass would improve, but can we really expect much more from Larry Knight and Frank Zombo who combined for 12.5 sacks last year?
In terms of scheduling the Chipps have the early advantage in the MAC West while hosting Western and Ball St. Those two games will undoubtedly decide the division equation. On paper it looks like a mirror campaign of 2007 when the team went 10-2 “over” the total but beware overly inflated lines as I think the rest of the conference has taken a step closer to these guys who now have a big bulls-eye on their collective chest.
