2017 Central Michigan Chippewas football team

The 2017 Central Michigan Chippewas football team represented Central Michigan University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach John Bonamego and played their home games at Kelly/Shorts Stadium as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 8–5, 6–2 in MAC play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. They received an invitation to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl where they lost to Wyoming.

2017 Central Michigan Chippewas football
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record8–5 (6–2 MAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorChris Ostrowsky (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorGreg Colby (3rd season)
Home stadiumKelly/Shorts Stadium
Seasons
← 2016
2018 →
2017 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Akron xy   6 2     7 7  
Ohio   5 3     9 4  
Miami (OH)   4 4     5 7  
Buffalo   4 4     6 6  
Bowling Green   2 6     2 10  
Kent State   1 7     2 10  
West Division
Toledo xy$   7 1     11 3  
Central Michigan   6 2     8 5  
Northern Illinois   6 2     8 5  
Western Michigan   4 4     6 6  
Eastern Michigan   3 5     5 7  
Ball State   0 8     2 10  
Championship: Toledo 45, Akron 28
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant

Preseason

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Central Michigan was picked to finish in fifth place in the MAC West Division in a preseason poll of league media.[1]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 317:00 p.m.Rhode Island*ESPN3W 30–27 3OT16,311
September 93:00 p.m.at Kansas*FSNW 45–2728,531
September 163:30 p.m.at Syracuse*ACCN ExtraL 17–4133,004
September 233:30 p.m.Miami (OH)
  • Kelly/Shorts Stadium
  • Mount Pleasant, MI
ESPN3L 14–3117,193
September 301:00 p.m.at Boston College*ACCN ExtraL 8–2827,036
October 72:00 p.m.at OhioESPN3W 26–2323,570
October 143:30 p.m.Toledo 
  • Kelly/Shorts Stadium
  • Mount Pleasant, MI
ESPN3L 10–3015,572
October 213:00 p.m.at Ball StateESPN3W 56–915,850
November 18:00 p.m.at Western MichiganESPN2W 35–2811,776
November 88:00 p.m.Eastern Michigan
  • Kelly/Shorts Stadium
  • Mount Pleasant, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy)
ESPNUW 42–309,700
November 147:00 p.m.at Kent StateESPNUW 42–235,580
November 2412:00 p.m.Northern Illinois
  • Kelly/Shorts Stadium
  • Mount Pleasant, MI
CBSSNW 31–248,744
December 224:00 p.m.vs. Wyoming*ESPNL 14–3716,512
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • All times are in Eastern time

[2]

Game summaries

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Rhode Island

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1 2 3 4OT2OT3OT Total
Rams 0 0 7 14303 27
Chippewas 0 13 0 8306 30

At Kansas

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1 2 3 4 Total
Chippewas 0 24 7 14 45
Jayhawks 3 3 14 7 27

At Syracuse

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1 2 3 4 Total
Chippewas 10 7 0 0 17
Orange 10 14 17 0 41

Miami (OH)

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1 2 3 4 Total
RedHawks 14 14 3 0 31
Chippewas 0 14 0 0 14

At Boston College

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1 2 3 4 Total
Chippewas 2 6 0 0 8
Eagles 14 7 7 0 28

At Ohio

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1 2 3 4 Total
Chippewas 7 6 6 7 26
Bobcats 7 7 0 9 23

Toledo

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1 2 3 4 Total
Rockets 7 10 0 13 30
Chippewas 0 0 3 7 10

At Ball State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Chippewas 7 21 7 21 56
Cardinals 3 3 3 0 9

At Western Michigan

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1 2 3 4 Total
Chippewas 7 0 7 21 35
Broncos 14 7 7 0 28

In an increasingly heavy downpour in Kalamazoo, the Chips avenged their 49-10 loss to the Broncos the year before. During the battle between the two bitter in-state rivals, the Chippewas fell behind 28-14 in the 3rd quarter. The Chips then staged a dramatic comeback in the 4th quarter, scoring 21 unanswered points, capped off by Shane Morris’ 77 yard touchdown pass to Corey Willis with 2:37 left in the game to defeat the Broncos for the first time since 2013 by a score of 35-28.

Eastern Michigan

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1 2 3 4 Total
Eagles 7 10 0 13 30
Chippewas 14 14 7 7 42

At Kent State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Chippewas 7 21 0 14 42
Golden Flashes 3 14 0 6 23

Northern Illinois

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1 2 3 4 Total
Huskies 14 3 0 7 24
Chippewas 0 0 17 14 31

Vs. Wyoming–Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

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1 2 3 4 Total
Chippewas 7 0 7 0 14
Cowboys 21 6 3 7 37

References

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  1. ^ "MAC Football 2017: Toledo, Ohio University picked as division winners in preseason poll". cleveland.com. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  2. ^ 2017 Central Michigan Chippewas football schedule 'FBSchedules.com'. Accessed April 14, 2017.