2025 Central Michigan Chippewas football team

2025 Central Michigan Chippewas football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	1–0 (0–0 MAC)
Head coach	Matt Drinkall (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Chapin (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Derek Fulton (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Sean Cronin (1st season)
Home stadium	Kelly/Shorts Stadium
Seasons ←  2024 2026 →

2025 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Bowling Green		0	–	0					1	–	0
Central Michigan		0	–	0					1	–	0
Kent State		0	–	0					1	–	0
Northern Illinois		0	–	0					1	–	0
Akron*		0	–	0					0	–	1
Ball State		0	–	0					0	–	1
Buffalo		0	–	0					0	–	1
Eastern Michigan		0	–	0					0	–	1
Miami (OH)		0	–	0					0	–	1
Ohio		0	–	0					0	–	1
Toledo		0	–	0					0	–	1
UMass		0	–	0					0	–	1
Western Michigan		0	–	0					0	–	1
Championship: December 6, 2025
* Ineligible for postseason play due to low APR score As of September 4, 2025

The 2025 Central Michigan Chippewas football team will represent Central Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Chippewas will be led by Matt Drinkall in his first year as the head coach. The Chippewas play their home games at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. ^[1]

Preseason

The MAC Football Kickoff was held on Thursday, July 24, 2025 at the Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan from 9:00 am EDT to 1:30 pm EDT. ^[2]

Preseason polls

Coaches Poll

On July 24 the MAC announced the preseason coaches' poll. ^[3]

MAC Coaches poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Toledo	135 (7)
2	Miami	131 (3)
3	Ohio	123 (3)
4	Buffalo	115
5	Northern Illinois	94
6	Bowling Green	81
7	Western Michigan	71
8	Eastern Michigan	68
9	Central Michigan	65
10	Ball State	41
T11	Akron	39
T11	Massachusetts	39
13	Kent State	12

Coaches poll (MAC Championship)
Predicted finish	Team	Votes
1	Toledo	6
2	Miami	4
3	Ohio	3

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	10:30 p.m.	at San Jose State *	CEFCU Stadium San Jose, CA	FS1	W 16–14	14,877
September 6	12:00 p.m.	at Pittsburgh *	Acrisure Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	ESPNU
September 13	12:00 p.m.	at Michigan *	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	BTN
September 20	1:00 p.m.	Wagner *	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPN+
September 27		Eastern Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI (rivalry)
October 4	3:30 p.m.	at Akron	InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field Akron, OH
October 18		at Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH
October 25	3:30 p.m.	UMass	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI
November 1		at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI (rivalry)
November 12	7:00 p.m.	Buffalo	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPN2/ESPNU/CBSSN
November 19	7:00 p.m.	at Kent State	Dix Stadium Kent, OH	ESPN2/ESPNU
November 29		Toledo	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI
*Non-conference game All times are in Eastern time

^[4]

Game summaries

at San Jose State

See also: 2025 San Jose State Spartans football team

Central Michigan Chippewas (0–0) at San Jose State Spartans (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	10	3	0	3	16
Spartans	0	7	7	0	14

at CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, California

• Date: August 29
• Game time: 6:30 PM PDT
• Game attendance: 14,877
• Referee: Cal McNeill
• TV announcers (FS1): Trent Rush and Will Blackmon

Game information

First quarter CMU – Trey Cornist 29-yard run (Cade Graham kick), 3:14. Chippewas 7–0. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 4:28. CMU – Cade Graham 34-yard field goal, 0:10. Chippewas 10–0. Drive: 4 plays, -2 yards, 1:56. Second quarter CMU – Cade Graham 28-yard field goal, 8:26. Chippewas 13–0. Drive: 7 plays, 31 yards, 3:37. SJSU – Leland Smith 11-yard pass from Walker Eget (Denis Lynch kick), 4:20. Chippewas 13–7. Drive: 8 plays, 74 yards, 3:58. Third quarter SJSU – Danny Scudero 45-yard pass from Walker Eget (Denis Lynch kick), 12:01. Spartans 14–13. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:59. Fourth quarter CMU – Cade Graham 28-yard field goal, 4:13. Chippewas 16–14. Drive: 14 plays, 70 yards, 7:16.

Statistics	CMU	SJSU
First downs	20	19
Total yards	340	383
Rushing yards	225	75
Passing yards	115	308
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	8–13–0	24–45–2
Time of possession	33:45	26:15

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Central Michigan	Passing	Angel H. Flores	3/3, 59 yards
	Rushing	Nahree Biggins	18 carries, 102 yards
	Receiving	Tommy McIntosh	2 receptions, 61 yards
San Jose State	Passing	Walker Eget	24/43, 308 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Floyd Chalk IV	11 carries, 44 yards
	Receiving	Daniel Scudero	9 receptions, 189 yards, TD

at Pittsburgh

See also: 2025 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

Central Michigan Chippewas (1–0) vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (1–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	-	-	-	-	0
Panthers	-	-	-	-	0

at Acrisure Stadium • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Date: September 6
• Game time: 12:00 PM EDT
• TV announcers (ESPNU): Brian Custer and Max Starks

Statistics	CMU	PITT
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Central Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Pittsburgh	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Michigan

See also: 2025 Michigan Wolverines football team

Central Michigan Chippewas (0–0) vs. Michigan Wolverines (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	-	-	-	-	0
Wolverines	-	-	-	-	0

at Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan

• Date: September 13
• Game time: 12:00 PM EDT
• TV: BTN

Statistics	CMU	MICH
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Central Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Wagner (FCS)

See also: 2025 Wagner Seahawks football team

Wagner Seahawks (FCS) (0–0) vs. Central Michigan Chippewas (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Seahawks (FCS)	-	-	-	-	0
Chippewas	-	-	-	-	0

at Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, Michigan

• Date: September 20
• Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
• TV: ESPN+

Statistics	WAG	CMU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wagner	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Central Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Eastern Michigan (rivalry)

See also: 2025 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team, Central Michigan–Eastern Michigan football rivalry, and Michigan MAC Trophy

Eastern Michigan Eagles (0–0) vs. Central Michigan Chippewas (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	-	-	-	-	0
Chippewas	-	-	-	-	0

at Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, Michigan

• Date: September 27

Statistics	EMU	CMU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Eastern Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Central Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Akron

See also: 2025 Akron Zips football team

Central Michigan Chippewas (0–0) vs. Akron Zips (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	-	-	-	-	0
Zips	-	-	-	-	0

at InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field • Akron, Ohio

• Date: October 4

Statistics	CMU	AKR
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Central Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Akron	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Bowling Green

See also: 2025 Bowling Green Falcons football team

Central Michigan Chippewas (0–0) vs. Bowling Green Falcons (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	-	-	-	-	0
Falcons	-	-	-	-	0

at Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, Ohio

• Date: October 18

Statistics	CMU	BGSU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Central Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Bowling Green	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

UMass

See also: 2025 UMass Minutemen football team

UMass Minutemen (0–0) vs. Central Michigan Chippewas (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Minutemen	-	-	-	-	0
Chippewas	-	-	-	-	0

at Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, Michigan

• Date: October 25

Statistics	MASS	CMU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UMass	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Central Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Western Michigan (rivalry)

See also: 2025 Western Michigan Broncos football team, Central Michigan–Western Michigan football rivalry, and Michigan MAC Trophy

Central Michigan Chippewas (0–0) vs. Western Michigan Broncos (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	-	-	-	-	0
Broncos	-	-	-	-	0

at Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, Michigan

• Date: November 1

Statistics	CMU	WMU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Central Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Western Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Buffalo

See also: 2025 Buffalo Bulls football team

Buffalo Bulls (0–0) vs. Central Michigan Chippewas (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulls	-	-	-	-	0
Chippewas	-	-	-	-	0

at Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, Michigan

• Date: November 12
• Game time: 7:00 PM EST

Statistics	UB	CMU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Buffalo	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Central Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Kent State

See also: 2025 Kent State Golden Flashes football team

Central Michigan Chippewas (0–0) vs. Kent State Golden Flashes (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	-	-	-	-	0
Golden Flashes	-	-	-	-	0

at Dix Stadium • Kent, Ohio

• Date: November 19
• Game time: 7:00 PM EST

Statistics	CMU	KENT
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Central Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Kent State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Toledo

See also: 2025 Toledo Rockets football team

Toledo Rockets (0–0) vs. Central Michigan Chippewas (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	-	-	-	-	0
Chippewas	-	-	-	-	0

at Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, Michigan

• Date: November 29

Statistics	TOL	CMU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Toledo	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Central Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

References

1. "2025 Football Coaching Staff". Central Michigan University Athletics. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
2. "2025 Division I FBS Media Days". www.sportswriters.net. FWAA. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
3. "Toledo Selected as Favorite in Head Coaches Preseason Football Poll". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. July 24, 2025. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
4. "2025 Central Michigan Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 2, 2025.