LeFevour brilliant while breaking MAC career passing record
Central Michigan senior quarterback Dan LeFevour was brilliant Wednesday night while becoming the Mid-American Conference's new record holder for career passing yards.
LeFevour completed 25-of-28 passes for 344 yards and four TDs in the Chippewas' 35-3 rout of Ball State to improve to 9-2 (7-0 MAC).
LeFevour now has 12,000 career passing yards, surpassing the former record of 11,903 held by former Marshall star Byron Leftwich.
LeFevour has also climbed to No. 2 all-time in Division 1 for total offense with 14,861. He is second to former Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang (16,910).
LeFevour made the play of the game last night when he scrambled out of the pocket on a third and 11 play from his own 18 and threw a long pass to Antonio Brown who turned it into an 82-yard touchdown with 46 seconds left in the half to increase the lead to 21-3.
LeFevour made a similar pass the previous week in a 56-28 rout of Toledo.
The Chippewas can clinch the MAC West title with a Northern Illinois loss at Ohio Saturday. If Northern Illinois wins, the West title will be decided Nov. 27 when CMU plays host to Northern Illinois in Mt. Pleasant.
CMU's LeFevour going after MAC record tonight on ESPN2
Central Michigan senior quarterback Dan LeFevour will be trying to make history tonight (8 p.m., ESPN2) when the Chippewas play at Ball State.
LeFevour needs 248 yards to become the Mid-American Conference leader in career passing yards. Former Marshall star Byron Leftwich owns the mark with 11,903 yards.
"I didn't know that and I don't think Dan knows that either," CMU coach Butch Jones said. "Dan's so focused on preparing for the game that I've had to kick him out to go home. That's the type of individual he is. He's been a great leader for us.
"Obviously it would be a great honor. Dan has meant so much to not only our football program but the whole university."
The Chippewas (8-2, 6-0) can clinch the MAC West title with a win over Ball State (1-9, 1-5) coupled with a loss by Northern Illinois (7-3, 5-1) at Ohio (7-3, 5-1) Saturday. CMU plays Northern Illinois in Mt. Pleasant Nov. 27.
LeFevour is not in the running for the Heisman Trophy, but it doesn't mean he hasn't had a Heisman-type season. He has completed 70 percent of his passes (205-of-293) for 2,189 yards and 18 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 567 yards on 137 carries and 13 TDs.
LeFevour can climb into the No. 2 spot in Division 1 in career toal offense with 283 yards. Former Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan is second with 14,740 yards. Brennan followed Timmy Chang as quarterback at Hawaii. Chang holds the overall record (16,910).
Toledo coach Tim Beckman found out how special LeFevour is last week when LeFevour accounted for six TDs (four rushing, two passing) in a 56-28 rout of the Rockets. Beckman was defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State the previous two years.
"Dan's like some of the Big 12 South quarterbacks Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) and Colt McCoy (Texas) where they're not only going to hurt you with just their arm and legs, but with their mind too," Beckman said. "Dan's a playmaker. We brought pressure on him on a third and seven play with them holding a 21-14 lead and he scrambled away and found a player who got behind our secondary for a big play. That's what makes him so special."
LeFevour's 44-yard pass to Kito Poblah was indeed special, the big play in a 97-yard drive to open up a 28-14 lead.
And, now LeFevour has a chance to own a special record.
MAC career passing leaders:
1. Byron Leftwich, Marshall - 11,903
2. Dan LeFevour, CMU - 11,656
3. Tim Lester, WMU - 11,299
4. Charlie Frye, Akron - 11,049
5. Tim Hiller, WMU - 10,984
6. Ben Roethlisberger, Miami - 10,829
7. Chad Pennington, Marshall - 10,688
"Eagles look good in basketball opener, WMU struggles
Carlos Medlock made his return to the court a memorable one Saturday night, helping Eastern Michigan earn an upset win at Oakland, 81-77 in the season opener.
Medlock, a senior point guard, was forced to sit out last season with a broken foot. He scored 14 in the win over the Grizzlies with teammate Brandon Bowdry producing a double-double (26 points, 13 rebounds).
It was a great start for the Eagles who are coming off a 8-24 season and were 42-81 in Charles Ramsey's first four years as head coach. Oakland is the preseason favorite to win the Summit League.
EMU will remain on the road, playing three games in the Hispanic College Fund Classic at Springfield, Mo., starting with Friday's matchup with The Citadel.
While the Eagles looked good in their opener, the same can't be said for Western Michigan.
The Broncos, picked to finish fifth in the MAC West, played to that level in their 86-80 loss at Detroit Sunday.
The Broncos, who slipped from a 20-win team in 2008 to a 20-loss season last season, came back from a nine-point deficit to pull within 58-55. After missing a three-pointer which would have pulled them even, they turned the ball over four times during a 15-2 Titans' run which put the game out of reach.
A team to look out for in the MAC is Charlie Coles' Miami RedHawks. Miami came close to pulling off a major upset at Rupp Arena, falling to the No. 4 Wildcats 72-70 Monday when Kentucky prize recruit John Wall made a jumper with less than a second remaining.
Miami, predicted to finish fourth in the MAC East, made 15-of-26 three-pointers with junior forward Nick Winbush making 8-of-10. Winbush, who averaged 4.1 points last season, scored 26.
MSU coach Merchant pregnant with second child
It seems life is going well for Michigan State women's basketball coach Suzy Merchant.
The Spartans are ranked No. 10 in the preseason Associated Press poll after last year's Sweet 16 run. She made a special announcement following the Spartans' 79-47 preseason win over Wayne State Thursday night at the Breslin Center.
Merchant said she is pregnant with her second child. Her due date is late May or early June.
Merchant and her husband, Gary Rakan have a son, Tyler.
Suzy will definitely have some babysitters available with a 16-member roster. The players better get ready to change some diapers.
MSU hockey team off to surprising start
The Spartans' hockey team is off to a 6-2 start, but going under the radar in national polls.
The Spartans are by far the biggest surprise in college hockey. After a terrible 2008-09 season (10-23-5, 7-17-4 CCHA), they were predicted to finish ninth this season by the league coaches.
Well, the Spartans went into Oxford, Ohio and split with the Miami Red Hawks who advanced to the national title game last season and are currently ranked No. 1.
So, the Red Hawks are No. 1 nationally with a 6-1-1 record while the Spartans are no where in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Top 15 despite a 6-2 (3-1 CCHA) record.
The Spartans will have a chance to open up some more eyes Thursday at Munn Arena when they carry a three-game winning streak into their league game against No. 10 Nebraska-Omaha.
Junior forward Corey Tropp leads the Spartans with seven goals and 13 points. Freshman forward Derek Grant has four goals, three on the power play, and 10 points.
Oh, and by the way No. 4 Michigan plays a weekend series against No. 1 Miami, beginning Friday night at Yost Arena.
Eagles have best chance to get victory against Ball State
Eastern Michigan will get its best chance to win Saturday when the Eagles (0-6, 0-3) face Ball State (0-7, 0-3) at Rynearson Stadium in a battle of winless teams.
Ball State was one of the main stories in college football last season, entering the MAC championship game unbeaten and with a No. 12 national ranking. The Cardinals lost the MAC title game to Buffalo and the GMAC Bowl to Tulsa -- and also lost quarterback Nate Davis to the NFL.
Ron English was hired as head coach at EMU and has yet to taste victory. English and the Eagles were welcomed by a crowd of 14,449 at Rynearson in the season opener, a 27-14 loss to Army. Just 2,401 were in attendance Saturday when the Eagles (0-6, 0-3) fell to a 3-4 Kent State team, 28-6.
That's right ... just 2,401, only 66 more fans who were watching Alma beat Kalamazoo College in a Division III game just down the street from where more than 27,000 fans packed Waldo Stadium to watch the CMU-WMU rivalry that same day.
You can bet Stan Parrish will be wanting a win aganst the Eagles. He is 0-8, including the bowl loss to Tulsa, as head coach at Ball State, to go with his 0-21-1 mark during his final two years as head man at Kansas State in 1987-88. He could go 0-30-1 with a loss Saturday.
"As a leader you can't get down," English said during the MAC coaches' conference call Monday. "You can't focus on the record. We're building for the long haul."
Winters doing outstanding job at Wayne State, Warriors ranked 19th
Wayne State football coach Paul Winters talked prior to the season about how his team needed to finish games to beat the elite teams in the GLIAC.
Winters had drilled the point across to his players and they have responded by helping the Warriors become a national power.
Wayne State ... a national power? That's right. On Saturday, the Warriors came back from a 33-20 halftime deficit to defeat No. 18 Ashland, 47-40 for a successful Homecoming.
Wayne State entered last week with a No. 22 national ranking, it's highest in school history. By beating Ashland and quarterback Bill Cundiff, last year's GLIAC Player of the Year, the Warriors moved up to No. 19.
"I'm proud of these kids," said Winters who took over a 1-9 team following the 2004 season and now has it on the verge of making the national playoffs. "We have a bunch of hard working guys who show up every day, do what you ask them to do and are now getting rewarded for it."
The Warriors are led by senior All-American running back Joique Bell, but the defense also stepped up against Ashland.
There were two keys," said Winters of the win over Ashland. "No. 1, our defense really stopped them in the second half, and came up with a great goal line stand. And, No. 2, our offense continued to score points with Joique Bell having a great game.
Bell already has matched his rushing yards of a year ago. He rushed for 272 yards on 32 carries and scored five touchdowns against Ashland to push his total to 1,162 (186 carries, 15 TDs), compared to 1,152 yards (218 carries, 12 TDs) last year.
"Last year was a bad one for Bell and that was probably because we didn't sustain our offense and give him enough carries," Winters said. "He's in great physical condition this year and our offensive line has improved."
Freshman quarterback Mickey Mohner has also played well, throwing for 153 yards and two touchdowns against Ashland.
Wayne State is off to its first 5-1 start since 1976. The Warriors are 4-1 in the conference, one game behind No. 1 Grand Valley, and will play at Northern Michigan Saturday. Their showdown with Grand Valley is set for Nov. 7.
So how can the Warriors keep up their impressive play?
"We just need to stay healthy," Winters said.
And, it doesn't hurt to keep handing the ball off to Joique Bell either.
Alma QB could use bye week to rest arm
Alma senior quarterback Mackenzie McGrady is probably thankful for a bye week. His arm could use the rest.
McGrady set two Division III records last week. Unfortunately, it came in a 40-27 loss to Wisconsin-River Falls.
McGrady set national records for completions (52) and attempts (84). He threw for 576 yards and four touchdowns. He also had five intercepted, including returns of 99 and 81 yards for touchdowns.
McGrady's record performance came a week after he threw for 353 yards and four TDs in a 51-3 rout of Rockford. He has completed 74-of-124 passes for 929 yards and eight TDs the last two weeks.
Fans should expect a lot of footballs to be flying in the air Oct. 17 when Alma (2-2) plays at Kalamazoo College. K-College senior Brandon Zuczak has thrown for 17 TDs the last three games to put the Hornets (3-1) atop the MIAA standings.
Zuczak on roll for Kalamazoo
Brandon Zuczak is on some kind of streak for Kalamazoo College.
Zuczak, a 5-foot-11, 246-pound senior quarterback from Rochester, has thrown six touchdown passes in consecutive weeks to lead Kalamazoo to wins over Rockford and Manchester.
In the 44-9 rout of Rockford Sept. 12 in Kalamazoo, Zuczak threw four first-half TDs to give the Hornets a 37-3 lead. He finished 27-of-45 for 417 yards and a school-record six TDs with two interceptions.
In last week's 48-37 win at Manchester, he rallied the Hornets back from deficits of 23-0 and 37-14. Zuczak completed 39-of-59 for 452 yards and six TDs. The Hornets scored the game's final 34 points, and Zuczak ended the run with four straight TD passes.
Kalamazoo was 1-8 (0-7 MIAA) two years ago and 2-8 last year when Zuczak had 20 TD passes and as many interceptions.
The Hornets (2-1) will be going after their third win of the season Saturday at home against Blufton.
Jones feels father's presence during dramatic CMU win
Central Michigan coach Butch Jones buried his biggest fan, his father, last month in Saugatuck.
Jones felt his father's presence during Central Michigan's dramatic 29-27 upset win over Michigan State at Spartan Stadium Saturday.
"I had the I.D. bracelet he wore in the hospital in my pocket during the game," Jones said. "During the timeout, I took it out and put it in Andrew's hand. I told Andrew (senior kick Aguila) 'Hold this. Don't worry. My Dad will do the rest.'"
Aguila then went out and kicked a 42-yard field goal with three seconds left for the difference.
The Chippewas had just scored a touchdown on Dan LeFevour's 11-yard pass to Paris Cotton with 32 seconds left to pull within 27-26, but LeFevour failed to hook up with Antonio Brown on the two-point conversion.
Aguila then executed a perfect onside kick that Bryan Anderson recovered, making the field goal possible.
"I definitely felt his presence," said Jones of his father, Lyle Jones who was chief of police in Saugatuck for more than 25 years and watched his son work the sidelines with great pride. "All the seniors attended the funeral.
"In more than 20 years of coaching football I've never been involved in a game like that where you miss a two-point conversion to try and get the lead, then recover an onside kick and win. It was a great win for our program."
Jones was busy on the hour bus ride back to Mt. Pleasant, handling national interviews with The New York Times and Fox Sports. He talked to his former boss and friend, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez Saturday night and watched more games, enjoying the highlights from the CMU-MSU game.
"It was overwhelming," said Jones of the phone calls and text messages he received. "I was exhausted."
And most of all Jones felt his father's presence which made the victory - one of the biggest in school history - that much more special.
