# 2023 Central Michigan Chippewas football team

The 2023 Central Michigan Chippewas football team represented Central Michigan University in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Jim McElwain and played their home games at Kelly/Shorts Stadium as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They finished the season 5–7 and 3–5 in conference play
The Central Michigan Chippewas football team drew an average home attendance of 16,350 in 2023.

## Preseason
### Preseason polls
#### Coaches Poll

On July 20, the MAC announced the preseason coaches poll. Central Michigan was picked to finish fourth in the West.
East :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Ohio | 63 (9) |
| 2 | Miami | 52 (2) |
| 3 | Buffalo | 51 (1) |
| 4 | Bowling Green | 35 |
| 5 | Akron | 26 |
| 6 | Kent State | 19 |
West :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Toledo | 66 (11) |
| 2 | Eastern Michigan | 55 (1) |
| 3 | Northern Illinois | 38 |
| 4 | Central Michigan | 37 |
| 5 | Ball State | 27 |
| 6 | Western Michigan | 23 |
Coaches poll (MAC Championship) :
| Rank | Team | Votes |
| 1 | Toledo | 7 |
| 2 | Ohio | 4 |
| 3 | Buffalo | 1 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 7:00 p.m. | at Michigan State* | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | FS1 | L 7–31 | 73,216 |
| September 9 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 11 New Hampshire* (FCS) | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | ESPN+ | W 45–42 | 17,302 |
| September 16 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 9 Notre Dame* | Notre Dame StadiumSouth Bend, IN | Peacock | L 17–41 | 77,622 |
| September 23 | 5:00 p.m. | at South Alabama* | Hancock Whitney StadiumMobile, AL | ESPN+ | W 34–30 | 18,369 |
| September 30 | 1:30 p.m. | Eastern Michigan | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI (rivalry) | ESPN+ | W 26–23 | 28,323 |
| October 7 | 2:00 p.m. | at Buffalo | UB StadiumBuffalo, NY | ESPN+ | L 13–37 | 12,093 |
| October 14 | 3:30 p.m. | Akron | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | ESPN+ | W 17–10 | 17,886 |
| October 21 | 3:30 p.m. | at Ball State | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN+ | L 17–24 | 15,171 |
| October 31 | 7:00 p.m. | Northern Illinois | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | ESPNU | W 37–31 | 9,625 |
| November 7 | 7:00 p.m. | at Western Michigan | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI (rivalry)) | ESPNU | L 28–38 | 17,841 |
| November 15 | 7:00 p.m. | at Ohio | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPNU | L 20–34 | 14,736 |
| November 24 | 12:00 p.m. | Toledo | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | ESPNU | L 17–32 | 8,612 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at Michigan State

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| MSU -14.5 | 45.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Chippewas | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Spartans | 0 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan
* Date: September 1st
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST/4:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: 76 °F (24 °C), Wind: 4 mph S, Sunny
* Game attendance: 73,216
* Referee: Gregory Blum
* TV announcers (FS1): Tim Brando (play-by-play), Spencer Tillman (analyst)
* Sources
| Statistics | Central Michigan | Michigan State |
| First downs | 19 | 20 |
| Plays–yards | 67–219 | 64–406 |
| Rushes–yards | 41–123 | 25–127 |
| Passing yards | 96 | 279 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 12–24–1 | 18–32–0 |
| Time of possession | 34:26 | 25:34 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Central Michigan | Passing | Bert Emanuel Jr. | 11/17, 87 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Central Michigan | Rushing | Bert Emanuel Jr. | 17 carries, 41 yards |
| Central Michigan | Receiving | Mitchel Collier | 3 receptions, 30 yards |
| Michigan State | Passing | Noah Kim | 18/31, 279 yards, 2 TD |
| Michigan State | Rushing | Nathan Carter | 18 carries, 113 yards, 1 TD |
| Michigan State | Receiving | Jaron Glover | 3 receptions, 75 yards |

### No. 11 New Hampshire (FCS)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 7 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
| Chippewas | 7 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 45 |
at Kelly/Shorts Stadium · Mt. Pleasant, MI
* Date: September 9th
* Game time: 1:30pm EST
* Game weather: Temperature: 68°F, Wind: SW 3mph, Weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 17,302
* TV: ESPN+
* box score
| Statistics | UNH | CMU |
| First downs | 24 | 19 |
| Plays–yards | 66–538 | 72–440 |
| Rushes–yards | 14–45 | 52–236 |
| Passing yards | 493 | 204 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 32–52–1 | 8–20–2 |
| Time of possession | 28:02 | 31:49 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UNH | Passing | Max Brosmer | 32/51, 493 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT |
| UNH | Rushing | Dylan Laube | 7 carries, 30 yards, 1 TD |
| UNH | Receiving | Dylan Laube | 12 receptions, 295 yards, 2 TD |
| CMU | Passing | Bert Emanuel, Jr. | 7/19, 193 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| CMU | Rushing | Myles Bailey | 21 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD |
| CMU | Receiving | Chris Parker | 3 receptions, 124 yards |

### at No. 9 Notre Dame

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Chippewas | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| No. 9 Fighting Irish | 14 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 41 |
at Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN
* Date: September 16, 2023
* Game time: 2:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 71 °F (22 °C)
* Game attendance: 77,622
* Referee: Jerry Magallanes
* TV announcers (Peacock): Jac Collinsworth (play-by-play), Jason Garrett (analyst), Zora Stephenson (sideline)
| Statistics | CMU | ND |
| First downs | 14 | 23 |
| Total yards | 268 | 578 |
| Rushes/yards | 34–131 | 37–263 |
| Passing yards | 137 | 342 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 10–20–0 | 17–28–0 |
| Time of possession | 29:27 | 30:33 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Central Michigan | Passing | Jase Bauer | 10/20, 137 yards |
| Central Michigan | Rushing | Myles Bailey | 12 carries, 59 yards, TD |
| Central Michigan | Receiving | Jesse Prewitt III | 2 receptions, 59 yards |
| Notre Dame | Passing | Sam Hartman | 16/26, 330 yards, 3 TD |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | Audric Estimé | 20 carries, 176 yards, TD |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Tobias Merriweather | 3 receptions, 91 yards, TD |

### at South Alabama

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Chippewas | 0 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 34 |
| Jaguars | 14 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 30 |
at Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
* Date: September 23, 2023
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 90 °F (32 °C) • Wind: SW 5 mph
* Game attendance: 18,369
* Referee: Marshall Lewis
* TV: ESPN+
| Statistics | CMU | USA |
| First downs | 19 | 19 |
| Total yards | 355 | 405 |
| Rushing yards | 8 | 8 |
| Passing yards | 8 | 10 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 20–31–0 | 17–27–0 |
| Time of possession | 33:44 | 26:16 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Central Michigan | Passing | Jase Bauer | 19/30, 224 yards, TD |
| Central Michigan | Rushing | Jase Bauer | 15 carries, 55 yards, 4 TD |
| Central Michigan | Receiving | Jesse Prewitt III | 10 receptions, 142 yards, TD |
| South Alabama | Passing | Carter Bradley | 17/27, 254 yards, 2 TD |
| South Alabama | Rushing | La'Damian Webb | 18 carries, 68 yards, 2 TD |
| South Alabama | Receiving | Caullin Lacy | 6 receptions, 132 yards, 2 TD |

### at Buffalo

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Chippewas | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| Bulls | 10 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 37 |
at University at Buffalo Stadium • Amherst, New York
* Date: October 7, 2023
* Game time: 2:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C); Cloudy; Wind at SW12 MPH
* Game attendance: 12,093
* Referee: Rich Edwards
* TV: ESPN+
* Boxscore
| Statistics | CMU | UB |
| First downs | 21 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | 74–360 | 67–355 |
| Rushes–yards | 25–80 | 35–123 |
| Passing yards | 280 | 232 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 28–49–3 | 20–32–0 |
| Time of possession | 27:43 | 32:17 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Central Michigan | Passing | Jase Bauer | 28/49, 280 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT |
| Central Michigan | Rushing | Jase Bauer | 6 carries, 31 yards |
| Central Michigan | Receiving | Marion Lukes | 7 receptions, 73 yards |
| Buffalo | Passing | Cole Snyder | 20/32, 232 yards |
| Buffalo | Rushing | Ron Cook | 11 carries, 53 yards, 2 TD |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Boobie Curry | 4 receptions, 74 yards |

### at Ohio

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Central Michigan | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| Ohio | 10 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 34 |
at Peden Stadium • Athens, OH
* Date: Wednesday, November 15, 2023
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny, Temperature: 50 °F (10 °C), Wind: SW 14mph
* Game attendance: 14,736
* Referee: Andrew Speciale
* TV announcers (ESPN2/ESPNU): Jason Ross, Dustin Fox
* Pregame line: Ohio −11.5; O/U 48.5 •Recap box score
| Statistics | CMU | OHIO |
| First downs | 13 | 21 |
| Plays–yards | 54–319 | 65–377 |
| Rushes–yards | 33–162 | 41–148 |
| Passing yards | 157 | 229 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 10–21–1 | 16–24–0 |
| Time of possession | 22:51 | 37:09 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| CMU | Passing | Jase Bauer | 10/21, 157 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| CMU | Rushing | Marion Lukes | 15 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD |
| CMU | Receiving | Chris Parker | 1 reception, 62 yards, 1 TD |
| OHIO | Passing | Kurtis Rourke | 15/23, 222 yards |
| OHIO | Rushing | Sieh Bangura | 21 carries, 126 yards |
| OHIO | Receiving | Miles Cross | 3 receptions, 53 yards |