# 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.

## Preseason

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

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 7:00 p.m. | Rhode Island* | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | ESPN3 | W 30–27 $^{3OT}$ | 16,311 |
| September 9 | 3:00 p.m. | at Kansas* | Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | FSN | W 45–27 | 28,531 |
| September 16 | 3:30 p.m. | at Syracuse* | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ACCN Extra | L 17–41 | 33,004 |
| September 23 | 3:30 p.m. | Miami (OH) | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | ESPN3 | L 14–31 | 17,193 |
| September 30 | 1:00 p.m. | at Boston College* | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA | ACCN Extra | L 8–28 | 27,036 |
| October 7 | 2:00 p.m. | at Ohio | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPN3 | W 26–23 | 23,570 |
| October 14 | 3:30 p.m. | Toledo | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | ESPN3 | L 10–30 | 15,572 |
| October 21 | 3:00 p.m. | at Ball State | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN3 | W 56–9 | 15,850 |
| November 1 | 8:00 p.m. | at Western Michigan | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI (rivalry) | ESPN2 | W 35–28 | 11,776 |
| November 8 | 8:00 p.m. | Eastern Michigan | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI (rivalry) | ESPNU | W 42–30 | 9,700 |
| November 14 | 7:00 p.m. | at Kent State | Dix StadiumKent, OH | ESPNU | W 42–23 | 5,580 |
| November 24 | 12:00 p.m. | Northern Illinois | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | CBSSN | W 31–24 | 8,744 |
| December 22 | 4:00 p.m. | vs. Wyoming* | Albertsons StadiumBoise, ID (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) | ESPN | L 14–37 | 16,512 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Rhode Island

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | 3OT | Total |
| Rams | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 27 |
| Chippewas | 0 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 30 |

### At Kansas

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

### At Syracuse

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

### Miami (OH)

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

### At Boston College

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

### At Ohio

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

### Toledo

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

### At Ball State

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

### At Western Michigan

| | 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

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

### At Kent State

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

### Northern Illinois

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

### Vs. Wyoming–Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

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