CMU football coach Butch Jones talked about cracking the Associated Press Top 25 when he was introduced as head coach two years ago.
At the time, the idea sounded far-fetched, even after coming off a Mid-American Conference Championship under then-coach Brian Kelly. But in only his second season, Jones put the team one win away from a serious shot at a national ranking.
The Chippewas stood at 8-2 overall, a perfect 6-0 in conference play. They had as many as 13 votes in the poll and were hosting No. 14 Ball State on Nov. 19. A win could have put a shiny number next to Central Michigan for the first time in the school's Division I history.
The best-case scenario was a ranking. But reality quickly caught up to Central.
In unorthodox fashion, the team came up short against the Cardinals, surrendering the MAC West. Things got even uglier the following week in a 56-52 loss at lowly Eastern Michigan.
Florida Atlantic capped CMU's worst-case scenario, handing it its third consecutive loss to end the season, 24-21, at the Motor City Bowl.
Now CMU, beaten down and disappointed, is looking ahead to next year. It is no longer the defending champion. No longer the target. It will spend the offseason recuperating, getting healthier and stronger in hopes of taking back what it had just one year ago.
Here is what else fans should expect out of Central in 2009:
1. A better defense. This unit became the scapegoat of CMU's problems soon after the Jones era began last season. Although it showed improvement in several games, this year overall was not any different - the Chippewas finished 104th out of 120 teams in total defense, including 118th against the pass.
The team easily could blame injuries, with starting cornerbacks Josh Gordy and Chaz West, along with safety Eric Fraser, all missing significant time this year. We saw great things out of freshman LaVarus Williams against Purdue (eight tackles and an interception). One week later, he was lost for the rest of the year.
But schematically, something has to change. When you have one of the three worst pass defenses in the country, it is not just the secondary having problems. Opposing quarterbacks are given too much time to make plays.
CMU's pass rushing unit deserves credit for averaging 2.69 sacks per game, 14th in the country. But it simply was not consistent enough, and especially had problems later in the year. One notorious example is EMU quarterback Andy Schmitt, who barely felt any pressure en route to an NCAA-record 58 pass completions and 516 yards.
CMU should see an improvement next year. It loses just one defensive starter, nose guard Casey Droscha, and should return its injured starters fully healed. And according to Scout.com, two three-star defensive backs are verbally committed to Central - Darrick Scott and Shamari Benton. Do not be surprised if either of them see decent playing time next season.
2. A healthy and determined Dan LeFevour. He obviously was not the same after suffering injuries to both of his ankles midway through the season. His stats looked pretty good after the season was over - 2,784 passing yards with 21 touchdowns and six interceptions - but he seemed more uncomfortable in the pocket as usual and did not have the same burst of speed in the open field.
Think about this, though - LeFevour is entering his final season. He is out of a MAC Championship. His two favorite targets - Bryan Anderson and Antonio Brown - are back. In fact, the only two areas of concern in the offense is right and left tackle, vacated by Andrew Hartline and Greg Wojt. If those positions are filled well, LeFevour, realistically, could have his best year yet.
3. A better rushing attack. No disrespect to outgoing senior running backs Ontario Sneed and Justin Hoskins, who looked pretty good the few times they had the ball against Florida Atlantic in the Motor City Bowl.
But with Bryan Schroeder returning, along with the speedy Paris Cotton and redshirt Jahleel Addae, the highlight of last year's recruiting class, there should be plenty of competition throughout the spring and summer. Also consider verbal commit Malek Redd, who runs a blistering 4.38 40-yard dash.
