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2009 Central Michigan

12–⁠2 (8–⁠0 Mid-American Conference), coached by Butch Jones, then Steve Stripling (interim, bowl game), finished No. 23 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Central Michigan in 2009, game by game: lost at Arizona 6–19; won at Michigan State 29–27; won vs. Alcorn State 48–0; won vs. Akron 48–21; won at Buffalo 20–13; won vs. Eastern Michigan 56–8; won at Western Michigan 34–23; won at Bowling Green 24–10; lost at Boston College 10–31; won vs. Toledo 56–28; won at Ball State 35–3; won vs. Northern Illinois 45–31; won vs. Ohio 20–10; won vs. Troy 44–41+48−21Lost 6–19 at Arizona-13ArizonaWon 29–27 at Michigan State+2Michigan StateWon 48–0 vs. Alcorn State+48Alcorn StateWon 48–21 vs. Akron+27AkronWon 20–13 at Buffalo+7BuffaloWon 56–8 vs. Eastern Michigan+48Eastern MichiganWon 34–23 at Western Michigan+11Western MichiganWon 24–10 at Bowling Green+14Bowling GreenLost 10–31 at Boston College-21Boston CollegeWon 56–28 vs. Toledo+28ToledoWon 35–3 at Ball State+32Ball StateWon 45–31 vs. Northern Illinois+14Northern Illino…Won 20–10 vs. Ohio+10OhioWon 44–41 vs. Troy+3Troy
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atArizonaL 6–⁠1932%
Sep 12atMichigan StateW 29–⁠2731%
Sep 19vsAlcorn StateW 48–⁠090%
Sep 26vsAkronW 48–⁠2173%
Oct 3atBuffaloW 20–⁠1356%
Oct 10vsEastern MichiganW 56–⁠885%
Oct 17atWestern MichiganW 34–⁠2351%
Oct 24atBowling GreenW 24–⁠1058%
Oct 31atBoston CollegeL 10–⁠3145%
Nov 11vsToledoW 56–⁠2883%
Nov 18atBall StateW 35–⁠373%
Nov 27vsNorthern IllinoisW 45–⁠3171%
Dec 4vsOhioMid-American Championship GameW 20–⁠1062%
Jan 6Bowls & playoffvsTroyGMAC BowlW 44–⁠4155%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Troy 44–⁠41 in the GMAC Bowl; No. 23 in the final AP poll; Mid-American Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 15: 25
  2. Final: 23

Mid-American Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the Mid-American Championship Game

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
No. 23 peak No. 23
Points
475–⁠265
Coach
Butch Jones, then Steve Stripling (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1652 +143 this season
SP+ rating
3.5 No. 54 of 120; offense No. 52, defense No. 58, special teams No. 52
SRS
4.5 No. 44 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 76
Offensive coordinator
Mike Bajakian
Defensive coordinator
Tim Banks

How good, play by play

  • Offense12th of 120
  • Defense54th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted13th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted67th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1247%0.8912th of 120
Defense0.0442%0.8654th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
0.05 def		45% off
43% def		—13th off
67th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 332% allowed
Defense0.0own 302% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsDan LeFevour QB3,438 yds
Passing touchdownsDan LeFevour QB28 TD
Rushing yardsDan LeFevour QB713 yds
Rushing touchdownsDan LeFevour QB15 TD
Receiving yardsAntonio Brown WR1,198 yds
Receiving touchdownsAntonio Brown WR9 TD
InterceptionsJosh Gordy DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Jeff Fantuzzi OG★★★No. 701
Shamari Benton S★★★No. 865
Kyle Zelinsky ILB★★★No. 971
Will Schwarz OLB★★★No. 1138
Adam Fenton OLB★★★No. 1195

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.744
Running backs32.30.771
Receivers42.50.795
Offensive line52.40.796
Defensive line52.60.798
Linebackers52.80.828
Defensive backs42.50.805
Athletes and specialists22.50.767
Whole class292.50.797

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 6Dan LeFevour QBChicago Bears
Rd 6Antonio Brown WRPittsburgh Steelers

Roster 97

The 2009 roster

97 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 28 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan8–⁠012–⁠223
Temple7–⁠19–⁠4
Ohio7–⁠19–⁠5
Bowling Green6–⁠27–⁠6
Northern Illinois5–⁠37–⁠6
Kent State4–⁠45–⁠7
Western Michigan4–⁠45–⁠7
Toledo3–⁠55–⁠7
Buffalo3–⁠55–⁠7
Akron2–⁠63–⁠9
Ball State2–⁠62–⁠10
Miami (OH)1–⁠71–⁠11
Eastern Michigan0–⁠80–⁠12

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.