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2019 Central Michigan

8–⁠6 (6–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Jim McElwain.

Schedule and results

Central Michigan in 2019, game by game: won vs. UAlbany 38–21; lost at No. 17 Wisconsin 0–61; won vs. Akron 45–24; lost at Miami 12–17; lost at Western Michigan 15–31; won vs. Eastern Michigan 42–16; won vs. New Mexico State 42–28; won at Bowling Green 38–20; lost at Buffalo 20–43; won vs. Northern Illinois 48–10; won at Ball State 45–44; won vs. Toledo 49–7; lost vs. Miami (OH) 21–26; lost vs. San Diego State 11–48+42−61Won 38–21 vs. UAlbany+17UAlbanyLost 0–61 at No. 17 Wisconsin-61No. 17 WisconsinWon 45–24 vs. Akron+21AkronLost 12–17 at Miami-5MiamiLost 15–31 at Western Michigan-16Western MichiganWon 42–16 vs. Eastern Michigan+26Eastern MichiganWon 42–28 vs. New Mexico State+14New Mexico StateWon 38–20 at Bowling Green+18Bowling GreenLost 20–43 at Buffalo-23BuffaloWon 48–10 vs. Northern Illinois+38Northern Illino…Won 45–44 at Ball State+1Ball StateWon 49–7 vs. Toledo+42ToledoLost 21–26 vs. Miami (OH)-5Miami (OH)Lost 11–48 vs. San Diego State-37San Diego State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsUAlbanyW 38–⁠2173%
Sep 7at17WisconsinL 0–⁠6114%
Sep 14vsAkronW 45–⁠2461%
Sep 21atMiamiL 12–⁠1722%
Sep 28atWestern MichiganL 15–⁠3130%
Oct 5vsEastern MichiganW 42–⁠1637%
Oct 12vsNew Mexico StateW 42–⁠2871%
Oct 19atBowling GreenW 38–⁠2051%
Oct 26atBuffaloL 20–⁠4336%
Nov 2vsNorthern IllinoisW 48–⁠1056%
Nov 16atBall StateW 45–⁠4450%
Nov 29vsToledoW 49–⁠760%
Dec 7vsMiami (OH)Mid-American Championship GameL 21–⁠2651%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvsSan Diego StateNew Mexico BowlL 11–⁠4834%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to San Diego State 48–⁠11 in the New Mexico Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 28th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 on file).

MAC West champions6–⁠2 in the conference

Record
8–⁠6
Conference
6–⁠2 shared first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
426–⁠396
Coach
Jim McElwain
Elo
1454 +95 this season
SP+ rating
-4.4 No. 84 of 130; offense No. 80, defense No. 71, special teams No. 110
SRS
−4.5 No. 86 of 130 in FBS
Returning
12% of last season’s EPA, No. 128 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 104 roster talent No. 99 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Charlie Frye
Defensive coordinator
Robb Akey
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense66th of 130
  • Defense35th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted77th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted65th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1144%1.2266th of 130
Defense0.0441%1.2735th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
0.09 def		42% off
43% def		—77th off
65th 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
Offense3.8own 3118% allowed
Defense3.7own 3123% caused

CORE rating -1.1, 60th of 130 (offense 0.2, defense 1.3).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsQuinten Dormady QB2,312 yds
Passing touchdownsQuinten Dormady QB14 TD
Rushing yardsJonathan Ward RB1,108 yds
Rushing touchdownsJonathan Ward RB15 TD
Receiving yardsKalil Pimpleton WR894 yds
Receiving touchdownsKalil Pimpleton WR6 TD
TacklesTroy Brown LB90 tkl
SacksSean Adesanya DL7 sacks
InterceptionsAlonzo McCoy DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Lew Nichols III RB★★★No. 1091
Cameron Vaughn OT★★★No. 1272
Kyron McKinnie-Harper ATH★★★No. 1716
Ormondell Dingle S★★★No. 1854
Danny Motowski OC★★★No. 1968

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.812
Running backs22.50.806
Receivers23.00.805
Offensive line52.60.802
Defensive line32.00.781
Linebackers32.00.778
Defensive backs42.50.804
Athletes and specialists22.50.795
Whole class222.50.797

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.

Roster 109

The 2019 roster

109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan6–⁠28–⁠6
Miami (OH)6–⁠28–⁠6
Buffalo5–⁠38–⁠5
Western Michigan5–⁠37–⁠6
Kent State5–⁠37–⁠6
Ohio5–⁠37–⁠6
Ball State4–⁠45–⁠7
Northern Illinois4–⁠45–⁠7
Toledo3–⁠56–⁠6
Eastern Michigan3–⁠56–⁠7
Bowling Green2–⁠63–⁠9
Akron0–⁠80–⁠12

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