2025 Central Michigan
7–6 (5–3 Mid-American Conference), coached by Matt Drinkall. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Wagner 49–10Sep 20
By 39 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat San José State 16–14Aug 29
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29 | at San José State | W 16–14 | 28% |
| Sep 6 | at Pittsburgh | L 17–45 | 29% |
| Sep 13 | at 23Michigan | L 3–63 | 16% |
| Sep 20 | vs Wagner | W 49–10 | 85% |
| Sep 27 | vs Eastern Michigan | W 24–13 | 60% |
| Oct 4 | at Akron | L 22–28 | 50% |
| Oct 18 | at Bowling Green | W 27–6 | 28% |
| Oct 25 | vs Massachusetts | W 38–13 | 82% |
| Nov 1 | at Western Michigan | L 21–24 | 39% |
| Nov 12 | vs Buffalo | W 38–19 | 50% |
| Nov 19 | at Kent State | W 28–16 | 62% |
| Nov 29 | vs Toledo | L 3–21 | 46% |
| Dec 26Bowls & playoff | vs NorthwesternGameAbove Sports Bowl | L 7–34 | 45% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 34–7 in the GameAbove Sports Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Mid-American Conference.
In program history: The 37th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 on file).
- Record
- 7–6
- Conference
- 5–3 5th in Mid-American Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 293–306
- Coach
- Matt Drinkall
- Elo
- 1430 +37 this season
- SP+ rating
- -8.8 No. 100 of 136; offense No. 120, defense No. 65, special teams No. 84
- SRS
- −8.4 No. 99 of 136 in FBS
- Returning
- 10% of last season’s EPA, No. 126 of 134
- Recruiting class
- No. 113 roster talent No. 121 in FBS
- Offensive coordinators
- Jim Chapin and Derek Fulton
- Defensive coordinator
- Sean Cronin
- Offense
- Pro spread
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.05 | 40% | 1.17 | 86th of 136 |
| Defense | 0.02 | 42% | 1.17 | 27th of 136 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.04 off 0.07 def | 38% off 44% def | — | 98th off 52nd def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 47% | 8.2 yds | 12% | 2.90 | 17% |
| Defense | 41% | 9.3 yds | 14% | 3.20 | 17% |
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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.6 | own 29 | 16% allowed |
| Defense | 3.1 | own 30 | 17% caused |
CORE rating 0.0, 63rd of 136 (offense -1.8, defense -1.8).
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 yards | Joey Labas QB | 1,854 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Joey Labas QB | 13 TD |
| Rushing yards | Nahree Biggins RB | 540 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Angel H Flores QB | 8 TD |
| Receiving yards | Langston Lewis WR | 596 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Brock Townsend RB | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Jordan Kwiatkowski LB | 112 tkl |
| Sacks | Michael Heldman DL | 11.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Jordan Kwiatkowski LB | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2025 class
| Triston Pierre OL | ★★★ | No. 1540 |
| Andre Thomas ATH | ★★★ | No. 1551 |
| Jeremiah McKenzie LB | ★★★ | No. 1738 |
| Nolan Anderson ATH | ★★★ | No. 2110 |
| Kalen Fisher QB | ★★★ | No. 2303 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2025 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 3.0 | 0.824 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.826 |
| Receivers | 2 | 3.0 | 0.818 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.833 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.850 |
| Athletes and specialists | 3 | 3.0 | 0.838 |
| Whole class | 11 | 3.0 | 0.831 |
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 107
The 2025 roster107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 71 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 10
The 2025 portal Joey VanWetzinga DL | ★★★ | from  Iowa |
 Angel Flores QB | ★★★ | from  Northern Arizona |
 Trey Cornist RB | ★★★ | from  Tulane |
 John Iannuzzi OL | ★★★ | from  Columbia |
 Jacob Russell OT | ★★★ | from  Valparaiso |
| Rusty VanWetzinga TE | ★★★ | from Iowa |
 Kalen Carroll CB | ★★★ | from  Cincinnati |
| Dylan Fisher DL | from Ohio Dominican | |
| Elijah Gordon S | from Saginaw Valley State | |
 Maddix Blackwell S | from  Indiana State |
Transfers out 19
 Jonah Pace DL | ★★★ | to Iowa |
| Davis Heinzen OL | ★★★ | to  Wisconsin |
| Evan Boyd WR | ★★★ | to  Michigan State |
| Chris Parker WR | ★★★ | to  UConn |
| Bert Emanuel Jr. QB | ★★★ | to  San Diego State |
| Pius Odjugo DL | ★★★ | to  Ohio |
| Jemeil Jackson OT | ★★★ | to  Western Kentucky |
| Joey Labas QB | ★★★★ | returned to  Central Michigan |
| Nolan Ziegler LB | ★★★★ | to Ferris State |
| Brady Neu DL | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Brady Ploucha OL | ★★★ | returned to Central Michigan |
| D.C. Temple TE | ★★★ | returned to Central Michigan |
And 7 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2025 Mid-American Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Michigan | 7–1 | 10–4 | |
 Ohio | 6–2 | 9–4 | |
| Toledo | 6–2 | 8–5 | |
 Miami (OH) | 6–2 | 7–7 | |
| Central Michigan | 5–3 | 7–6 | |
| Kent State | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
| Akron | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
| Buffalo | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
| Eastern Michigan | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
 Ball State | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
| Bowling Green | 2–6 | 4–8 | |
 Northern Illinois | 2–6 | 3–9 | |
| Massachusetts | 0–8 | 0–12 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.