Mid-American · Matt Drinkall, year 2 (9-7) · Kelly/Shorts Stadium · 30,255 · 17,278 avg in 2026
LastW 24–10 vs Wyoming · Sat Sep 19 · Angel H Flores 32 pass yds, 163 rush yds, 2 TD
Nextat Miami · Sat Sep 26 · 6:30 pm ET · Hard Rock Stadium · Miami by 41 · series 0-1 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 22 · through week 3
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 6 | #120 | #73 | +11.5✗ | @New Mexico | L 7–38 117 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Sep 12 | #121 | #211 | -18.5✗ | Colgate | W 13–10 125 | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 19 | #131 | #129 | +1.5✓ | Wyoming | W 24–10 125 | 2-1 | 0-0 |
| 4 | Sep 26 | #131 | #8 | +41 | @Miami | |||
| 5 | Oct 3 | #134 | #69 | Akron | ||||
| 6 | Oct 10 | @Ohio | ||||||
| 7 | Oct 17 | Western Michigan | ||||||
| 8 | Oct 24 | Miami (OH) | ||||||
| 10 | Nov 4 | Eastern Michigan (N) | ||||||
| 11 | Nov 11 | Sacramento State | ||||||
| 12 | Nov 18 | @Buffalo | ||||||
| 13 | Nov 28 | @Ball State |
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Explosive% | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 19 | Wyoming | W 24–10 | 371 | 0 | 35:48 | +0.294 | 50.8% | 102.4% | Season-high EPA/play |
| Sep 12 | Colgate | W 13–10 | 276 | 3 | 32:41 | -0.081 | 33.3% | 124.9% | Season-low EPA/play |
| Sep 6 | @New Mexico | L 7–38 | 149 | 2 | 22:31 | -0.052 | 26.5% | 127.1% | Most explosive |
| Season average (3 games) | 265 | 1.7 | +0.054 | 36.9% | 118.1% | ||||
Central Michigan won three MAC titles in four years under two coaches who both left for major-conference jobs, and produced an NFL star in Antonio Brown along the way -- a program that keeps building things other people get to keep.
Central Michigan fans watched Brian Kelly and Butch Jones build their national coaching reputations here before cashing out at bigger programs -- and watched Antonio Brown become an NFL star after…
The season in chapters
What fans said
Real posts from the day of the game, chosen by community score · usernames not shown
What it is like to watch them2025 · 7-6 · last season
✓ measured from 13 games · ranks are among Mid-American teams the same season
Recent form · last 10 games · incl. 2025
Cooling. 6-4 over the last 10, and won the last two.
Next Sep 26
vs Miami · away
✓ fact on line · ~ our read on style
Market outlook
Sportsbook consensus · best odds across multiple books · 2026-09-22
the open questioncan a new staff change the trajectory?
Drinkall, who went 7-6 in his debut, inherits a 10% production return and a program that hasn't won a MAC title since 2009 — the identity anchor is the challenge.
our readdeveloping
Matt Drinkall's 7-6 debut season marks the start of a new era for Central Michigan, which last won MAC titles in 2009 under Brian Kelly and Butch Jones.
our readdeveloping
Central Michigan jumped 20 spots in SP+ — the 7-6 record and bottom-quintile returning production create a tension between optimism and the challenge of maintaining momentum under first-year coach Matt Drinkall.
our readbackground
Matt Drinkall's 7-6 debut season marks the start of a new era for Central Michigan, a program historically defined by MAC titles in the early 2000s.
our readdeveloping
Central Michigan MAC championship odds lengthened — implied probability moved from 9.1% to 5.9% (-3.2pp) between Sep 13 and Sep 14, 2026 (tier C).
our readbackground
Trey Cornist gets LESS work in the fourth quarter with a lead than his overall workload would predict -- not the trusted closer raw carries might suggest.
our readbackground
Trey Cornist: a garbage time merchant signal screened this season.
our readbackground
Matt Drinkall begins his tenure with a 7-6 record, signaling a new era after Central Michigan's MAC title-winning past under Kelly and Jones.
our readbackground
Outcome band · Central Michigan · 2026
Floor, base and ceiling come from the season-path projection, which plays out conference title games and the CFP — so a ceiling can run past 12 games.
Central Michigan enters 2026 rated No. 100 in 2025 SP+ (-8.8), up 20 spots from 2024. It is bottom-quintile returning production — heavy turnover entering the season. One of the bigger model jumps in the country — the tape moved faster than the consensus noticed. The preview consensus leans in — but preseason ratings reward the recent past, not the season ahead.
The 'the projection is underselling us' read -- fans betting the season beats the preview number.
The 'the model has seen the tape' counter -- efficiency ratings reward what a program has actually done, not hope.
Nothing in our corpus yet — this door stays open for when there is.
This event was in 31 of 201 board posts (15%) over the last 60 days — a fanbase consumed by it. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
Nothing in our corpus yet — this door stays open for when there is.
The boards ≠ the fanbase: a vocal, self-selected slice.
Matt Drinkall took over as Central Michigan's head coach, replacing Jim McElwain. It is replaces 6-year head coach Jim McElwain (33-36). The hire has receded from the front page. The roster and recruiting pipeline are the real measure now. The discourse has moved on; what's left is the quiet work of building something.
The off-field storyline driving the noise right now. Not analysis — the soap opera, and that's the point.
The 'this hire changes everything' takes -- new-era believers making the case early.
The 'show me the body of work' counter -- resume gaps, scheme fits, and 'not that guy' reads.
Nothing in our corpus yet — this door stays open for when there is.
Only 5 of 201 board posts mention it — below our floor to call a community stance. Shown as texture, not a verdict.
The boards ≠ the fanbase: a vocal, self-selected slice.
The second-order trail: commits, decommits, portal and staff knock-on from the hire.
Fan mood index · most recent r/cfb data
More in this tab
Central Michigan won MAC titles in 2006, 2007, and 2009 under coaches Brian Kelly and Butch Jones -- both of whom left for bigger jobs -- fielding a 2009 title team led by Dan LeFevour and Antonio Brown, and just opened a new era with Army import Matt Drinkall, who went 7-6 in his 2025 debut season.
The program ledger
since 2025MAC moving to 9-game schedule in 2028
One more conference game a year hits different when your CB depth is already flagged and SP+ is trending down — Drinkall's roster needs to catch up before 2028 makes the margin even thinner.
Markese Peoples commits to Central Michigan
CB depth was flagged as a pressure point for Drinkall's rebuild — Peoples fills that board with the class sitting at #94 nationally and still looking for separation in a reshaped MAC identity.
MAC title odds: +1000 → +1600 (▼3.2pp implied)
Mac title odds dropped 3.2pp without an obvious public catalyst.
Top 3 commits
Recruiting Footprint · 2026
MI leads the 2026 class with 14 commits. National footprint reaching 13 states.
Where they recruit · 2023-2026
93 signees across 18 states, 2023-2026. MI leads the pull.
That is 14.3% of every high-school FBS signee MI produced over those cycles — the biggest share any program takes — Michigan State is next. The full map →
Miles from home · 2026 roster
The median Central Michigan player grew up 331 miles from campus.
Half this roster came from closer than that; half came from farther.
Straight-line distance from each player's listed hometown to Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Hometowns are placed at city-centroid precision, not street address — fine at this scale, but a player's true door-to-door number can differ by a few miles. 103 of 113 listed players have a geocoded hometown. Source: CFBD roster hometowns.
Top community posts · last 12 months · r/cfb
Fan confidence in a typical range for this program right now
47th percentile among FBS programs
The bounces haven't gone their way on the fumbles they've forced: 40% recovered, vs. ~48% expected.
2 of 5 forced fumbles recovered, 2026 only.
Cashing in at a normal clip: 24% of disrupted passes intercepted, close to ~19% league-wide.
4 interceptions of 17 disrupted passes (13 deflected, 4 intercepted), 2026 only.
The flags haven't favored them: 18 penalties committed vs. 14 drawn on opponents, 56 yards behind.
186 penalty yards committed vs. 130 drawn on opponents, 2026 season total.
Outcome band · Central Michigan · 2026
Recruiting Footprint · 2026