Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl Preview: WKU versus CMU

LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA BOWL:

WESTERN KENTUCKY (7-5, 4-4 SBC) VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN (6-6, 4-4 MAC)

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26 • 7:30 P.M. ET • 

Series Record:. . . . . .  . . . . . . 0-0

Website:. . www.littlecaesarspizzabowl.com/

Date: . . .. . . . . . . Wed., Dec. 26, 2012

Time:. . . . . . .  . . . . . . . 7:30 P.M. ET

Stadium (Capacity):  . . . . . Ford Field (65,000)

City:  . . . . . . . . . . . Detroit, Michigan

Network:  . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . .ESPN

This is a matchup between a 7-5 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers squad from the Sun Belt and a 6-6 Central Michigan Chippewas squad from the MAC. Both teams finished below what they expected going into the season but the Hilltoppers secured their first ever FBS bowl berth and the Chippewas made their first bowl game under coach Dan Enos.

Offense:

WKU brings an expected west coast offense to the game that ranked only 71st nationally in total offense with 391.8 yards per game of offense. The Hilltoppers were led by junior running back Antonio Andrews who made the 1st team All-Sun Belt team in his first year as a starter rushing for 1609 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season in addition to 34 catches for 411 yards and 3 more touchdowns. Following in the footsteps of former WKU running back Bobby Rainey, Andrews gave WKU a 1500 yard rusher for three straight seasons. Senior and four year starter Kawaun Jakes leads the team at quarterback and has a solid shot to break 7500 yards passing for his career and 2500 yards on the season (his previous season high in passing was 1854 yards). While the passing game led by Jakes ended the season as the 91st ranked passing game in the country, the Hilltoppers do have a stud tight end in senior Jack Doyle. Doyle ended the regular season with 47 catches for 530 yards and 4 touchdowns on the season. Doyle has totaled 156 catches for1733 total yards in his career with WKU. Wide receiver Willie McNeal is the second leading receiver for the team with 40 catches for 506 yards and 6 touchdowns coming off of a 2011 season lost to injury. While WKU is statistically not the most impressive offense, the Hilltoppers have a physical offensive line led by senior Adam Smith that dominated the line of scrimmage versus some very impressive defensive lines. The Hilltoppers are the 67th ranked scoring offense in the nation putting up 28.7 points per game but only putting up over 30 points 4 times on the season.

The Central Michigan Chippewas counter with an offense led by senior quarterback Ryan Radcliff and junior running back Zurlon Tipton. Radcliff and Tipton combined for over 4200 yards of total offense for the Chippewas offence that ranked 67th nationally with 394.1 yards per game on the season. Radcliff threw for 2905 yards on the season with 20 touchdowns and 9 interceptions capped by four 300 yards passing games(all in MAC play). Radcliff ends his career with an outside shot at 10,000 career yards passing sitting at 9664 yards currently. Tipton was a revelation for the Chippewas after two semi productive years of 203 yards and 370 yards in his first two years before blowing up for 1391 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns to go along with 22 catches and another touchdown on the year. Tipton broke the 100 yard barrier in the final 6 games capped by a 243 yard performance in the win versus Akron. CMU loses two of its top three receivers for the bowl game with the suspension of Titus Davis and Courtney Williams for a violation of team policy. Senior wide receiver Cody Wilson was the team's leader in receptions but was more of a possession type of receiver that will need to expand his game for Radcliff to have a successful game Wednesday night in Detroit. With an experienced line led by three seniors (Fisher, Repovz, and Keyton), expect the Chippewas to attack a quick and talented but undersized WKU defensive line.

Advantage: WKU. While Radcliff wins in the quarterback battle over Jakes and Andrews wins the running back battle over Tipton, the loss of two of the top three receivers for CMU in addition to the talent at the tight end position for WKU gives the Hilltoppers the edge. One wonders if the passing game will be more active with the influence of Petrino although he is not coaching in this game.

Western Kentucky:

Left Tackle #52 Cameron Clemmons 6-6 305 So. Mt. Juliet, Tenn.

Left Guard #63 Luis Polanco 6-2 295 Jr. Tampa, Fla.  

Center #65 Sean Conway 6-3 305 Jr. Nashville, Tenn.

Right Guard #76 Adam Smith 6-5 325 Sr. Murfreesboro, Tenn.--1st Team All-Sun Belt

Right Tackle #75 Seth White 6-5 291 Sr. Nashville, Tenn.

Quarterback #6 Kawaun Jakes 6-3 194 Sr. St. Augustine, Fla.

Running Back #5 Antonio Andrews 6-0 211 Jr. Fort Campbell, Ky.--1st Team All-Sun Belt

Full Back #32 Kadeem Jones 5-11 246 Jr. Dundee, Fla.

X Receiver #9 Marcus Vasquez 6-1 196 Sr. Chula Vista, Calif.

Z Receiver #10 Willie McNeal 5-10 163 So. Bradenton, Fla.

ZE Receiver #4 Rico Brown 5-11 185 So. Berea, Ky.

Tight End #82 Jack Doyle 6-6 253 Sr. Indianapolis, Ind.--1st Team All-Sun Belt

Central Michigan:

QB: #8 Ryan Radcliff | 6-3, 215, SR

RB: #34 Zurlon Tipton | 6-1, 222, JR--2nd Team All-MAC

WR: #25 Courtney Williams | 6-1, 205, SO--Suspended

WR: #84 Titus Davis | 6-2, 185, SO--2nd Team All-MAC--Suspended 

WR: #11 Cody Wilson | 5-10, 189, SR

TE: #89 Connor Odykirk | 6-4, 237, JR

T: #79 Eric Fisher | 6-8, 305, SR--1st Team All-MAC

T: #67 Mike Repovz | 6-5, 290, SR

G: #66 Andy Phillips | 6-3, 302, SO

G: #65 Darren Keyton | 6-3, 300, SR

C: #54 Nick Beamish | 6-2, 304, FR

Defense:

Defensively, Western Kentucky runs a 4-3 set that ended the season ranked #23 nationally in total defense giving up 344 yards per game to opposing offenses. The Hilltoppers were 32nd nationally against the run giving up 138 yards per game on the ground and only 3.93 yards per carry to opposing backs. The Hilltoppers gave up 15 rushing touchdowns in 12 games on the season. WKU was also solid versus the pass in 2012 ranking 32nd nationally in pass defense giving up 206 yards in the air per game and 21 touchdowns. WKU was great at making explosive plays making 89 tackles for loss good for 7.42 TFL per game to go along with 31 sacks on the season led by injured defensive end Quanterus Smith's 12.5 in only 10 games played. The Hilltoppers forced 23 turnovers on the season with safety Jonathan Dowling picking off 6 passes on the year including a game-changing interception returned for a touchdown in the season finale comeback win versus North Texas. The defense is fairly young with only 4 senior starters (not including the injured Smith) but there are rumors that star middle linebacker Andrew Jackson may declare for the draft. Jackson is a 2-time 1st Team All-Sun Belt performer who put up 116 tackles with 17.5 going for loss and 2 sacks. Jackson had a season high 19 tackles in a close loss to FAU earlier in the season. The Hilltoppers have another big playmaker in free safety Jonathan Dowling who made 60 tackles and 6 interceptions in his first year playing for WKU after transferring from the Florida Gators and sitting out a year. For all of the impressive defensive stats for the Hilltoppers, they struggled to keep opponents out of the end zone on a regular basis and gave up 25.5 points per game, good for 51st best in the country.

 

The Central Michigan Chippewas have been much improved going on a 3-game winning streak to end the regular season, the defense has struggled all season long. The Chippwas run a 4-2-5 defense that is designed for the spread offenses of the MAC that love to get the ball to playmakers in open spaces. The Chippewas are ranked 94th nationally in total defense giving up 442 yards per game and a staggering 51 touchdowns in 12 games during the 2012 season. Opponents have put up 6 yards per play on the CMU defense and over 5300 yards on the season. CMU ranked 98th nationally in rush defense giving up 198 yards per game on the ground with a 4.97 yards per carry average and 26 touchdowns on the ground. CMU is slightly better at defending the pass ranking only 74th nationally surrendering 244 yards in the air per game with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Opponents put up 7.4 yards per pass attempt versus the leaky Chippewa defense. The Chippewas struggle to force negative plays on opposing offenses only getting 17 sacks on the season and 47 tackles for loss on the year, good for less than 4 per game. CMU does not turn opponents over with any regularity ranking 80th nationally with only 18 forced turnovers on the year. The defense is decent at getting off the field on third downs considering their other limitations winning the third down battle 56% of the time. While the defense in general struggled, the Chippewas have a pair of solid linebackers in sophomore Justin Cherocci and junior Shamari Benton. The two combined for 241 tackles on the season, roughly equal to the next 4 top tacklers for the Chippewas in 2012. Senior defensive end Ceasar Rodriguez also had a solid season with 43 tackles, and a team leading 8.5 TFL and 4 sacks.

Advantage: WKU. While the Hilltoppers struggled much more in the second half of the season versus some teams that they should have controlled, WKU has a much better overall defense than CMU. Counting sidelined defensive end Quanterus Smith, the Hilltoppers have 3 legitimate big time NFL prospects on the defense(Smith, Jackson, Dowling) with some very solid role players flanking them to form a strong defense. Expect this rest between the end of the regular season and the bowl game to reinvigorate the Hilltopper defense and see more of the defense from the first half of the season.

Western Kentucky:

Defensive End #45 Cole Tischer 6-4 250 Sr. Brentwood, Tenn.

Defensive Tackle #43 Jamarcus Allen 5-11 286 Sr. Orlando, Fla.

Defensive Tackle #96 Rammell Lewis 6-2 299 Sr. Grayson, Ga.

Defensive End #88 Gavin Rocker 6-2 230 R-Fr. Tyrone, Ga.

SAM Linebacker #12 Tye Golden 6-2 234 Sr. Lithonia, Ga.

MIKE Linebacker #4 Andrew Jackson 6-1 265 Jr. Lakeland, Fla.--1st Team All-Sun Belt

WILL Linebacker #13 Xavius Boyd 6-2 235 Jr. St. Petersburg, Fla.

Cornerback #22 Tyree Robinson 5-10 196 Jr. Dundee, Fla.

Strong Safety #29 Kiante Young 5-11 220 Jr. Gainesville, Ga.

Free Safety #1 Jonathan Dowling 6-3 198 So. Bradenton, Fla.--1st Team All-Sun Belt

Cornerback #21 Arius Wright 5-10 189 Jr. Duluth, Ga.

**Sun Belt Defensive POY Quanterus Smith is out for the game with an injury.**

Central Michigan:            

DE: #93 Joe Kinville | 6-4, 260, SR

DT: #52 Jabari Dean | 6-2, 290, FR

NT: #58 Leterrius Walton | 6-6, 308, SO

DE: #99 Caesar Rodriguez | 6-2, 241, SR

LB: #41 Justin Cherocci | 6-1, 232, SO

LB: #26 Shamari Benton | 6-0, 220, JR

S: #4 Jahleel Addae | 5-11, 195, SR--2nd Team All-MAC

S: #29 Jarret Chapman | 5-11, 182, SO

CB: #20 Anthony Young | 5-8, 177, SR

CB: #2 Lorenzo White | 6-0, 180, SR

S: #36 Avery Cunningham | 6-0, 201, JR

Special Teams:

The Achilles heel for WKU in 2011 became stronger in the 2012 season giving WKU an adequate kicking game and a stellar return game. Returning both kicks and punts, running back Antonio Andrews made 1st and 2nd team in both categories with a 12.8 yards per punt return average and a 28.0 yards per kickoff return average. Andrews consistently set the Hilltoppers up with great field position for their ball control offense. Kicking off was a bit of a struggle with only 7% of the kickoffs making it to the end zone for a touchback. Covering the kickoffs was a very tricky as the Hilltoppers fell dramatically from 2011 to 87th overall in kickoff coverage giving up 23 yards per return including a late kickoff return score in the loss to MTSU. Covering punts was also quite an adventure for the Hilltoppers giving up 11.7 yards per punt return good for 109th in the nation. With the field goal kicking game, freshman Garrett Schwettman was an unexpected positive making 10-13 field goals including 9-11 from inside 40 yards. Schwettman struggled with the deeper kicks but has a bright future for the Hilltoppers after the kicking game struggles of the past seasons. Punter Hendrix Brakefield was again solid but unspectacular averaging 40.9 yards per punt with a long of 56 yards. Brakefield pinned over 25% of his punts inside the opponent 20 yard line helping to win the field position game for WKU.

Central Michigan had a solid kicking game but a below average to poor return game in 2012. Punt returns were a disaster with returner Cody Wilson only able to muster 2.8 yards per return on 10 total return attempts on the season. The Chippewas gave up 12.8 yards per punt return with a 66 yard return for a touchdown during the season. Kickoff returns were slightly more successful with the Chippewas averaging 22.7 yards per return with a long of 69 yards. CMU covered kicked well holding opponents to under 20 yards per return and a long of only 36 yards on the year. Senior kicker David Harman had a solid year for the Chippewas connecting on 14-18 field goal attempts including 11-12 from inside 40 yards and a long of 51 yards. He also had one kick blocked. Harman also handled the kickoff duties and landed 26% of his kicks for touchbacks which was helped by CMU's stellar kickoff coverage all season. Punter Richie Hogan averaged 40.8 yards per punt on the year with a long of 74 yards and 27% landing inside the opponent's 20 yard line.

Advantage: Push. I feel like I am copping out by saying they are even overall but the biggest WKU advantage (kickoff returns) is the biggest CMU strength (covering kickoffs). The kickers and punters pretty much balance each other out although CMU trusts Harman to attempt the longer kicks. This seems to be the least likely place for a game changing play to occur so according to bowl game logic, someone will make a huge special teams play in this game.

Western Kentucky:

Placekicker #56 Garrett Schwettman 5-11 160 Fr. Murray, Ky.

Punter #99 Hendrix Brakefield 6-4 235 Jr. Nashville, Tenn.

Kickoff #56 Jesse Roy 6-0 189 So. Charlotte, N.C.

Long Snapper #88 Ryan Wallace 6-5 254 Sr. Bowling Green, Ky.

Holder #99 Hendrix Brakefield 6-4 235 Jr. Nashville, Tenn.

Kickoff Returns #5 Antonio Andrews 6-0 211 Jr. Fort Campbell, Ky.--1st Team All-Sun Belt

Punt Returns #5 Antonio Andrews 6-0 211 Jr. Fort Campbell, Ky.--2nd Team All-Sun Belt

Central Michigan:

P: #13 Richie Hogan | 6-2, 203, JR

PR: #11 Cody Wilson | 5-10, 189, SR

K: #96 David Harman | 6-0, 182, SR

KR: #25 Courtney Williams | 6-1, 205, SO

DS: #92 Mike Zenk | 6-3, 260, FR

H: #11 Cody Wilson | 5-10, 189, SR

Coaching:

This is an interesting coaching matchup as it faces CMU's Dan Enos and WKU's interim coach Lance Guidry. Enos is in his third year with the Chippewas and started with twin 3-9 records as well as starting this season 3-6. Enos was thought to be on his way out before the Chippewas went on a 3-game winning streak to end 6-6 and make a bowl game. He job is believed to be safe but a poor performance in the bowl game may cause the administration to rethink things. WKU counters with interim coach Lance Guidry. Guidry is in a tough spot taking over for the departed Willie Taggart who left for South Florida. WKU has already hired a new coach in former Arkansas and Louisville and Atlanta Falcons coach Bobby Petrino who has told Guidry he will not be back. Guidry was the head coach in one other game at Miami OH where he was actually in a very similar position. Guidry gave one of the most memorable pre game speeches in recent memory and Miami OH won. Expect Guidry to have the troops fired up for this final game with him.

Overall: Many would say that between a weak end of the season schedule and the underperforming of CMU to start the season that the 3 game winning streak is not all that impressive. Any 3 game winning streak with your back to the wall and no margin for error impresses me and makes me think CMU is one of the hottest teams going into bowl season. WKU is an interesting team to watch Wednesday with a lame duck coach but a running back that could be the all-time single season all purpose yards record holder. Expect Guidry to fire up the Hilltoppers and get them in the right frame of mind to make sure that they are no longer slighted for bowl games in the future.

Prediction: Western Kentucky 31, Central Michigan 17.