In a game with massive stakes attached, the Central Michigan Chippewas (7-4, 5-2 MAC) did everything they needed to do and more in an explosive 37-17 victory over the homestanding Ball State Cardinals (5-6, 3-4 MAC) on Wednesday night.
CMU was in a must-win situation in order to stay apace with the NIU Huskies atop the MAC West; winning out (and NIU losing out) would have assured the Chippewas a trip to Detroit for the MAC Championship Game.
Early on, it looked like they were off to a slow start, as Ball State came out firing on their first drive of the game, utilizing runs up the middle and screen passes to find themselves hitting paydirt first, as Carson Steele took an outside run nine yards to the endzone, putting the Cardinals up 7-0 just over two minutes into the contest.