The Central Michigan–Eastern Michigan football rivalry is an annual
college football game between
Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...
(CMU) and
Eastern Michigan University (EMU). The football series between the two universities dates back to 1902 and is the oldest rivalry in the
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twe ...
(MAC), having begun five years before the
Central Michigan–Western Michigan rivalry and six years before the
Miami–Ohio rivalry. With 100 games having been played, it is also the most frequently-played series between MAC schools.
Michigan State Normal, as EMU was then known, dominated the series in the first 25 meetings, compiling a record of 14–8–3 from 1902 to 1936. The tide then shifted to CMU which compiled a 37–5–3 from 1937 to 1992. From 1993 to 2022, CMU has won 18 games to 12 for EMU.
History
Early years: 1902–1939
The first game in the rivalry series was played on November 1, 1902, at
Ypsilanti, Michigan. Central Michigan, under coach
Charles Tambling, won the game by a 10–0 score.
Eastern Michigan, then known as the Michigan State Normal School, achieved its first victory in the series on November 16, 1907. The Ypsilanti team won the game by a score of 38–0. The game was played starting at 9:30 a.m. to allow both teams to attend the
Michigan–Michigan Agricultural football game in Ann Arbor.
On October 20, 1917,
Michigan State Normal defeated Central by a score of 63 to 0 – the largest margin of victory by either school in the rivalry's long history. The ''
Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'' reported: "Mt. Pleasant failed to make a first down and gained only about 15 yards in the entire game, their team being light and lacking experience."
From 1925 to 1930, Michigan State Normal compiled a 40–4–2 record under head coach
Elton Rynearson. Rynearson's teams won five consecutive games against Central during this period, outscoring Central by a total of 119 to 0. Michigan State Normal dominated the series in the first 25 meetings, compiling a record of 14–8–3 from 1902 to 1936.
Middle years: 1937–1992
From 1937 to 1992, the tide shifted heavily in Central Michigan's favor. During that period, Central compiled 37–5–3 record against Eastern Michigan.
In November 1963, the teams terminated the rivalry due to Eastern Michigan's affiliation with the
Presidents' Athletic Conference. At the time, the ''
Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'' called it an "honored . . . rivalry" and "one of Michigan's all-time great collegiate football series." Central Michigan won the 1963 game by a 55–20, leading the UPI to report: "A rivalry that began in 1902 ended somewhat inauspiciously . . ."
After the longest break in the rivalry's history, lasting from 1964 to 1971, the teams met in October 1972 at the new
Perry Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant. The 1972 match was also the 50th gridiron game between the two schools. Eastern defeated Central, 28–3, as Houston Booth threw three touchdown passes and George Duranko had a 100-yard interception return.
In
1972, Central Michigan won the NCAA Division II championship and defeated Eastern by a score of 28–13. In
1979, Central Michigan won the
Mid-America Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the tw ...
championship, compiled an undefeated record, and defeated Eastern by a 37–14 score.
Modern era: 1993–present
From 1993 to 2017, the rivalry again became competitive. During that time, Central Michigan won 15 games to 10 for Eastern Michigan. Central Michigan coach
Brian Kelly noted in 2005: "I think the rivalry's when two teams are very competitive. It wasn't much of a rivalry because I think Central had beaten Eastern for a number of years. Now Eastern obviously holds the upper hand . . . It creates a real rivalry situation . . . "
In 1995,
Charlie Batch, who went on to play in the NFL from 1998 to 2012, ran for three touchdowns and passed for 385 yards to lead Eastern Michigan to a 34-24 victory over Central Michigan.
In 1996, Central Michigan came back from a 27-10 deficit in the second half to win by a 41-36 score. CMU receiver set a school record with 14 receptions for 241 yards.
In 1997, Charlie Batch, playing in his final year of college football, threw three touchdown passes and ran for the winning touchdown as Eastern Michigan defeated Central Michigan, 31-24.
In 2002, Central Michigan's Robbie Mixon broke the MAC single-game record with 377 rushing yards in a 47-21 victory over Eastern Michigan.
In 2004, the teams played at
Ford Field in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
. In the highest scoring game in the rivalry's history, Eastern Michigan defeated Brian Kelly's Central team by a 61–58 score in five-hour, quadruple overtime game.
In 2005, the
Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports athletes, coaches and contributors. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director Biggie Munn, preside ...
created the
Michigan MAC Trophy awarded annually to the team with the best head-to-head record among Michigan's three
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twe ...
programs – Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and
Western Michigan University. Since its inception, Central Michigan has won the Michigan MAC Trophy five times, and Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan have each won it four times.
Days before the 2008 game, Eastern Michigan's head coach
Jeff Genyk was fired. During pregame warmups, Central's coach
Butch Jones approached one of the Eastern coaches to say "'I know you guys are out of a job and I'm not going to help you' with a few expletives thrown in there."
[ Jones' comments inspired the Eastern players who scored 42 points in the first half and won the game by a 56–52 score. Eastern's quarterback Andy Schmitt also broke Drew Brees' NCAA Division I-A record with 58 pass completions in the game. Genyk credited his team's performance to "the emotion of the rivalry."]
In 2011, Ryan Radcliff led Central to two touchdowns and a two-point conversion in the last five-and-a-half minutes to tie the score at 28–28. Eastern Michigan then scored a touchdown with 37 seconds remaining to secure the win. After the game, Eastern coach Ron English said: "The one thing about rivalry games is you have to be able to win them in the end. There are tremendous highs and tremendous lows, but what happens is both sides usually keep playing because it means so much to everybody."
Game results
See also
* List of NCAA college football rivalry games
* List of most-played college football series in NCAA Division I
* Michigan MAC Trophy
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Central Michigan-Eastern Michigan football rivalry
College football rivalries in the United States
Central Michigan Chippewas football
Eastern Michigan Eagles football
1902 establishments in Michigan