2026 MAC Football Week 6 Game Preview: Central Michigan Chippewas at Ohio Bobcats

As the calendar turns to fall and October, Mid-American Conference teams start playing some very meaningful games in the heart of homecoming season and conference play.

Last week, on a beautiful fall day at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, the Chippewas emphatic win over the Akron Zips 41-17 sent the Homecoming crowd home happy. Meanwhile, the Ohio Bobcats rained on Kent State's parade in a 13-10 win, dampening festivities at the Golden Flashes' homecoming festivities.

This week, its Ohio's turn to host Homecoming– and Central Michigan's chance to bring some rain clouds– in what otherwise looks to be a warm, sunny day in Athens, Ohio.

With identical records heading into this one (3-2, 1-0 MAC), we'll see in the end who moves to 4-2 and stack another important early conference win.

GAME NOTES

• Date and Time: Saturday, October 10th, 2026 at 3:30 p.m. ET
• Location: Frank Solich Field at Peden Stadium, Athens, Ohio
• TV options: The game will air nationally on ESPN+. A valid subscription is required.
• Radio/online: Ohio call features Marty Banister (play-by-play) and Rob Cornelius (color) for flagship station WXTQ-105.5 FM (Athens) and the Varsity Network. CMU's call features Adam Jaksa (play-by-play); Brock Gutierrez (color) for WUPS-FM 98.5
• Gambling Considerations: Ohio sit as 3.5 point favorites; over/under is 46.5, per Covers.
• All-time series: CMU leads the all-time series with a 27-7-2 record– though Ohio is on a two-game winning streak (2023-24). Their last meeting in Mt. Pleasant produced a squeaker, with the Bobcats clinching a 27-25 result late.

Ohio outlook

When on the road, survive and advance.

Ohio accomplished its mission last week in the win over host Kent State. Going into the game against the Golden Flashes, the lessons learned in the 2025 campaign were in full focus, as the 'Cats' chance for a title defense last year was cut short due to some very close road losses.

So the 'Cats, with road win number one of conference play in hand, head back to the very friendly confines of Frank Solich Field at Peden Stadium, where they are a dominating force. Since the home field was dedicated in honor of former head coach Frank Solich at the start of 2022, the home crowds have cheered their team on to an incredible 25-1 record.

So as we head to the half way mark of the 2026 regular season, what are some of the takeaways in all three phases?

A few weeks back, Ohio lost on the road in South Alabama to and excellent rushing squad, surrendering 266 yards on the ground an four scores. Ohio took those lessons and stonewalled Stonehill (FCS) in their next contest, allowing -1 yards rushing on the day. Last week, with the 'Cats defense facing much stiffer competition in a vastly improved Kent State squad, Ohio performed well, allowing only 10 points, creating two turnovers, and holding the Flashes 49 yards rushing on 31 attempts, for 1.6 yards per carry while generally keeping KSU rushing threat QB Dru DeShields contained in the pocket.

And while the Bobcats may have hit their stride in run defense having played some very good running teams like Nebraska and South Alabama, they face a new task this week as CMU's rushing attack is a different kind of animal then the 'Cats have seen so far.

We've talked about the linebacking crew a few times this year, with 'backers Michael Molnar and Jack Fries developing into one of the best duos in the MAC. Former walk-ons and now invaluable players, Molnar and Fries forge their own legacy while carrying tradition's torch forward. Ohio's success is built on great walk-on players like Molnar and Fries, players who paid their dues to star at Peden Stadium.

Last week, Molnar and Fries combined for 18 stops, 1.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and 2.5 passes defensed. Molar added an interception while Fries added a blocked field goal, preserving what would become the margin of victory, 13-10.

Several other defensive players this year have continue to emerge, with players like cornerback Kendall Bannister manning the back end of the defense and contributing nine tackles with some key plays in pass defense with an interception last week and a few passes defensed over the last two games in single coverage.

Upfront, the defensive line has a good rotation and impact players are emerging, with redshirt freshman defensive end Ike Ackerman wreaking havoc with a team-leading 3.5 sacks.

Turning to special teams, second year coordinator Blair Cavanaugh and his units have been a critical part of the team's success so far, regularly making big plays across all units. Last week, in addition to Fries' blocked field goal, safety Caleb Chamberlin's block punt led to three points and kicker Will Hryszko connect on two field long field goals, from 40 yards+. One thing to keep an eye on is kickoff return team, as CMU surrendered a few long returns to the Zips while Ohio's returner Darren James-Hamilton already has a return for score this year to go with several long returns.

Offensively, Ohio is doing a lot of good things while working towards that consistency that finishes drives. Last week, the offense spent significant time on Kent State's side of the field, resulting in 13 points. Head coach John Hauser shared thoughts on the offense's play against the Golden Flashes:

"I thought we executed really well at times, I just think there is a story of a play a drive where it was a penalty, or a turnover, or a sack, you know, that got us off schedule, so we gotta work on staying on schedule and, again, we had a couple opportunities down the field that we didn't probably take advantage of, ...its some really good stuff...We talk about "Ohio doesn't beat Ohio," too many things between penalties and getting us off-kilter...we have to take care of our business better."

What we've learned so far is Ohio is blessed with deep quarterback and running back rooms and can win games with backups. Starting QB and team captain Nick Poulos has been out since week two after targeting call injury but did practice last week and may return Saturday. In his stead, quarterbacks Matt Vezza and Levi Davis have the confidence of the team to get the job done. Vezza leads the squad with 621 yards (439 pass, 182 rush) and seven touchdowns (four passing, three rushing). True freshman Davis has been instrumental in two wins this year, including leading the 'Cats on the drive for the winning score last week.

The halfback room is robust, with Duncan Brune returning from injury last week and Victor Rosa sharing duties, leading the club with four rushing touchdowns. Fellow runners Michael Taylor and Irving Brown made some big contributions against Stonehill, with Brown rushing for almost 100 yards.

The wideout crew could be key this week. With the Chips playing a fair bit of man coverage on the regular, the likes of wideouts like Riley Neer and Dom Dorwart may have to win some battles and make a few explosive plays. Neer leads the club with 23 catches for 338 yards and four scores.

Central Michigan outlook

To hear head coach Matt Drinkall at press conferences this year, coupled with last week's blowout win as proof of concept, Chippewa fans have to feel pretty good about their chances for a 2026 conference title run.

Whether losses to 4-1 New Mexico and sixth-ranked Miami [FL] or wins over Colgate (FCS) and Wyoming, Drinkall noted that the experiences were essential for prep for MAC play and the results don't lie that the Chips were prepared last week with a 24-point win in the MAC opener.

Homecoming fans who recall the 1996-1997 Bobcat teams but have not seen the 2026 Chips offense play might find some similarities– not in the playbook exactly, but in the overall approach. Like those 'Cats teams, the 2026 CMU offense is built around a ground attack which is spearheaded by the quarterback, with the passing game playing a complementary role.

CMU's ground game is a battle of attrition that tests an opponents discipline and depth, and can create enough cracks to find the margin of victory. Central recorded its first passing touchdown of the year last week in game five of the season, which is not as big of a concern given what Central is trying to do. Ohio's quarterback Kareem Wilson in 1996 won MAC offensive MVP completing 43 percent of his passes with only seven passing touchdowns. What Wilson excelled at was decision making distributing the ball in the running game while rushing for 1,072 yards.

Central Michigan has a player emerging this year in quarterback Angel Flores who looks to be the main man this year (although there are other contributors too). So far, Flores leads the ground game with 44 more carries than the next CMU rusher, also leading the club with 474 yards rushing, 5.9 yards per carry, and four ground touchdowns.

Flores has some partners in crime who have made an impact this year in running backs in Jayden Clerveaux and Vaughn Blue, Clerveaux leading the room with 219 yards and 5.9 per carry. Notably, five different Chips have at least one explosive play this year (20 yards or more), so the damage might come from anywhere on any play. Also one thing that makes the offense formidable is the danger for opponents that is fourth and short. The Chips have converted 10 of 11 on forth down this year, with three explosive scoring plays score to boot.

2025 all-MAC receiver Langston Lewis and Shawn Foster II gave MAC opponents something to worry about in the passing game when they got through the defense last week for long touchdowns of 71 and 48 yards against the Zips.

Making the running game go, the Chips feature multiple respected offensive lineman including potential All-MAC players like left tackle Jacob Booth and left guard Jacob Russell.

Defensively, CMU lost a lot of talent at the end of the 2025 season but the new group is gelling into a very solid unit. Stunting/twisting up front with some timely blitzes mixed in and good coverage on the back end, the visitors have the ability to force turnovers or otherwise contribute big plays, ranking 19th in the nation so far with eight turnovers.

A critical area this week figures to be third-down defense. Ohio will run the ball and there will be a lot of third and three or less so the Chips need to be on point here.

The linebacker core leads the way with Xavier White, Brett McCalla, and Mayson Hitchens combining for 106 tackles.

On the back end, the Chips have what may be one of the league's better secondaries when its all said and done this year, led by players like Justin Taylor, who leads the club with five passes defensed and two interceptions. He's one of multiple Chippewas with at least one interception, including Darrell Bryant Jr., Coen Ali and Kameran Hayward.

Game Outlook

Another week, another tough test.

Central Michigan has its work cut out, as the large home crowds are like a 12th man on both sides of the ball and the one loss in the last 26 games at home shows how important Defending the Frank is to the Bobcats.

That being said, the line is only 3.5 points, and the Chips played well enough last week to be a formidable opponent. Ohio's defense could hold up against the Chips rushing offense generally, but the key will be minimizing the visitor's explosive play potential in the running and passing game.

For Ohio, the offense will make hay between the 30-yard lines, but its about finishing drives and not making costly mistakes against CMU's attacking, opportunistic defense.

We'll see who comes out on top by Saturday night.