2026 MAC Football Week 3 Game Preview: Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Wyoming Cowboys

Central Michigan (1-1) did not win any beauty contests last Saturday, needing four turnovers on defense and two late touchdowns to bridge the early gap and beat FCS Colgate, but head coach Matt Drinkall chose to look at the result as "a blessing."

"I don't know if we're sitting here [talking about where the team can improve] if we won Saturday 49 to 7," Drinkall said during press availability this week. "How much better does [a game like that] make us for the Miami game or the Ohio game, Western Michigan game? ... [O]ur fans better be mad. They better hope we win by a lot more than that. They should. That's what their job is to. But for us to battle through and fight with all that growth, that was huge, huge, huge for our development."

Drinkall– along with the fanbase– will hope such suffering through adversity can turn into tangible, positive results against Mountain West Conference program Wyoming (1-1), which had their own similar brush with an FCS Northern Colorado last week.

Either way the game goes, it will be a raucous environment, as Saturday sees multiple theme days at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, including Traditions Day with the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe, CMU and You Day for prospective students, and High School Band Day.

Game Notes

• Date and Time: Saturday, Sept. 19th, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time
• Location: Kramer-Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
• TV options: The game will stream exclusively on ESPN+. A valid subscription is required for viewing.
• CMU radio: Adam Jaksa (play-by-play) and Brock Gutierrez (color) will provide the CMU call for WUPS-FM 98.5.
• Gambling Considerations: Wyoming is an 1.5-point road favorite, with an over/under set around 38.5, per Covers.
• All-Time Series: Wyoming is 2-1 all-time in three meetings, two of which were in the regular season. The last game between the two teams was in the 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, with Wyoming winning 37-14 in Josh Allen's last college start.

Wyoming outlook

If you're a Central fan looking at Wyoming's box score from last week's game against Northern Colorado, you'll get a case of deja vu.

Wyoming had to bridge a 13-7 deficit heading in the fourth quarter and score 14 points in the final 12 minutes of game action to pick up a 21-13 victory over the Bears– not too dissimilar from how CMU had to do the same against Colgate.

Even going back to the previous week, Wyoming took a lopsided 35-15 loss on national television to a mid-major peer in the form of the PAC-12's Colorado State. Sounds familiar, no?

Jay Sawvel, who served as defensive coordinator under Craig Bohl prior to the latter's retirement, is in his third season as head man– and much like his Central counterpart, he wants the 'Pokes to win in the trenches via the run and a strong defense.

Speaking of, the 2025 Cowboys defense was one of the best in the NCAA despite the team's overall struggles, ranking second in the NCAA in redzone defense, 13th in passing defense (175.5 yards allowed) and 30th in scoring defense (20.5 points allowed on average). 2026's unit is decimated, returning only two starters from last season and will need some time to gel.

Not a single starter along the defensive line or at linebacker from 2025 returns, making true sophomore defensive end Esaia Bogar essential for the Cowboys, with two TFLs, a sack and 12 total tackles. Fellow end Jack Dunkley (2.5 TFLs) has also held it down. A pair of linebackers head the tackling charts in Ethan Stuhlsatz (26 tackles, TFL, three QB hurries) and Gary Rutherford (14 tackles), while safety Jones Thomas– the team's leading returning tackler from last year– has starred with 14 tackles and both of the team's picks in last week's win.

The Pokes have been airtight in against the run, allowing no scores on the ground while averaging 149 yards. However, pass defense has been a concern as Wyoming is starting two true freshmen on the corners, allowing 224 yards on average and six total touchdowns through the air.

Wyoming returns two starters along the line in Rex Johnsen and Braylon Jenkins, who combined for 18 starts in '25, and little else.

QB Tyler Hughes transfers in from FCS William & Mary, where he was third-team all-CAA after tossing for 2,330 yards on a 66 percent completion rate for 20 touchdowns and three interceptions, while also rushing for 670 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wyoming rotate between two halfbacks, with Tote Harris carrying the majority of the load at 27 carries, 111 yards and a touchdown. Markel Hollmon has 94 rush yards on the year to go along with a team-leading five receptions for 27 yards. as a spell back. Hughes also contributes in the run game with 78 yards and a score.

Tight ends are the star of the passing offense in Laramie, with three capable contributors. Jake Wilson returns after missing all of 2025 with injury and leads the team with five catches for 86 yards, with Kyle Frend hauling in a game-winning touchdown. Charlie Coenen (five catches, 46 yards) is the main outside threat.

Special teams has been stellar in the punt unit, with Bart Edminston's 49.4 yards per punt average setting the tone. Placekicker Evan Sandvik has yet to be truly tested, sitting at 2-of-2. He went 6-of-11 last season, debuting against Akron.

Central Michigan Outlook

The Chippewas are sitting at 1-1, and just barely at that, but every week is a new one. The hope for Central is that they've learned their lessons and can apply them to a new opponent.

CMU will be dealing with some new injuries which will affect their offense; fullback Rusty VanWetzinga IV will be out for several weeks due to an MCL sprain, while tight end Jaden Allen (who also plays at H-back/fullback) will miss time due to finger surgery. That means we'll be seeing true sophomore Landon Swanson get more playing time.

The Chippewas have looked non-functional on offense outside of a few drives in 2026, sitting second-worse in the NCAA in passing yards (53.0 average), while rushing at a middling 159.5 yards per game. That's a decent number until you realize CMU ran the ball at a 70 percent clip last year.

CMU has to this point stayed committed to a quarterback rotation, featuring three contributors each getting prepared drives. However, Drinkall suggested primary quarterback Angel Flores will "take the lead" after being impressed by Flores' second-half performance against Colgate– which included a 50-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-one from midfield.

"We played really well in the second-half with him," Drinkall said. "He's a captain. He gets us right. But you'll see him kind of take the lead as far as he played really well. He does a great job when he operates the offense. He's a tremendous player. He's like having an extra coach out there. Just the steadiness and consistency we kind of need that he really provides and does a great job of that. And those other guys will be ready to go when they get sprinkled in and play. And when they do play, they will do a tremendous job."

To try and jumpstart the offense due to difficulties passing, CMU has gotten receivers Langston Lewis (four carries, 23 yards) and Nasir Williams (23 yard rush) going on jet and reverse looks. They're also reliable outside receivers in conventional passing looks.

As discussed before, CMU does rely on toting the rock the vast majority of the time. Flores leads the team in that category with 149 yards and a touchdown. They'll also rely on a pair of transfer backs in Vaughn Blue (Liberty) and Jayden Clerveaux (Holy Cross) to move the chains.

Defensively, the Chippewas have been stout, sitting on four forced turnovers (two fumbles, two interceptions) to rank 14th in fumble recoveries and 30th interceptions at the NCAA level. They've also limited opponents to 251.5 total yards of offense, good for second in the MAC, ranked 26th in passing defense (141.5 yards allowed on average.)

The front seven has looked strong even despite the circumstances, with Xavier White's 17 tackles leading the way. Transfer backers Mayson Hitchens (15 tackles, INT) and Brett McCalla (12 tackles) have keyed into the rotation, with Hitchens proving the hero against Colgate last week on a game-sealing pick. Jaxon Cherry has burst onto the scene with seven tackles, a half-TFL, a half-sack and a forced fumbler from the interior, while Korver Demma leads the attack with 1.5 TFLs and a sack.

Wyoming transfer defensive back Justin Taylor starts at safety for CMU, and has seven tackles and a pass break-up credited to him. Northern Colorado transfer Darrell Bryant Jr. has been a force in the secondary, with 13 tackles and an interception which positioned Central to come back vs. Colgate last week. He pairs well with Jaion Jackson (seven tackles, half-TFL, half-sack, two PBUs) on the outside.

Special teams have been an adventure, with Caden VanHuis missing a short field goal and having an extra point blocked last week. Declan Dooley is 28th in the NCAA in punting average (43.6 yards per punt), setting up a potential field position battle.

Game Outlook

These two teams are basically the same on paper, with lots of question marks surrounding how they'll look going into their conference seasons.

The oddsmakers have this as Wyoming being a road favorite– but not by much, at just 1.5 points. The game truly does feel like a toss-up looking at it, but both these teams are second-half programs so far; it'll be about surviving the first half and positioning for the stretch run.

Pick who you like, but the under is certainly in play.