CMU keeps on rolling in rout of UMass

I had a good friend back in high school. Ok, I might have had more than one. But as my best friend, it was him that I spent the most time around, and as a result, ended up watching a fair amount of sports on TV with him and his father.

The two of them were avid Michigan State fans, and due to my father's alma mater being Indiana university, there was a fair amount of friendly banter when the two would play each other, which for those of you who have no knowledge of college sports, happens quite often.

Now aside from this duo's trademark arsenal of jeers and complaints directed at officials in the games, they had another oft used sentiment that I have since attributed to them.

If at any point Michigan St. was blowing out Indiana (or any opponent, for that matter), the following exchange would occur.

Dad: H, do you smell something?
Son: I...I think...I think I smell a skunk.

This is how the two would broadcast that one team was being "skunked". Synonyms for the term might include being "whooped" "blown out" or "shellacked".

So aside from being a completely ridiculous term from my friend and his dad, the term was more or less assimilated into my vocabulary.

As I braved the cold at Kelly/Shorts Stadium yesterday, and yes, I do mean it when I say the weather was frigid, I smelled the skunk.

I wasn't exactly surprised by CMU skunking the lowly Minutemen from UMass, but I was rather surprised by how thoroughly it happened.

Supported by a few hundred loyal fans, the Chippewas moved the ball at will against the Minutemen, scoring easily through the air and suffocating any counterattack by UMass on defense.

Offensively, the team did very well, especially through the air. Cooper Rush, coming off a poor performance against Western Michigan, put up very solid, if not spectacular numbers. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns. Not surprisingly, most of this damage was done by passes to Titus Davis, who caught 7 passes for 154 yards and two spectacular 30 yard touchdown receptions.

Defensively, the Chippewas benefited from facing the 124th ranked offense in the country, as the Minutemen average just 10.4 points per game. However, the defense did not take their opponent for granted, registering three interceptions for good measure and pitching the shutout. Additionally, safety Tony Annese, making just his second career start, returned a pick to the house for the second time in as many games.

Perhaps it was the sad play of the Minutemen, or perhaps the weather (I've never heard so many people say some variation of "it's cold out here" so many times in one hour span in my life), but this game hardly felt real from a fan perspective. It seemed like a glorified scrimmage, and yet it was a very necessary game for the Chips to win as they look to remain bowl eligible and taste the postseason for the second straight year.

Next on the schedule is the final game of the regular season, a showdown at Kelly Shorts against the hapless Eastern Michigan Eagles, a team that has given Central it's fair share of trouble in recent years, despite their miserable record over that span. As always, you can come here for a detailed analysis of the game.  Until then, have a very happy thanksgiving, eat a boatload of turkey or whatever it is that your family eats. Just don't touch the croissants, those are all mine.