2023 MAC Football Week 13 Game Preview: Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Toledo

The Toledo Rockets (10-1, 7-0 MAC West) are set make the journey up I-75 to take on the Central Michigan Chippewas (5-6, 3-4 MAC West) for a Black Friday matchup to end the regular season.

There’s plenty of stakes on the line in what otherwise looks like regular football fodder from an outside glance, with the Chippewas in a must-win situation in order to guarantee a bowl game appearance, while the Rockets need to continue to win in order to make an impression on pollsters. (Toledo has been ranked by the Associated Press in their Top 25 poll, but has not been ranked by the College Football Playoff as of publication.)

With that in mind, we look at both these teams’ outlooks for one last time in the regular season.

Game notes

• Time and date: Friday, November 24th, 2023 at 12 p.m. Eastern time
• Network: ESPNU (A valid subscription is required.)
• Location: Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Short Stadium in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
• Gambling considerations: Toledo are 10.5-point road favorites, with an over/under of 54.5, per DraftKings.
• All-time series and streak: Toledo leads the series at 28-20-3, with results dating back to 1928. The two teams have split the last four meetings, with the home team winning each time.
• Last meeting: Toledo was comfortable throughout in an early conference tilt, winning 38-17 on Oct. 1, 2022.

Getting to know the Chippewas

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The Chippewas are a group coming in on a two-game losing streak and hoping to finally clinch a bowl bid in their home confines. It’s been a tough stretch of games for the Maroon and Gold, as they’ve gone 1-3 over their last four contests, with their lone win against NIU nearly turning sour as they choked away a three-score game late.

The losses have been particularly brutal, with a one-win Ball State launching their new run of form on the Chips, blood rival Western Michigan (who was 3-6 coming into the game) taking home two trophies by stopping a late rally and Ohio thoroughly outclassing the Chips in a game which was never close.

What once looked like a potential 7-8 win season at the halfway mark of the season threatens to become a lost cause if they cannot find a positive result.

The Chips will rely mostly on the run game, as they keep the ball on the ground at about a 60-40 clip. Marion Lukes (129 rush, 684 yards, five touchdowns) has shouldered the majority of that load for CMU, with Myles Bailey (92 rush, 425 yards, three touchdowns) in and out of the lineup with injuries. Both quarterbacks also feature prominently in the run game, though defenses have keyed in on that lately.

Jase Bauer will once again be the likely starter at QB, as he has been since Week 4 vs. South Alabama, when he broke out for five total touchdowns in an upset of the Jaguars as a double-digit underdog….