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 It's the culmination to a wild, unpredictable 2007 season of football in the Mid-American Conference as defending MAC champion Central Michigan battles Miami in the MAC championship game from Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, December 1. The Chippewas will be seeking their sixth conference title while Miami is in search of a record 14th MAC football championship.
December 1, 2007 - MAC Championship
Miami (6-6, 5-2 MAC) vs. Central Michigan (7-5, 6-1 MAC), 11:00 am ET
Site: Ford Field (Detroit, MI)
Series: Miami Leads 11-9-1 (Last meeting: Central Michigan 38, Miami 37 in 2005).
Television: ESPN2
Storyline 1: This game will feature four postseason award winners as Central Michigan is led by 2007 MAC Offensive Player of the Year, quarterback Dan LeFevour, and 2007 MAC Freshman of the Year, wide receiver Antonio Brown. Miami meanwhile boasts the 2007 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, linebacker Clayton Mullins and MAC Report Online's 2007 Coach of the Year, Shane Montgomery.
Storyline 2: The game also pits the league's leaders on offense and defense with Central Michigan owning the MAC's top scoring offense while Miami possesses the MAC's top scoring defense.
 Scouting Central Michigan
Offense: The Chippewas, under first year head coach Butch Jones, enter their Mid-American Conference title tilt behind a prolific offensive attack that has averaged 42.9 points and 511.6 yards of offense per game in MAC play this season. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Dan LeFevour is clearly the straw that stirs the drink for CMU. LeFevour tops the conference with 4,013 all-purpose yards this season which includes a team-leading 838 yards rushing. LeFevour has accounted for 37 touchdowns and needs only five rushing touchdowns to become only the second player in NCAA history (joining Florida's Tim Tebow) to pass and rush for at least twenty touchdowns in a single season. With another 162 yards rushing LeFevour would also join more elite company, becoming the only quarterback other than  Vince Young to pass for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in the same season. LeFevour already owns several school passing records with two years of eligibility remaining. This season LeFevour's favorite target has been Antonio Brown, a true freshman walk-on who has hauled in a school record 92 receptions and earlier this season shattered the MAC single-season record for all-purpose yards by a freshman. Brown tops the MAC, averaging 7.67 receptions per game while fellow wideout, sophomore Bryan Anderson, ranks fifth in the MAC in receiving and has caught a team-leading seven aerial scores. While LeFevour has been the Chips' top ground gainer, former Notre Dame transfer tailback Justin Hoskins has emerged as the Chips' top backfield threat with 649 yards rushing and ten touchdowns while junior Ontario Sneed, who has spent much of the season battling injuries, has come on strong late in the year and accounted for 417 yards rushing during the regular season. The Chips' offensive line has allowed only 14 sacks this season, tops in the MAC.
Defense: It's a good thing that Central Michigan can score points because the Chips have not been able to keep many opponents off the scoreboard this season and are surrendering a MAC-worst 462.2 yards and 38 points per game. The Chippewas' pass defense has been particularly susceptible this season and has surrendered thirty touchdowns, most in the MAC and third most in the nation. Central Michigan's secondary however has resembled a veritable M*A*S*H* unit this season with critical injuries to so many starters that at  one point wide receiver Jemmy Jasmin took a turn at cornerback for the shorthanded unit. The Chips should get a lift however against Miami with their top aerial thief, sophomore defensive back Josh Gordy, who leads Central Michigan with four interceptions, expected to return to the starting lineup after missing several games due to injury. The strength of the Chippewas defense is best personified by senior linebacker Red Keith who is tied for the MAC lead in tackles this season with 129 while fellow linebacker Ike Brown is second on the squad in tackles for loss with eight stops behind the line of scrimmage. An imposing presence on the Chippewas' defensive line has been sophomore defensive end Frank Zombo who tops the team with 10.5 TFL and 7.5 quarterback sacks. There is no denying however that defense has been the Chippewas Achilles Heel this season, having surrendered 44 or more points on five different occasions.
Special Teams: Placekicker Andrew Aguila has connected on 7-12 field goal attempts this season with a long field goal of 51 yards but is only 2-6 from beyond 30 yards. Punter Tony Mikula is averaging 37.7 yards per punt. Antonio Brown averaged 12.4 yards on punt returns this season and 27.7 yards on kick returns, including a 90-yard touchdown return this season.
 Scouting Miami
Offense: The RedHawks offense at times has been a mishmash of interchangeable parts this season, necessitated by injuries to key starters. The Miami offense is averaging only twenty points per game, which ranks eleventh overall in the conference this season. Miami's struggling rushing attack was dealt a setback early in the season when both starting tailback Brandon Murphy and his backup, Andre Bratton, both went down with injuries and have missed the past nine games. In their absence,  seniors Austin Sykes and Cory Jones have shouldered the rushing load and have combined for 924 yards but only five rushing scores. Sykes, who is averaging 4.5 yards per carry, missed Miami's last contest against Ohio but is expected back in the starting lineup for the RedHawks' title game. Jones, who is averaging 4.8 yards per attempt, rushed for 103 yards in the RedHawks' regular-season finale, a 38-29 loss to Ohio. Miami's signal-caller, Daniel Raudabaugh, took over the starting reigns midway through the season in relief of senior Mike Kokal who struggled through injuries himself and had only tossed one touchdown against seven interceptions before being benched. Since taking over, Raudabaugh has fared better while leading Miami down the stretch on its division-clinching run but has struggled over the last two contests, throwing five interceptions and only one touchdown. Eugene Harris and Dustin Woods lead Miami's receiving corps with each topping 500 yards receiving this season but together have only accounted for three touchdowns as part of a passing offense that has thrown for a MAC lowest twelve scores this season. The offensive line has yielded 28 sacks this season, which is tied for 10th in the conference.
Defense: The RedHawks made their run to the MAC East title on the strength of a defense that has allowed 14  or fewer points five times this season and an average of only 13.6 points in its five conference victories. Miami also recorded the MAC's only shutout this season when it defeated Akron 7-0 November 14, scoring the game's only score on a defensive touchdown when linebacker Clayton Mullins sacked Akron's Carlton Jackson and defensive end Craig Mester rumbled into the end zone after recovering Jackson's fumble. Mullins has been the heart of possibly the MAC's top linebacking corps and finished tied with CMU's Red Keith for the league lead in tackles during the regular season with 129 stops while also leading the RedHawks with 13.5 tackles for loss. As a starting unit, Miami's linebackers; junior Clayton Mullins, junior Joey Hudson and sophomore Caleb Bostic, have combined for a phenomenal 313 tackles, including 32.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks. Miami tops the MAC with thirty quarterback sacks this season which is good enough for 32nd nationally. The RedHawks have been equally stout against the run and the pass, ranking third in the MAC in both defensive categories and are tied with Temple atop the MAC charts in allowing only 38 touchdowns this season. When not put into difficult position by their offense, Miami's defense has been by far the most dominant in the MAC this season.
Special Teams: Nathan Parseghian has emerged as the RedHawks' primary placekicker after Trevor Cook struggled, hitting only 5-10 FG attempts. Parseghian has connected on 12-17 FG efforts with a season-best long effort of 42 yards. Parseghian is 5-5 inside of thirty yards but only 7-12 beyond thirty yards. Junior punter Jake Richardson has had a solid season, averaging 45 yards per punt, including 23 punts that have traveled fifty yards or better. Eugene Harris is averaging 9.7 yards per punt return and Jamal Rogers has averaged 22.6 yards per kick return.
Forecast: This is a classic matchup of the league's most explosive offense against the MAC's stingiest scoring defense and the old adage of course says that a good defense beats a good offense but that may not apply here.
In conference play Miami has not faced an offense as explosive as that possessed by Central Michigan. The Chippewas have been nearly unstoppable on offense against MAC opposition and, other than a misstep against Eastern Michigan, have had the ability to overcome a very suspect defense. The RedHawks come in however with everything on the line, knowing that a loss sends them home for the season with a losing record of 6-7 and therefore can be expected to leave nothing on the field in trying to reach a bowl destination so expect to see more than a couple of potential gadget plays and fourth-down conversion efforts from the RedHawks.
But the difference here is likely going to be CMU QB Dan LeFevour who has led the Chips to several dramatic wins and manages the Central Michigan offense like a maestro conducting a symphony orchestra, rarely panicking and making the right decisions. CMU has too many weapons and while their defense will surrender points, their offense will do what it has done all season and score just enough to overcome any defensive shortcomings.
Prediction: Central Michigan 38, Miami 27.
Who do our readers pick?
Central Michigan: 67.1%
Miami: 32.9%
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