 The 11th annual Motor City Bowl will take place at Detroit's Ford Field as defending Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan will be looking to defend its 2006 Motor City Bowl title against Purdue, only the second Big Ten team to play in the Motor City Bowl. The two squads met earlier this year, resulting in a 45-22 Purdue victory.
 December 26, 2007 - 7:30 pm ET
Purdue (7-5, 3-5 Big Ten) vs. Central Michigan (8-5, 7-1 MAC)
Coaches: Purdue - Joe Tiller (121-84-1 career; 82-54 at Purdue)
Central Michigan - Butch Jones (8-5, first year)
Site: Ford Field (Detroit, MI)
Series: Purdue Leads 3-0 (Last meeting: Purdue 45, CMU 22, Sept 15).
Television: ESPN
 Scouting Central Michigan
Offense: Central Michigan's prolific offensive attack is led by 2007 MAC Player of the Year, redshirt sophomore quarterback Dan LeFevour. LeFevour has racked up 4,368 yards in total offense this season, tops in the MAC and good for fifth nationally. LeFevour has proven to be equally proficient through the air (3,360 yards, 23 touchdowns) as on the ground (1,008 yards, 17 touchdowns), becoming only the second player in NCAA history to top 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in the same season, joining former Texas great Vince Young in the exclusive club. LeFevour's top targets this season have been fellow sophomore Bryan Anderson who has hauled in 83 receptions for 1,003 yards and seven  touchdowns, and MAC 2007 Freshman of the Year, Antonio Brown. Brown set a new single-season record for receptions in a season at Central Michigan with 98 catches. Brown's 909 yards and five touchdowns also topped all freshmen MAC wideouts this season but another freshman wide receiver, Kito Poblah, bears watching as well. Poblah came on strong at the end of the season, recording a touchdown in each of the Chippewas' last three contests. The ground attack, after LeFevour, has been led by juniors Ontario Sneed and Justin Hoskins. Sneed was the early season starter but was hampered with injuries during much of the season but nevertheless bounced back and stepped in for Hoskins as the starter in the MAC Championship, a 35-10 CMU victory over Miami, after Hoskins suffered a sprained ankle in the Chips' final regular season game. Combined, the tandem have recorded 1,133 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns. Hoskins is expected to be back to full health for the bowl game and will likely split time with Sneed against the Boilermakers. CMU's offensive line has done a solid job this season of pass protection, allowing only 14 sacks during the regular season which was tops in the MAC. The Chips' offense averaged nearly 43 points per game during conference play but only 14.3 points in its three contests against teams from BCS conferences, all losses.
Defense: Central Michigan has struggled most of the season on defense, allowing an average of 35.8 points per game and 450.2 yards per contest which is not just last in the MAC, but also 106th (out of 119) nationally. In their five losses, the Chippewas have surrendered an average of 51.8 points. Injuries wreaked havoc with the Chippewas' secondary throughout most of the season as opponents averaged more than 285 yards passing, but  heading into the Motor City Bowl the Chips' are the healthiest they have been in the secondary at any other point in the season with one starter, Curtis Cutts, out for the game while Calvin Hissong, Eric Fraser, Chaz West and Josh Gordy should all be back. Gordy tops the Chips in interceptions with four picks this season. The linebacking corps is led by talented senior Red Keith who tops the MAC in tackles, recording 139 stops so far this season. Playing alongside Keith is senior linebacker Ike Brown and freshman Nick Bellore who have accounted for 191 tackles. Sophomore defensive end Frank Zombo has had a strong season and has proven to be a difficult matchup this season, having recorded a team high 10.5 tackles for loss, including a team-best 7.5 quarterback sacks. While the numbers on the season have been fairly brutal, the Chips have shown significant improvement in their two most recent contests. In their season-ending victories over Akron and Miami, CMU allowed an average of 314 yards of offense and surrendered an average of 17.5 offensive points in those two contests. The Chips' defense also recorded four takeaways in their final two games.
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 37.5 yards per punt and has placed fifteen punts inside the opponents' twenty-yard line. The return duties have been the primary responsibility of former walk-on freshman Antonio Brown who has averaged 10.9 yards on punt returns this season and 27.7 yards on kick returns, including a 90-yard touchdown return this season. Brown set a new MAC freshman record this season with 2,080 all-purpose yards.
 Scouting Purdue
Offense: The Boilermakers present an offensive attack that is among the most dangerous in the Big Ten. Quarterback Curtis Painter has passed for 3,300 yards this season and his 26 touchdowns are tied for the most in the Big Ten. Painter has also been a solid decision maker, tossing only nine interceptions this season in over 500 attempts. Painter has several dangerous targets to choose from when passing the ball. Senior wide receiver Dorien Bryant was seventh in the Big Ten this season, recording 869 yards receiving and topped Purdue with eight touchdown receptions. A big part of Purdue's passing attack has also been the Boilermakers' 2007 team MVP, tight end Dustin Keller. Keller is second on the team in receptions, recording 61 catches for 731 yards  and six touchdowns. The ground attack is led by Kory Sheets who is currently tied for third all-time on the Purdue career rushing touchdown list. Sheets has thirty career touchdowns, which includes a team-leading nine rushing touchdowns this season. Sheets has been averaging a solid 5.3 yards per carry but has been splitting time in the latter part of the season with heir apparent, junior Jaycen Taylor. Taylor has come on very strong in the second-half of the season and racked up 537 yards rushing and is averaging a healthy 5.5 yards per carry. Overall the Boilermakers are averaging 32.9 points per game (2nd Big Ten) and 423.3 yards of offense per game (3rd Big Ten). Their average of 287.2 yards passing per game is good for second in the Big Ten but their average of 136.1 yards rushing places them in the bottom third of the league at ninth. Purdue has also been very efficient in the opponent's red-zone, ranking second in the Big Ten, scoring on 47-54 chances inside the twenty-yard line, including 35 touchdowns.
Defense: Purdue's defense is ranked eighth overall in the Big Ten, allowing 385.3 yards per game. The secondary has been a real concern for the Boilermakers who are without their two starting safeties who went  down with injuries earlier in the season. Purdue's passing defense is surrendering over 235 yards per game and has given up 15 touchdowns but that is not to say that Purdue is lacking in playmakers. Cornerback Terrell Vinson is third in the Big Ten with five interceptions and is second in the conference in passes defended to go along with a team-leading 78 tackles. Senior linebacker Cliff Heygood and senior defensive end Cliff Avril each registered a team-leading 14.5 tackles for loss, good for sixth in the Big Ten this past season. Avril also topped the Boilermakers with 6 quarterback sacks who have recorded only 24 quarterback sacks on the year, placing them ninth in the Big Ten in that category. Purdue is allowing an average of 149.4 yards rushing per game and did not allow an individual 100-yard rushing performance in nine of their twelve games and none in each of their seven victories.
Special Teams: Sophomore placekicker Chris Summers has had a solid season, converting on 15-19 field goal attempts but is only 3-6 beyond 40 yards. He has a long field goal of 50 yards on the season. Fifth year senior punter Jared Armstrong has averaged 40.7 yards per punt this season with fourteen of his 62 punts landing inside the opponents' twenty-yard line. The kick-off return game has been a significant strength this season for Purdue with wide receiver Dorien Bryant averaging 28.5 yards per return, tops in the Big Ten. Bryant has returned two kicks for a touchdown this season, including a season-long return of 98 yards. Bryant also handled punt return duties, but averaged only 4.5 yards per punt return this season.
MOTOR CITY BOWL HISTORY |
| Date |
Result |
Attendance |
| 12/26/97 |
Mississippi 34, Marshall 31. |
43,340 |
| 12/23/98 |
Marshall 48, Louisville 29. |
38,016 |
| 12/27/99 |
Marshall 21, Brigham Young 3. |
44,449 |
| 12/27/00 |
Marshall 25, Cincinnati 14. |
44,911 |
| 12/29/01 |
Toledo 23, Cincinnati 16. |
44,164 |
| 12/26/02 |
Boston College 51, Toledo 25. |
45,761 |
| 12/26/03 |
Bowling Green 28, Northwestern 24. |
51,286 |
| 12/27/04 |
Connecticut 39, Toledo 10. |
52,552 |
| 12/26/05 |
Memphis 38, Akron 31. |
45,801 |
| 12/26/06 |
Central Michigan 31, Middle Tennessee St. 14. |
54,113 |
PURDUE BOWL HISTORY (7-7) |
| Year |
Bowl |
Opponent |
Result |
| 1967 |
Rose Bowl |
USC |
W 14-13 |
| 1978 |
Peach Bowl |
Georgia Tech |
W 41-21 |
| 1979 |
Bluebonnet Bowl |
Tennessee |
W 27-22 |
| 1980 |
Liberty Bowl |
Missouri |
W 28-25 |
| 1984 |
Peach Bowl |
Virginia |
L 24-27 |
| 1997 |
Alamo Bowl |
Oklahoma State |
W 33-20 |
| 1998 |
Alamo Bowl |
Kansas State |
W 37-34 |
| 2000 |
Outback Bowl |
Georgia |
L 25-28 (OT) |
| 2001 |
Rose Bowl |
Washington |
L 24-34 |
| 2001 |
Sun Bowl |
Washington State |
L 27-33 |
| 2002 |
Sun Bowl |
Washington |
W 34-24 |
| 2004 |
Capital One Bowl |
Georgia |
L 27-34 (OT) |
| 2004 |
Sun Bowl |
Arizona State |
L 23-27 |
| 2006 |
Champs Sports Bowl |
Maryland |
L 7-24 |
CENTRAL MICHIGAN BOWL HISTORY (1-2) |
| Year |
Bowl |
Opponent |
Result |
| 1990 |
California Raisin Bowl |
San Jose State |
L 24-48 |
| 1991 |
Las Vegas Bowl |
UNLV |
L 24-52 |
| 2006 |
Motor City Bowl |
Middle Tennessee St. |
W 31-14 |
|
Analysis: These two squads met earlier this season and Purdue came away with a 45-22 victory in West Lafayette. In their earlier season clash, the Boilermakers stormed out to a 38-0 lead before the Chippewas scored 22 straight points to make it a respectable contest.
Purdue started the season 5-0 but stumbled down the stretch, losing five of their last seven games, including ending the season on a three-game losing skid.
Central Michigan started the season 1-3 under first year head coach Butch Jones but finished strongly, including a 7-1 mark in the Mid-American Conference. The Chips though have struggled badly against teams from the BCS this season, dropping their three contests to Kansas, Purdue and Clemson (all bowl teams) by an average score of 57-14.
It may be overstating the obvious, but the key for both teams will lie in the passing game. In their first meeting, Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter tossed three touchdowns and passed for 360 yards and had one of his best games of the season. Painter has been inconsistent however down the stretch as the Boilermakers finished the season by going winless in November. Meanwhile Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour has been steady as a rock for the Chippewas' offense and twice this season accounted for over 500 total yards in a single game. Both teams have secondary issues with Purdue losing both of its starting safeties. Central Michigan meanwhile was missing most of its starters at one time or another in the secondary throughout the season. Combined these two squads are surrendering an average of 542 yards passing per game.
As the season progressed, Central Michigan became a much better squad and the current Chippewas team bears little resemblance to the squad that was defeated at Purdue earlier in the year, especially on defense. Conversely, Purdue has gone into a tailspin since their fast start but the Boilermakers still possess plenty of playmakers. The Chippewas come into this game feeling they have something to prove against BCS competition and look at the Motor City Bowl as their equivalent of the Rose Bowl. Motivation on the Purdue side has been a bit of a question mark but is that enough for the Chips to score their first win over a Big Ten squad since defeating Michigan State in 1992?
The Chips are closing the gap and should make a game of it, but will need a couple of breaks in order to pull the upset in what could turn into a good old fashioned shoot-out.
Prediction: Purdue 34, Central Michigan 27.
Statistical Comparison |
| |
Central Michigan |
Purdue |
| Points Per Game |
33.8 |
32.9 |
| Points Per Game Allowed |
35.8 |
24.8 |
| First Downs Per Game |
23.6 |
23.8 |
| Rushing Average |
182.8 |
136.1 |
| Rushing Average Allowed |
165.4 |
149.4 |
| Passing Average |
265.1 |
235.9 |
| Passing Average Allowed |
284.8 |
287.2 |
| Total Offense Average |
447.9 |
423.3 |
| Total Offense Average Allowed |
450.2 |
385.3 |
| Punts/Net Average |
62/32.2 |
62/36.3 |
| Penalties/Yards Per Game |
79/62.7 |
71/48.7 |
| Fumbles/Lost |
15/10 |
22/12 |
| Time of Possession |
27:48 |
30:00 |
|
