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What is their body of work?
CMU has generally been a strong MAC program. They rode the wave through the Brian Kelly and Butch Jones era. Then, things went off the rails, through Dan Enos and John Bonamego, going 48-65 over that time. They brought in Jim McElwain, who was a former coach for Florida. He was 20-13 with two bowl games. They were picked to be #3 in the West.
They are not having a great season. They are 2-5, with wins over Bucknell and Akron. Their losses are UT and BSU in the MAC, along with Penn State, Oklahoma State and South Alabama. They are 1-2 at home this year.
CMU is a 6.5 point favorite.
How experienced are they?
This is a very young team. They have 15 juniors or seniors on their two deep.
Who are their nationally ranked players?
Donte Kent is #3 in passes defended
Thomas Incoom is #8 in TFL
What is their turnover ratio?
They are -7. This is amazing. They have lost 10 fumbles.
Offense
How is their QB play?
He's not great, #11 in the MAC in passing efficiency. He has 56% completions, 13 TD over 4 INT and 11 yards a completion, which is not enough to warrant such a low completion percentage. He can run but does not do it very much.
What is their scoring and yards per play
They are #7 in scoring and 8th in yards per play.
Can they run the ball?
Despite the presence of a true bell cow, they are #8 in yards per carry. They have Lew Nichols back there, who led FBS with 1,800 yards last year and was MAC Offensive player of the year. Despite 133 carries this year, he is averaging only 3.6 yards per carry. He was DNP-Injured last week against Akron.
Do they pass the ball?
As noted above, not great. Their top two receivers are mostly possession guys.
How is their run/pass balance?
Their play mix is fairly normal, running on 47% of their plays.
Do they convert on 3rd Down?
At 33% they are 11th.
Do they score in the red zone?
It is poor at 4.8 points per trip with 8 empty trips in 28 tries.
Do they protect the quarterback?
Pretty typical. Sacks on 6% of their pass attempts.
Defense:
Topline: Scoring and yards per play
They are a better defensive team. They are #4 in scoring defense and third in yards per play allowed.
Do they defend the run effectively?
They are very difficult to run on. They are #3 at 3.4 yards per carry.
Can they be passed on?
They are 5th in defensive pass efficiency. They allow 61% completions, 14 TD and 2 INT and 11.4 yards per catch.
Do they get off the field on 3rd down?
They do. They lead the MAC at 31% allowed.
Do they defend in the red zone?
Not great, 5.1 points per trip.
Do they pressure the QB?
Pretty good. Sacks on 7.4% of passing attempts.
Special Teams:
Punting?
They are 2nd in the MAC in net punting.
Punt Return?
They are #6 in punt returns, but that buries the lede. They have blocked 4 punts this year.
Placekicking?
They are not good at all. Their two kickers are 3-10, with a long of 48.
Kickoff?
Teams start on the 26.
Kickoff Return?
They start on the 26.
Intangible Miscellany
CMU is a lot like Miami. They aren't great on offense but play strong defense. The biggest difference is their huge number of turnovers. As we wait to see if BG can play consistently for a few weeks in a row, they need much of what they had against Miami. They need to run the ball effectively and they need to lock down a less than great CMU offense and do it on the road
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