Five Burning Questions

1. What's the overall consensus after Central's disappointing 32-25 loss to Purdue? Is this a moral victory for the program?
Not by any means. The team fought as hard as it had all season, and looked a lot like the team we saw in the second half of the Motor City Bowl last year, but let's put it this way: In that game, Central lost by 3. In this game, they lost by 7. No matter what environment you're playing in, you cannot look at it as a victory for the program, nor can you look at it as the team making strides- it lost! Was it easier to watch for Chippewas fans instead of a 45-22 blowout? Sure- but you cannot look at it as a victory on any sort of level. The team lost. The only thing it can do now is move on to Buffalo.

2. Was coach Butch Jones' call for a two-point conversion to go for the win a good move?
I would say yes, even if the team didn't get it. I think the call said a lot about Jones' coaching ability after already playing Purdue three times in 18 games. Going for two was a huge confidence boost for the Chippewas' offense and it caught the Boilermakers off guard. It instills that belief that Jones talks about, that they can be as good as they want to be. The call was by far Jones' riskiest, but it was a game-defining call and this time, it paid off.

3. With Ball State beating Indiana 42-20 over the weekend, is CMU no longer the team to beat?
I guess it depends who you ask. They're still the two-time defending MAC champions, and teams all over the MAC are still going after what they have. At the same time, though, the Cardinals, at 4-0, are looking as strong as they have in their history. I do think that right now, they're the best MAC team. The loss of Dante Love is huge, but at the same time, Ball State pulled away from Indiana without him playing. I'm sure they will miss his playmaking ability in the coming weeks, but the Cardinals are still going to pack a punch, and like I said, could enter the CMU game 9-1 or better. Watch out.

4. As a preliminary analysis, what do you expect from Buffalo this weekend?
Nothing that we expected from CMU's last game against Buffalo (W 55-28 in 2006). This team is much, much improved. Their offense has a lot of great players, particularly in quarterback Drew Willy and running back James Starks. Honestly, I think the Chippewas are going to need a similar defensive performance this week as they had the last. Expect a close game, but I think after the Purdue outcome, CMU's going to come our energized for its first home game in a month.

5. How excited are you to get off the road?
You wouldn't believe. Add up 28 hours of driving to Georgia and back, 14 hours of driving to Ohio and back, and 10 hours of driving to Purdue and back... that's 52 hours of driving in three weeks. I haven't had a good night's sleep since the beginning of it. The players and coaches have got to be relieved that they get to stay here for a month. No more Friday bus trips or plane flights for awhile!