CMU-Temple: Postgame notes

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - No Dan LeFevour, no problem for the football team tonight.

CMU beat Temple 24-14 facing another form of adversity - having to play without its star quarterback. But that's the beauty of having an experienced No. 2 guy like Brian Brunner on the sideline - that's a luxury few teams have these days. The way Brunner walked into the conference room, it was like his birthday today, getting a chance to play again and leading the team to a huge win. Although a couple of his throws were a bit off, he did what he had to do and made the right plays, including with his feet, to lead CMU to a win. With Ball State and Western Michigan winning as much as they are, every game in the MAC is huge these days.

But I think the unsung hero tonight was the entire defense. I talked a lot about the defense and its tendency to give up big plays late, especially against Buffalo and Purdue the last two games, but it clearly corrected that today. It held Temple to 108 yards of total offense in the 2nd half and no points. The four turnovers were the biggest part, though - two of them came on tipped passes that landed into junior safety Eric Fraser's hands.

Overall, this game was about the little things a team needs to do to win. CMU won the field position battle, putting the Owls on their one-yard line twice in the first half and returner Antonio Brown making big plays on punts. That fired up the Homecoming crowd of 22,114 and gave CMU extra energy. Creating turnovers was huge, as well as limiting them. Plus, you can't ask for a much better response to adversity with LeFevour leaving the game. Even if he wasn't ready for Western, having guys like Brunner as backups is so crucial to this team with injuries mounting up. The offensive line played well with its injuries, despite some high snaps from center Joe McMahon, who normally plays right guard.

Obviously, though, there's a big game coming next week. WMU enters next week's game 6-1, also 4-0 in the conference, and will pose a huge hurdle for CMU, even though it's the first MAC West game of the season for the Chippewas. But obviously, we'll cover all the bases this coming week. Have a good night, and feel free to comment on this game or the next!