Monday quick snaps

Good afternoon!

I never got a chance to really comment on CMU's 24-23 win last Saturday, so I'm going to do that now. I've come to realize my laptop is not all that reliable when it comes to getting an internet connection, so again, I was having trouble - plus, I had to leave pretty quick to attend that night's Journalism Hall of Fame Banquet in Mount Pleasant. I made it, albeit 5 minutes late or so.

If there's anything to take away from the win over Toledo, it's this: CMU finds ways to win. Despite having a ton of underclassmen on the team and very few seniors, as coach Butch Jones will tell you, this is the most experienced group in the Mid-American Conference, moreso than even Ball State. The Rockets are an inconsistent group, but they brought a lot of energy into the Glass Bowl. They already were 0-3 at home heading into the game and they're playing the back-to-back MAC champs. Of course they're going to bring their A-game.

But, as we've seen time and time again, CMU doesn't panic in these cases. Dan LeFevour doesn't panic. Neither does Ontario Sneed, or Bryan Anderson, or anybody on that team. They do enough to get the job done, and that's why they're a MAC-best 5-0 in the conference. The biggest margin of victory for the Chippewas in those five games is 10 points.

Ball State knows how to crush teams, but the real question is this: Does it know how to win slug-it-out or grind-it-out games? That's something it may have to prove when it comes to Central on Nov. 19. We've seen it a lot in the National Football League and even in BCS play: The best teams are those that know how to win the close ones. I'm not saying BSU can't do that, but it certainly hasn't proven it yet, especially with a schedule as weak as theirs. And at this point, the victors of Nov. 19 may very well play in the MAC Championship, unless Northern Illinois has something to say about that. WMU would have to hope CMU loses twice for it to have any chance.

Now... on to this week. Even though Indiana's not a MAC team, this game is certainly big for CMU. This is probably the greatest chance the team has had at a Big Ten victory in a long time. Although the Hoosiers just beat a very good and then-ranked Northwestern team, they're still an inconsistent ballclub that gives up quite a few points. Plus, quarterback Kellen Lewis is fighting injuries. The line right now has Indiana at -2.5, which sounds about right at this point, but I think a lot of CMU fans are expecting victory out of this game. And really, that would give Central a huge energy boost heading into critical MAC games against NIU and Ball State.

More to come this week!