Central/Eastern: Aftermath

YPSILANTI, Mich. - Eastern Michigan 56, Central Michigan 52. I am not so sure where to begin with this game, expect with the fact that the line looks like a basketball score.

As I've said before, this game had very little implication, expect maybe for CMU's chances at a bowl game, but yet things still got interesting. I haven't covered a game quite like it - yeah, things got a bit emotional, but even what was going on on the field was strange enough. Head to cm-life.com for a breaking news story on all of that.

The CMU defense, from the bottom up, does not have much of an excuse for this game. Sure, it's missing defensive backs Eric Fraser, Josh Gordy and Vince Agnew. But 56 points - in three quarters? EMU quarterback Andy Schmitt, despite entering this game with nothing near the accolades of other MAC guys like Dan LeFevour, Nate Davis or Tim Hiller, still managed to break an NCAA record with 58 completions. Those went for 516 yards, five touchdowns and an interception (tipped by receiver Jacory Stone).

The main reason, to me, falls down to the pass rush. It was not good enough. Schmitt had all kinds of time in the pocket to make throws and was able to scramble and buy more time almost at will. The four-man pass rush just has to work better, something it has been up-and-down at all season long. Once the Chippewas started blitzing more often in the second half, the Eagles found ways to pass underneath and set up solid screens. EMU looked exceptionally prepared today. CMU didn't.

So now what? Central is likely to enter a bowl game no matter what. It's not 100 percent certain, obviously, but I don't see any way it would miss out with the Pac 10 unlikely to fill all its bowl spots. If Oregon State beats Oregon and clinches the Rose Bowl, then that conference will send two teams to the BCS (USC) and that would open TWO spots, which likely are the Hawaii Bowl and the Las Vegas Bowl. So the MAC should get a fourth bowl, and for all we know at this point, it could go to Western anyway and send CMU to GMAC.

All we can do right now is wait and see. The Chippewas end their season on two straight losses, so they have made their bed. It's all up to this final week of play, plus the MAC title game on Friday (Ball State vs. Buffalo), to decide the rest.