2008 Central Michigan Chippewas football team

The 2008 Central Michigan Chippewas football team represented Central Michigan University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Central Michigan competed as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Chippewas were led by second-year head coach Butch Jones.

2008 Central Michigan Chippewas football
Motor City Bowl, L 21–24 vs. Florida Atlantic
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	8–5 (6–2 MAC)
Head coach	Butch Jones (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Bajakian (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Tim Banks (2nd season)
Home stadium	Kelly/Shorts Stadium (capacity: 30,255)
Seasons ← 2007 2009 →

2008 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Buffalo x$		5	–	3					8	–	6
Bowling Green		4	–	4					6	–	6
Temple		4	–	4					5	–	7
Ohio		3	–	5					4	–	8
Akron		3	–	5					5	–	7
Kent State		3	–	5					4	–	8
Miami (OH)		1	–	7					2	–	10
West Division
Ball State x		8	–	0					12	–	2
Central Michigan		6	–	2					8	–	5
Western Michigan		6	–	2					9	–	4
Northern Illinois		5	–	3					6	–	7
Toledo		2	–	6					3	–	9
Eastern Michigan		2	–	6					3	–	9
Championship: Buffalo 42, Ball State 24
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

Central Michigan finished the regular season with an 8–4 overall record and 6–2 in conference play, which was good enough for second place in the MAC West. The team received a second straight bid to the Motor City Bowl,^[1] where they faced the Florida Atlantic Owls led by head coach Howard Schnellenberger. The two teams were tied throughout the third quarter until the Owls pulled away. Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour led a touchdown drive in the final three minutes, but an onside kick attempt failed, and the Chippewas lost, 24–21.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 28	7:00 pm	No. 18 (FCS) Eastern Illinois*	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI		W 31–12	19,732	^[3]
September 6	3:30 pm	at No. 2 Georgia*	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	FSN	L 17–56	92,746
September 13	2:00 pm	at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH		W 28–31	18,268
September 20	12:00 pm	at Purdue*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	BTN	L 25–32	57,101
September 27	4:00 pm	Buffalo	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI		W 27–25	21,032
October 11	4:00 pm	Temple	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPN+	W 24–14	22,114
October 18	12:00 pm	Western Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPN+	W 38–28	30,302
October 25	12:00 pm	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	ESPN+	W 24–23	21,422
November 1	12:00 pm	at Indiana*	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	BTN	W 37–34	26,140
November 12	8:00 pm	at Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN2	W 33–30 ^OT	13,543
November 19	7:00 pm	No. 14 Ball State	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPN2	L 24–31	20,114
November 28	12:00 pm	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI		L 52–56	26,188
December 26	7:30 pm	vs. Florida Atlantic*	Ford Field Detroit, MI (Motor City Bowl)	ESPN	L 21–24	41,399
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

References

1. Central Michigan 2008 Schedule/Results, ESPN, retrieved June 26, 2009.
2. Smith's 307 yards, two TDs lead Owls past Central Michigan, ESPN, December 26, 2008.
3. "Ex-Maroon leads CMU in opener". Herald and Review. Associated Press. August 29, 2008. p. B2. Retrieved December 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.