One of the Mid-American Conference’s most heated and storied rivalry games is set for action this weekend, as the Central Michigan Chippewas travel to Kalamazoo to face the Western Michigan Broncos on a Saturday
afternoon for the first time since Sept. 28, 2019.
Central Michigan senior linebacker Dakota Cochran, an Ohio native, still remembers the taste of his introduction to the Victory Cannon Game.
“First year, 2021, we coming out the tunnel when they pouring beer down,” Cochran recalled about his first Victory Cannon game during media availability this week. “It’s unforgettable.”
The reality of how impactful the game was, however, truly hit him two years later.
“I want to say, 2023, it was a kickoff or a punt… And that picture is everywhere, I think… it’s just like a big scuffle. And I was like, this is what college sports is. Like, this is the games people live for.”
CMU safety Caleb Spann, a native of Louisiana, also recalls the moment the rivalry clicked for him.
“My redshirt freshman year, we played up here and I didn’t really know the vibe of it because I’ve never been, but really going in there and just seeing like, the hatred that the fans have and it’s really a tight ball game,” Spann said. “So that kind of woke me up, and then obviously, I see how it is now.“
This year’s Victory Cannon game will have a particular intensity, as there are major stakes attached for both sides. With each team standing at 5-3 overall and 3-1 in league play, a win here would serve to not only clinch a postseason appearance, but also allow the winning side to control their own destiny in the MAC title chase.
Game notes
- Time and date: Saturday, November 1st, 2025 at 4 p.m. Eastern time
- Location: Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan
- TV network options: The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU; a valid subscription is required for viewing. Viewers on YouTube TV could be affected due to Google’s ongoing carriage dispute with Disney, which as of publication, has not been resolved.
- Radio options: Adam Jaksa (play-by-play) and Brock Gutierrez (color) will provide the CMU call for WUPS-FM 98.5; Robin Hook (play-by-play) and John Creek (color) will provide the WMU call for Jack 106.5 FM.
- Gambling considerations: Western is listed as a 5.5-point favorite, with an over/under 42.5, per FanDuel.
- All-Time Series: Western leads the all-time series by a margin of 49-41-2, with the first game dating back to 6-0 CMU win in 1905. CMU took home the Victory Cannon on home turf for the first time in over a decade in 2024, resetting the series win streak.
About the Western Michigan Broncos
Third-year head coach Lance Taylor and the Western Michigan Broncos find themselves in a familiar situation, taking a loss after starting undefeated in conference play just like in 2024. Western hopes 2025 won’t end up like 2024, when the Broncos dropped four of their last five contests and took themselves out of MAC title contention.
A win against their most bitter rival would not only let them re-claim the Cannon, but it would certainly help to correct course and re-establish themselves as a dark horse for a spot to Detroit.
The Broncos have been a strong unit in all three phases in 2025, but have been absolutely dominant on defense. Through four conference games, Western has given up 259 total offensive yards per game (second-best in MAC) and a league-best 10.5 points per game. Their loss to Miami did hurt some of those numbers, giving up 26 points and 408 yards, but as a unit, they’re still top three in the MAC in both rushing and passing defense in-league.
Front-and-center on the minds of CMU’s coaching staff is Houston transfer Nadame Tucker, who has 14 tackles-for-loss and 8.5 sacks through eight games. “Unbelievable motor on that guy, every single snap, all of the time,” Drinkall said about the WMU defensive end. “He plays with an edge to him that’s pretty fun to watch as far as like a competitor. He reminds you of some pretty impressive guys you get to watch on Sundays.”
WMU does ask Tucker to do a lot and he does it well, anchoring the line with nearly a quarter of the team’s tackles-for-loss on his own, while doubling the second-best sack collector’s production.
That doesn’t mean they’re starving for talent elsewhere; linebacker Sefa Saipaia, a late arrival from D-II Ferris State, has been a revelation for WMU, with a team-leading 47 tackles, five TFLs and 1.5 sacks. Rodney McGraw (four TFLs, four sacks, four QB hits) has also been productive on the line, while safety Tate Hallock has 38 tackles, 2.5 TFLs and a pick-six.
On offense, the Broncos have shown decent production despite a near-reset at offensive line. Through four MAC games, WMU averages 362 total yards (sixth-best) and 23.5 points (seventh-best) per game, with a near-even balance between the run and pass games.
Quarterback Brock Lowry won the starting job prior to the MAC slate and has literally ran with it, sitting sixth in the MAC in rush yards (509 yards) and seven touchdowns on 66 carries to pair with 1,164 yards, six touchdowns and an interception on 63.9 percent completion.
Jalen Buckley (283 yards, one touchdown) is the secondary run threat as starting halfback, averaging 43 yards per contest. WMU will also use Devin Miles (211 yards, two touchdowns) and Ofa Mataele (160 yards, three touchdowns) situationally.
WMU spreads the ball around, with Tailique Williams sitting atop the charts at 25 receptions for 355 yards and a touchdown. Four other Broncos have at least 11 catches on the season, while tight end Michael Brescia has proven to be an endzone target with two touchdowns on seven receptions. Aveion Chenault has recently rounded into form, with nine receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown over the last three games.
About the Central Michigan Chippewas
It’s been a busy week in Mt. Pleasant for first-year head coach Matt Drinkall.
Drinkall, who has his team on the precipice of not only a potential postseason appearance for the first time in three years but also a potential MAC title game run, was on paternity watch as his team prepared for their bitter rivalry clash. Thankfully for all involved, his wife Kim delivered their daughter Madison Skye early Friday morning, and all are healthy.
Even with all that and a closing on a new house this week in mind, Drinkall has still been focused on the task at hand: beating Western.
“I’ve spent the last 96 hours on several coaches that have been here and associated with this rivalry and they’ve been associated with like, they’ve been in Iowa/Iowa State, Army/Navy, Michigan/Michigan State, Michigan/Ohio State,” Drinkall said to open up his availability. “And all of them said the exact same thing independently, which is, ‘when we first got there, we did not understand how intense and big this rivalry between Western and Central was.’ They all said unanimously the same thing…. ‘do not underestimate the importance and significance of this game and this rivalry.’”
Indeed, Central will have some extra motivation to win this one. They’ve only won three of the last 10 outings against their bitter rival, with last year’s game serving as the team’s first home win in the Victory Cannon game in a decade. The hope under a first-year regime is to establish a new standard.
CMU’s famously weird offense will be restricted heading into the game, with Angel Flores declared out on Wednesday due to injury. Primary starter Joe Labas (70-of-98, seven TDs, one INT) will be assumed to handle all the snaps, with no healthy backup listed on the two-deep. Marcus Beamon, a JUCO transfer from Butte College [CA], would be the likeliest candidate to take the field if Labas gets hurt.
Thankfully, their stable of running backs should be good to carry the rushing load— even without Flores’ 519 yards and eight touchdowns from the QB spot. CMU averages 201.6 yards per game rushing (second in the MAC)— including a league-leading 256.3 rushing yards per conference game— with Nahree Biggins (415 yards, one touchdown) and Trey Cornist (298 yards, one touchdown) amongst the top 25 rushers in the conference. Brock Townsend has accumulated 261 total yards and three touchdowns over the last three games as well, giving CMU options in that respect.
Receivers are a gameplan-dependent corps, but Labas should have some decent options available, with Biggins and Townsend involved from the backfield and Langston Lewis (17 catches, 184 yards) the leading receiver.
Defensively, the Chippewas have a senior-laden defense which has done well in conference play. CMU stands fourth in the league in total defense (309 yards allowed per game) and third in scoring defense (15 points allowed per game) and leads the conference in interceptions (10.)
Linebackers Jordan Kwiatkowski (63 tackles, 4.5 tackles-for-loss, two interceptions, three pass break-ups) and Dakota Cochran (47 tackles, half-TFL, interception, fumble recovered), defensive end Michael Heldman (29 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 5.5 sacks) and safety Caleb Spann (34 tackles, half-TFL, INT, three PBUs) are all in their final years and contributing to the defense as starters. They’ll be leaned upon as leaders in what should be a highly-emotional contest.
Final Thoughts
One of the most interesting parts of this game is the fact it’s essentially a mirror game. Both these teams love to keep the ball on the ground, both of these teams love to maintain possession, both of these teams lean on experience defensively to win the down-to-down scenarios.
Western will be motivated to win the game to avoid relying on tiebreakers in the MAC title race; their loss to Miami can be overcome as long as the Broncos run the table. Central has the postseason to consider, hoping to clinch a bowl game for the first time in three seasons. A win would also mean holding the trophy for two-straight seasons for the first time since their four-year streak from 2006-2010.
We also haven’t seen this game played in conditions such as we’ll see Saturday in quite some time; CMU/WMU has typically been an attractive option to TV networks as a weeknight game due to the sheer intensity and markets involved. The impact of a full crowd will be hard to gauge until we see it in action.
In situations like this, it often comes down to simply: who wants it more? It does feel reductive to put it so plainly, but rivalry games very often don’t follow whatever is on the paper. CMU head coach Matt Drinkall put it best in his press availability:
“You can see it in people’s faces, they don’t talk about this game or this matchup like anything else… [It’s] pretty crazy to see, just watching an entire campus and community and team… transform in front of you like a switch going on. Like, holy cow, you better buckle up.”
Either way, it will be a hard-to-miss clash involving lots of physical play on both sides of the ball.
