GAME NOTES: In the 11th annual Motor City Bowl, the Mid-American Conference Champion Central Michigan Chippewas battle with the Purdue Boilermakers of the Big Ten in Detroit's Ford Field on December 26th. The Chippewas will be looking for revenge, as they fell to the same Boilermakers 45-22 at West Lafayette back in early September. The game was never in doubt as Purdue shot out of the gate with a 38-0 lead. While CMU ended the season in a flurry, it's safe to say Purdue played its best football in the first month of the season. The Boilermakers began the 2007 campaign with a high powered offense that scored at least 33 points in their first five contests, all of which resulting in wins. Following a 33-19 defeat of Notre Dame, Purdue's season went downhill. They were no match for Ohio State and Michigan, but managed consecutive victories against Iowa and Northwestern, the last of which would prove to be their final victory of the season. The Boilermakers fell to Penn State and Michigan State in back-to-back affairs before traveling to rival Indiana to battle for the Old Oaken Bucket. Down 24-3 in the second half, the Boilermakers sprung for 21 straight points, but a Hoosier field goal with 40 second left marked Purdue's first loss to Indiana since 2001. The 3-5 conference record matches the worst Big Ten season during the Joe Tiller era. Central Michigan used a polar opposite approach in advancing to the postseason. The Chippewas limped out to a 1-3 mark, with the last loss coming at the hands of the Boilermakers. However, the defeat seemed to wake up the squad, as they reeled off three straight wins behind strong offensive performances leading them to 140 points during the win streak. After a forgetful 70-14 loss at Clemson, the Chippewas recorded back- to-back conference road wins. An unfortunate 48-45 loss at home to Eastern Michigan was followed by a terrific comeback effort against Akron. The Chippewas scored 15 points in the final seven minutes to rally for a 35-32 win over the Zips. In the MAC Championship Game, Central Michigan used 267 yards rushing to secure a 35-10 victory over Miami-Ohio, and CMU become the first program to repeat as MAC Champion since Marshall won four straight titles from 1997-2000. The Chippewas went to the Motor City Bowl last year, and came away with a 31-14 victory over Middle Tennessee. To repeat the feat, Central Michigan will need its first ever victory over Purdue, as the Boilermakers have won all three times the teams have met.

Curtis Painter led a vaunted Purdue offense that was among the leaders in the nation the first few weeks of the season. But the offense struggled against good defenses, and averaged only 20.4 points in their five losses. Painter was solid throughout the up-and-down campaign, finishing with 3,300 yards passing and 26 touchdowns. He completed a whopping 62.3 percent of his passes while only throwing nine interceptions. It's clear his main target all season came in the form Dorien Bryant. The senior collected 82 receptions, 871 yards and eight touchdowns to add to his illustrious career. He was also a factor in special teams, averaging 28.5 yards per kickoff return, including two touchdown returns. The running game is led by Kory Sheets, who carried the ball 156 times for 855 yards. The running back crossed the goal line nine times on the ground and twice through the air, and had a career best 144 yards against the Chippewas earlier this season.

On the surface, the Boilermakers were nothing more and nothing less than mediocre on the defensive side of the ball. The squad gave up an average of 24.8 points and 385.3 yards of total offense per game. Through the air, teams only managed to throw 15 touchdowns on the defensive backs. Leading the way in the secondary was Terrell Vinson. The cornerback led the team in tackles (78) and interceptions (5). He threw in six tackles for losses and two sacks for good measure. While opponents ran for a healthy 149.4 yards per game on Purdue, they vaulted over the goal line 19 times on the ground. The rushing defense played well against CMU however, only giving up 101 yards on the ground. Anthony Heygood and Cliff Avril ranked near the conference leaders with 14.5 tackles for a loss on the season.

One of the most underrated players in the nation lines up under center for Central Michigan. Dan LeFevour did more than enough to gain the MAC Offensive Player of the Year Award. The all-purpose quarterback passed for 3,360 yards while tossing 23 touchdowns. He also led the squad in rushing, tucking the ball under and picking up 1,008 yards, while crossing the goal line 17 times. His numbers bring him in exclusive company, as he's only the second quarterback in Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-A) history to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. The only other to do so was Vince Young. LeFevour's favorite targets were Antonio Brown and Bryan Anderson downfield. Brown broke Anderson's school reception record in his freshman season, hauling in 98 balls for 909 yards and five touchdowns. Anderson wasn't outshined, bringing in 83 passes for a team-high 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. The lead running back, Justin Hoskins, averaged 6.0 yards per carry, while running for 649 yards and 10 touchdowns. Not surprisingly, the Chippewas ranked first in the MAC in scoring offense with 33.8 points per game.

One of the problems with having such a prolific high-scoring offense is that the defensive squad is usually on the field a lot. Central Michigan's defense wasn't one that could benefit from the extra snaps. In particular, the pass defense gave up a ghastly 284.8 yards for game, easily ranking them last the league. The Boilermakers' Painter for example, exploited the defense for 360 passing yards and three TDs in the September bout. The massive yardage given up allowed teams to average 35.8 points, second worst in the league. They did manage to pick off 16 passes, with Josh Gordy leading the way with four interceptions. In a conference with below average run defenses, CMU actually ranked in the top half of the league by allowing 165.4 yards rushing per game. Linebacker Red Keith ranked second in the entire MAC with 139 tackles, 70 of which were solo. Ike Brown also contributed 100 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss.

An opportunity for redemption isn't often available in a college football calendar year. Central Michigan has a shot to give Purdue a taste of its own medicine this time around. With LeFevour playing with a little more confidence, an upset could be in store in the Motor City.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Central Michigan 38, Purdue 31