Central Michigan opens its 2026 home slate against an FCS opponent looking to prove it belongs on the same field — and the Chippewas are looking to prove last year's bowl trip was the start of something, not a one-off.
+Coach Drinkall enters year 2 with staff continuity
−SP+ ranks CMU 113th nationally entering 2026
−QB room unsettled after Joe Labas graduated
This is Central Michigan's 2026 home opener, and it doubles as an early proving ground for a Chippewas program trying to show last year's bowl trip was a sign of things to come rather than a peak. With Joe Labas gone after passing for 1,854 yards a season ago, head coach Matt Drinkall enters the year with a genuine quarterback competition between Angel Flores and Jadyn Glasser, the latter working his way back from injury this spring. Whoever wins that battle gets his first real test against an experienced, if overmatched, Colgate defense.
Colgate arrives with more continuity at the position that matters most — senior Jake Stearney is back after throwing for a career-high 2,099 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2025, giving new head coach Curt Fitzpatrick at least one proven piece as he tries to build on a 5-7 debut season. The Raiders aren't unfamiliar with these money-game trips, either, though last year's lone crack at an FBS opponent ended in a lopsided loss at Syracuse. It's part of why this one gets treated like close to a formality for Central Michigan.
Still, formality and sleepwalk aren't the same thing for a Central Michigan team whose offense projected among the weaker units in the MAC this preseason and whose bowl trip ended in a turnover-plagued 34-7 loss to Northwestern. Drinkall spent the offseason retooling with new offensive coordinator Jim Chapin, and how quickly that staff finds its footing will say more about the Chippewas' 2026 ceiling than anything that happens against Colgate.
For Colgate, this is as much about survival as it is about scoring points — a newly expanded nine-game Patriot League slate awaits after this one, and Fitzpatrick has already called the 2026 schedule demanding. A competitive showing on the road, even in a loss, would count as a real springboard; a Syracuse-style blowout would raise fresh questions about the rebuild.
Central Michigan, meanwhile, just wants a clean, mistake-free tune-up before MAC play ramps up. A comfortable, bowl-worthy showing behind an established defense would ease some of the preseason skepticism and hand whoever wins the quarterback job real confidence heading into conference season.
