Drinkall: CMU to Play all Three Quarterbacks Against Wyoming

MOUNT PLESANT, Mich., -- Matt Drinkall joked Thursday during his coaches show that he's glad Josh Allen won't be in the visiting huddle this Saturday afternoon.

The 2017 Central Michigan squad wasn't so fortunate.

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The second-year head coach in Mount Pleasant is more focused on who will be under center for his Chippewas when this current Wyoming team pays a visit to Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

There are good reason for that, too.

Out of 138 FBS programs, only Rice has been worse in the passing game through two weeks of the college football slate. Only Navy has a lower completion percentage. They run the option in Annapolis.

Three signal callers have taken snaps for CMU so far. According to Drinkall, that trend will continue Saturday on what could be a soggy surface. Angel Flores, though, will receive the bulk of the work.

"He'll start again this week," Drinkall said, referring to the 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior. "He'll be the one in there, getting us in rhythm almost all the time. Then you will see Jadyn (Glasser) and Marcus (Beamon) come in, supplementary, to help out Angel with what he does.

"But Angel just provides us with a really good leadership and operational stability and consistency, which is what we really need right now to perform a little bit better."

Just how bad has the Chippewas' passing attack been?

Flores has completed just 10-of-19 throws for 71 and two interceptions. Glasser has connected on only five of his 14 attempts. He's also thrown a pick. Beamon is 2-of-4 through the air for 11 yards.

CMU averages 53 passing yards per game after a blowout road loss to New Mexico in the season opener and a 13-10 victory over Colgate last Saturday.

Drinkall said, psychologically, it is important to have that trio get consistent reps throughout the week. It helps with not only leadership, he added, but preparedness.

"We have the same problem that a lot of other schools have: There's so many new moving pieces at the beginning," he continued. "We have three good quarterbacks. So, unfortunately, for us, it's taken us a little bit longer to get those guys going."

Jay Sawvel said Monday during his weekly press conference in Laramie that CMU had more stability at the position a season ago.

That's a massive understatement from Wyoming's third-year head coach.

Joe Labas threw for 1,854 yards and 13 touchdowns while leading the Chippewas to a seven-win campaign and a berth in the GameAbove Sports Bowl against Northwestern.

Where Flores flourishes is in the run game, where he leads the team with 149 yards on just 32 carries. It was a 50-yard touchdown jaunt that sparked CMU's comeback last Saturday in front of 19,000-plus fans in Mount Pleasant. In 2025, serving as Labas' primary backup, the Arizona native rolled up 527 rushing yards and found the end zone eight times.

"They're going to try to run it right down your throat," said Wyoming linebacker Steven Perez, referring to a rushing offense that averages nearly 160 yards per game. "They run a lot of QB-Power. They are just going to try and beat you man-on-man. They're physical. They're gonna try to outpower you. They're pulling every play and they are trying to get as many blockers in as they can.

"It comes down to who's more physical and who wants it more. There should be no reason that's not us."

Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. Mountain Time and the game will be televised on ESPN-Plus.

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