2014–2026 performance history

Central Michigan over time

Season-by-season offense and defense game grades, with head-coaching changes placed on the timeline.

Mid-AmericanHead coach: Matt DrinkallView Central Michigan games →
Offense · 2026 estimate33.8/100

20.0 average through 2 games

37.8 prior · 8 equivalent games
Defense · 2026 estimate39.0/100

23.1 average through 2 games

43.4 prior · 8 equivalent games

The trajectory

Game and Season Unit Ratings

Each small dot is one offensive or defensive game rating, arranged in the order played. For completed seasons, the short bar is that season’s average game rating. Both dot and bar values are labeled on a percentile scale. For 2026, the bar is the Bayesian estimate, while the outlined circle is the empirical games-only mean. Labeled background bands show each head coach’s era.

Central Michigan individual offense and defense game grades by seasonEach small point is one game. Horizontal bars show completed-season means and the Bayesian estimate for 2026. The outlined 2026 circle is the empirical games-only mean. Alternating labeled bands identify head-coaching eras.EnosDan Enos, 2014Bonamego · ’15–’18John Bonamego, 2015–2018McElwain · ’19–’24Jim McElwain, 2019–2024Drinkall · ’25–’26Matt Drinkall, 2025–2026offenseGame-grade percentile · higher is better9975502512014 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Chattanooga · W 20–16; offense 3.3 percentile2014 Week 2: Central Michigan at Purdue · W 38–17; offense 61.1 percentile2014 Week 3: Central Michigan vs. Syracuse · L 3–40; offense 4.1 percentile2014 Week 4: Central Michigan at Kansas · L 10–24; offense 3.2 percentile2014 Week 5: Central Michigan at Toledo · L 28–42; offense 86.9 percentile2014 Week 6: Central Michigan vs. Ohio · W 28–10; offense 87.6 percentile2014 Week 7: Central Michigan at Northern Illinois · W 34–17; offense 78.8 percentile2014 Week 8: Central Michigan vs. Ball State · L 29–32; offense 67.8 percentile2014 Week 9: Central Michigan at Buffalo · W 20–14; offense 33.7 percentile2014 Week 10: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan · W 38–7; offense 46.5 percentile2014 Week 12: Central Michigan vs. Miami (OH) · W 34–27; offense 73.9 percentile2014 Week 13: Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan · L 20–32; offense 20.2 percentile2014 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky · L 48–49; offense 74.9 percentile2015 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Oklahoma State · L 13–24; offense 12.2 percentile2015 Week 2: Central Michigan vs. Monmouth · W 31–10; offense 32.1 percentile2015 Week 3: Central Michigan at Syracuse · L 27–30; offense 26.5 percentile2015 Week 4: Central Michigan at Michigan State · L 10–30; offense 21.9 percentile2015 Week 5: Central Michigan vs. Northern Illinois · W 29–19; offense 25.7 percentile2015 Week 6: Central Michigan at Western Michigan · L 39–41; offense 82.5 percentile2015 Week 7: Central Michigan vs. Buffalo · W 51–14; offense 77.6 percentile2015 Week 8: Central Michigan at Ball State · W 23–21; offense 19.5 percentile2015 Week 9: Central Michigan at Akron · W 14–6; offense 14.3 percentile2015 Week 11: Central Michigan vs. Toledo · L 23–28; offense 65.5 percentile2015 Week 13: Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan · W 35–28; offense 28.9 percentile2015 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Minnesota · L 14–21; offense 26.1 percentile2016 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Presbyterian · W 49–3; offense 48.4 percentile2016 Week 2: Central Michigan at Oklahoma State · W 30–27; offense 45.7 percentile2016 Week 3: Central Michigan vs. UNLV · W 44–21; offense 58.5 percentile2016 Week 4: Central Michigan at Virginia · L 35–49; offense 28.2 percentile2016 Week 5: Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan · L 10–49; offense 45.4 percentile2016 Week 6: Central Michigan vs. Ball State · W 24–21; offense 17.3 percentile2016 Week 8: Central Michigan at Toledo · L 17–31; offense 20.2 percentile2016 Week 9: Central Michigan vs. Kent State · L 24–27; offense 26.7 percentile2016 Week 10: Central Michigan at Miami (OH) · L 17–37; offense 67.0 percentile2016 Week 12: Central Michigan vs. Ohio · W 27–20; offense 35.9 percentile2016 Week 13: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan · L 21–26; offense 46.0 percentile2016 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Tulsa · L 10–55; offense 27.5 percentile2017 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Rhode Island · W 30–27; offense 0.7 percentile2017 Week 2: Central Michigan at Kansas · W 45–27; offense 75.4 percentile2017 Week 3: Central Michigan at Syracuse · L 17–41; offense 7.5 percentile2017 Week 4: Central Michigan vs. Miami (OH) · L 14–31; offense 13.6 percentile2017 Week 5: Central Michigan at Boston College · L 8–28; offense 12.6 percentile2017 Week 6: Central Michigan at Ohio · W 26–23; offense 43.8 percentile2017 Week 7: Central Michigan vs. Toledo · L 10–30; offense 3.3 percentile2017 Week 8: Central Michigan at Ball State · W 56–9; offense 68.1 percentile2017 Week 10: Central Michigan at Western Michigan · W 35–28; offense 64.8 percentile2017 Week 11: Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan · W 42–30; offense 53.8 percentile2017 Week 12: Central Michigan at Kent State · W 42–23; offense 79.8 percentile2017 Week 13: Central Michigan vs. Northern Illinois · W 31–24; offense 65.9 percentile2017 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Wyoming · L 14–37; offense 43.0 percentile2018 Week 1: Central Michigan at Kentucky · L 20–35; offense 32.4 percentile2018 Week 2: Central Michigan vs. Kansas · L 7–31; offense 6.6 percentile2018 Week 3: Central Michigan at Northern Illinois · L 16–24; offense 51.5 percentile2018 Week 4: Central Michigan vs. Maine · W 17–5; offense 0.7 percentile2018 Week 5: Central Michigan at Michigan State · L 20–31; offense 55.6 percentile2018 Week 6: Central Michigan vs. Buffalo · L 24–34; offense 41.3 percentile2018 Week 7: Central Michigan vs. Ball State · L 23–24; offense 35.4 percentile2018 Week 8: Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan · L 10–35; offense 1.1 percentile2018 Week 9: Central Michigan at Akron · L 10–17; offense 4.8 percentile2018 Week 10: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan · L 7–17; offense 11.0 percentile2018 Week 11: Central Michigan vs. Bowling Green · L 13–24; offense 1.2 percentile2018 Week 13: Central Michigan at Toledo · L 13–51; offense 2.3 percentile2019 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. UAlbany · W 38–21; offense 58.6 percentile2019 Week 2: Central Michigan at Wisconsin · L 0–61; offense 1.0 percentile2019 Week 3: Central Michigan vs. Akron · W 45–24; offense 79.5 percentile2019 Week 4: Central Michigan at Miami · L 12–17; offense 17.7 percentile2019 Week 5: Central Michigan at Western Michigan · L 15–31; offense 40.2 percentile2019 Week 6: Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan · W 42–16; offense 87.3 percentile2019 Week 7: Central Michigan vs. New Mexico State · W 42–28; offense 19.1 percentile2019 Week 8: Central Michigan at Bowling Green · W 38–20; offense 83.8 percentile2019 Week 9: Central Michigan at Buffalo · L 20–43; offense 67.6 percentile2019 Week 10: Central Michigan vs. Northern Illinois · W 48–10; offense 93.7 percentile2019 Week 12: Central Michigan at Ball State · W 45–44; offense 95.1 percentile2019 Week 14: Central Michigan vs. Toledo · W 49–7; offense 86.5 percentile2019 Week 15: Central Michigan vs. Miami (OH) · L 21–26; offense 29.8 percentile2019 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. San Diego State · L 11–48; offense 30.2 percentile2020 Week 10: Central Michigan vs. Ohio · W 30–27; offense 48.7 percentile2020 Week 11: Central Michigan at Northern Illinois · W 40–10; offense 48.2 percentile2020 Week 12: Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan · L 44–52; offense 29.6 percentile2020 Week 13: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan · W 31–23; offense 52.6 percentile2020 Week 14: Central Michigan vs. Ball State · L 20–45; offense 15.3 percentile2020 Week 15: Central Michigan at Toledo · L 23–24; offense 31.6 percentile2021 Week 1: Central Michigan at Missouri · L 24–34; offense 51.8 percentile2021 Week 3: Central Michigan at LSU · L 21–49; offense 6.7 percentile2021 Week 4: Central Michigan vs. Florida International · W 31–27; offense 37.0 percentile2021 Week 6: Central Michigan at Ohio · W 30–27; offense 74.0 percentile2021 Week 8: Central Michigan vs. Northern Illinois · L 38–39; offense 74.2 percentile2021 Week 10: Central Michigan at Western Michigan · W 42–30; offense 76.5 percentile2021 Week 11: Central Michigan vs. Kent State · W 54–30; offense 83.8 percentile2021 Week 12: Central Michigan at Ball State · W 37–17; offense 91.2 percentile2021 Week 13: Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan · W 31–10; offense 7.9 percentile2021 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Washington State · W 24–21; offense 8.8 percentile2022 Week 1: Central Michigan at Oklahoma State · L 44–58; offense 39.0 percentile2022 Week 2: Central Michigan vs. South Alabama · L 24–38; offense 45.0 percentile2022 Week 3: Central Michigan vs. Bucknell · W 41–0; offense 43.1 percentile2022 Week 4: Central Michigan at Penn State · L 14–33; offense 66.5 percentile2022 Week 5: Central Michigan at Toledo · L 17–38; offense 19.3 percentile2022 Week 6: Central Michigan vs. Ball State · L 16–17; offense 3.5 percentile2022 Week 8: Central Michigan vs. Bowling Green · L 18–34; offense 43.0 percentile2022 Week 10: Central Michigan at Northern Illinois · W 35–22; offense 76.3 percentile2022 Week 11: Central Michigan vs. Buffalo · W 31–27; offense 77.0 percentile2022 Week 13: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan · L 19–38; offense 22.3 percentile2023 Week 1: Central Michigan at Michigan State · L 7–31; offense 0.6 percentile2023 Week 2: Central Michigan vs. New Hampshire · W 45–42; offense 29.5 percentile2023 Week 3: Central Michigan at Notre Dame · L 17–41; offense 64.6 percentile2023 Week 4: Central Michigan at South Alabama · W 34–30; offense 79.1 percentile2023 Week 5: Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan · W 26–23; offense 88.0 percentile2023 Week 6: Central Michigan at Buffalo · L 13–37; offense 30.7 percentile2023 Week 7: Central Michigan vs. Akron · W 17–10; offense 23.7 percentile2023 Week 8: Central Michigan at Ball State · L 17–24; offense 26.2 percentile2023 Week 10: Central Michigan vs. Northern Illinois · W 37–31; offense 87.2 percentile2023 Week 11: Central Michigan at Western Michigan · L 28–38; offense 69.3 percentile2023 Week 12: Central Michigan at Ohio · L 20–34; offense 69.2 percentile2023 Week 13: Central Michigan vs. Toledo · L 17–32; offense 31.1 percentile2024 Week 3: Central Michigan at Illinois · L 9–30; offense 25.5 percentile2024 Week 4: Central Michigan vs. Ball State · W 37–34; offense 70.6 percentile2024 Week 5: Central Michigan vs. San Diego State · W 22–21; offense 21.2 percentile2024 Week 7: Central Michigan vs. Ohio · L 25–27; offense 69.5 percentile2024 Week 8: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan · L 34–38; offense 44.4 percentile2024 Week 9: Central Michigan at Miami (OH) · L 7–46; offense 24.3 percentile2024 Week 11: Central Michigan vs. Bowling Green · L 13–23; offense 15.5 percentile2024 Week 12: Central Michigan at Toledo · L 10–37; offense 18.0 percentile2024 Week 13: Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan · W 16–14; offense 12.0 percentile2024 Week 14: Central Michigan at Northern Illinois · L 16–24; offense 39.6 percentile2025 Week 1: Central Michigan at San José State · W 16–14; offense 19.8 percentile2025 Week 2: Central Michigan at Pittsburgh · L 17–45; offense 20.4 percentile2025 Week 3: Central Michigan at Michigan · L 3–63; offense 4.4 percentile2025 Week 4: Central Michigan vs. Wagner · W 49–10; offense 64.2 percentile2025 Week 5: Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan · W 24–13; offense 60.0 percentile2025 Week 8: Central Michigan at Bowling Green · W 27–6; offense 48.7 percentile2025 Week 9: Central Michigan vs. Massachusetts · W 38–13; offense 70.7 percentile2025 Week 10: Central Michigan at Western Michigan · L 21–24; offense 56.0 percentile2025 Week 12: Central Michigan vs. Buffalo · W 38–19; offense 49.6 percentile2025 Week 13: Central Michigan at Kent State · W 28–16; offense 39.1 percentile2025 Week 14: Central Michigan vs. Toledo · L 3–21; offense 44.1 percentile2025 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Northwestern · L 7–34; offense 11.5 percentile2026 Week 1: Central Michigan at New Mexico · L 7–38; offense 25.9 percentile2026 Week 2: Central Michigan vs. Colgate · W 13–10; offense 15.0 percentile2014 offense season mean: 45.0 percentile2015 offense season mean: 34.7 percentile2016 offense season mean: 38.1 percentile2017 offense season mean: 33.8 percentile2018 offense season mean: 11.7 percentile2019 offense season mean: 57.1 percentile2020 offense season mean: 36.6 percentile2021 offense season mean: 49.2 percentile2022 offense season mean: 40.8 percentile2023 offense season mean: 46.9 percentile2024 offense season mean: 32.2 percentile2025 offense season mean: 37.8 percentile2026 offense Bayesian estimate: 33.8 percentile2026 offense empirical mean: 20.0 percentiledefenseGame-grade percentile · higher is better9975502512014 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Chattanooga · W 20–16; defense 33.3 percentile2014 Week 2: Central Michigan at Purdue · W 38–17; defense 63.3 percentile2014 Week 3: Central Michigan vs. Syracuse · L 3–40; defense 5.5 percentile2014 Week 4: Central Michigan at Kansas · L 10–24; defense 39.4 percentile2014 Week 5: Central Michigan at Toledo · L 28–42; defense 20.6 percentile2014 Week 6: Central Michigan vs. Ohio · W 28–10; defense 93.8 percentile2014 Week 7: Central Michigan at Northern Illinois · W 34–17; defense 85.1 percentile2014 Week 8: Central Michigan vs. Ball State · L 29–32; defense 59.6 percentile2014 Week 9: Central Michigan at Buffalo · W 20–14; defense 92.8 percentile2014 Week 10: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan · W 38–7; defense 99.2 percentile2014 Week 12: Central Michigan vs. Miami (OH) · W 34–27; defense 37.2 percentile2014 Week 13: Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan · L 20–32; defense 64.3 percentile2014 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky · L 48–49; defense 27.8 percentile2015 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Oklahoma State · L 13–24; defense 47.7 percentile2015 Week 2: Central Michigan vs. Monmouth · W 31–10; defense 62.8 percentile2015 Week 3: Central Michigan at Syracuse · L 27–30; defense 38.8 percentile2015 Week 4: Central Michigan at Michigan State · L 10–30; defense 16.2 percentile2015 Week 5: Central Michigan vs. Northern Illinois · W 29–19; defense 83.0 percentile2015 Week 6: Central Michigan at Western Michigan · L 39–41; defense 15.2 percentile2015 Week 7: Central Michigan vs. Buffalo · W 51–14; defense 74.6 percentile2015 Week 8: Central Michigan at Ball State · W 23–21; defense 76.6 percentile2015 Week 9: Central Michigan at Akron · W 14–6; defense 87.7 percentile2015 Week 11: Central Michigan vs. Toledo · L 23–28; defense 54.5 percentile2015 Week 13: Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan · W 35–28; defense 90.1 percentile2015 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Minnesota · L 14–21; defense 52.1 percentile2016 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Presbyterian · W 49–3; defense 85.1 percentile2016 Week 2: Central Michigan at Oklahoma State · W 30–27; defense 95.4 percentile2016 Week 3: Central Michigan vs. UNLV · W 44–21; defense 93.4 percentile2016 Week 4: Central Michigan at Virginia · L 35–49; defense 2.8 percentile2016 Week 5: Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan · L 10–49; defense 14.2 percentile2016 Week 6: Central Michigan vs. Ball State · W 24–21; defense 53.8 percentile2016 Week 8: Central Michigan at Toledo · L 17–31; defense 63.7 percentile2016 Week 9: Central Michigan vs. Kent State · L 24–27; defense 29.7 percentile2016 Week 10: Central Michigan at Miami (OH) · L 17–37; defense 13.6 percentile2016 Week 12: Central Michigan vs. Ohio · W 27–20; defense 57.0 percentile2016 Week 13: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan · L 21–26; defense 25.6 percentile2016 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Tulsa · L 10–55; defense 5.6 percentile2017 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Rhode Island · W 30–27; defense 28.3 percentile2017 Week 2: Central Michigan at Kansas · W 45–27; defense 12.7 percentile2017 Week 3: Central Michigan at Syracuse · L 17–41; defense 32.1 percentile2017 Week 4: Central Michigan vs. Miami (OH) · L 14–31; defense 25.3 percentile2017 Week 5: Central Michigan at Boston College · L 8–28; defense 43.5 percentile2017 Week 6: Central Michigan at Ohio · W 26–23; defense 80.6 percentile2017 Week 7: Central Michigan vs. Toledo · L 10–30; defense 56.9 percentile2017 Week 8: Central Michigan at Ball State · W 56–9; defense 83.8 percentile2017 Week 10: Central Michigan at Western Michigan · W 35–28; defense 56.7 percentile2017 Week 11: Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan · W 42–30; defense 61.5 percentile2017 Week 12: Central Michigan at Kent State · W 42–23; defense 19.7 percentile2017 Week 13: Central Michigan vs. Northern Illinois · W 31–24; defense 82.8 percentile2017 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Wyoming · L 14–37; defense 30.2 percentile2018 Week 1: Central Michigan at Kentucky · L 20–35; defense 11.1 percentile2018 Week 2: Central Michigan vs. Kansas · L 7–31; defense 55.3 percentile2018 Week 3: Central Michigan at Northern Illinois · L 16–24; defense 56.2 percentile2018 Week 4: Central Michigan vs. Maine · W 17–5; defense 71.4 percentile2018 Week 5: Central Michigan at Michigan State · L 20–31; defense 16.1 percentile2018 Week 6: Central Michigan vs. Buffalo · L 24–34; defense 21.1 percentile2018 Week 7: Central Michigan vs. Ball State · L 23–24; defense 25.7 percentile2018 Week 8: Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan · L 10–35; defense 44.7 percentile2018 Week 9: Central Michigan at Akron · L 10–17; defense 49.0 percentile2018 Week 10: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan · L 7–17; defense 75.8 percentile2018 Week 11: Central Michigan vs. Bowling Green · L 13–24; defense 67.4 percentile2018 Week 13: Central Michigan at Toledo · L 13–51; defense 33.6 percentile2019 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. UAlbany · W 38–21; defense 53.0 percentile2019 Week 2: Central Michigan at Wisconsin · L 0–61; defense 13.2 percentile2019 Week 3: Central Michigan vs. Akron · W 45–24; defense 34.2 percentile2019 Week 4: Central Michigan at Miami · L 12–17; defense 87.1 percentile2019 Week 5: Central Michigan at Western Michigan · L 15–31; defense 39.9 percentile2019 Week 6: Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan · W 42–16; defense 87.8 percentile2019 Week 7: Central Michigan vs. New Mexico State · W 42–28; defense 30.8 percentile2019 Week 8: Central Michigan at Bowling Green · W 38–20; defense 54.6 percentile2019 Week 9: Central Michigan at Buffalo · L 20–43; defense 59.7 percentile2019 Week 10: Central Michigan vs. Northern Illinois · W 48–10; defense 82.8 percentile2019 Week 12: Central Michigan at Ball State · W 45–44; defense 41.3 percentile2019 Week 14: Central Michigan vs. Toledo · W 49–7; defense 94.0 percentile2019 Week 15: Central Michigan vs. Miami (OH) · L 21–26; defense 72.4 percentile2019 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. San Diego State · L 11–48; defense 32.2 percentile2020 Week 10: Central Michigan vs. Ohio · W 30–27; defense 83.2 percentile2020 Week 11: Central Michigan at Northern Illinois · W 40–10; defense 99.8 percentile2020 Week 12: Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan · L 44–52; defense 15.2 percentile2020 Week 13: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan · W 31–23; defense 53.2 percentile2020 Week 14: Central Michigan vs. Ball State · L 20–45; defense 34.0 percentile2020 Week 15: Central Michigan at Toledo · L 23–24; defense 86.5 percentile2021 Week 1: Central Michigan at Missouri · L 24–34; defense 57.0 percentile2021 Week 3: Central Michigan at LSU · L 21–49; defense 18.5 percentile2021 Week 4: Central Michigan vs. Florida International · W 31–27; defense 52.0 percentile2021 Week 6: Central Michigan at Ohio · W 30–27; defense 48.9 percentile2021 Week 8: Central Michigan vs. Northern Illinois · L 38–39; defense 13.4 percentile2021 Week 10: Central Michigan at Western Michigan · W 42–30; defense 66.2 percentile2021 Week 11: Central Michigan vs. Kent State · W 54–30; defense 23.8 percentile2021 Week 12: Central Michigan at Ball State · W 37–17; defense 67.1 percentile2021 Week 13: Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan · W 31–10; defense 91.5 percentile2021 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Washington State · W 24–21; defense 98.7 percentile2022 Week 1: Central Michigan at Oklahoma State · L 44–58; defense 28.1 percentile2022 Week 2: Central Michigan vs. South Alabama · L 24–38; defense 46.0 percentile2022 Week 3: Central Michigan vs. Bucknell · W 41–0; defense 50.0 percentile2022 Week 4: Central Michigan at Penn State · L 14–33; defense 52.2 percentile2022 Week 5: Central Michigan at Toledo · L 17–38; defense 55.5 percentile2022 Week 6: Central Michigan vs. Ball State · L 16–17; defense 80.0 percentile2022 Week 8: Central Michigan vs. Bowling Green · L 18–34; defense 15.8 percentile2022 Week 10: Central Michigan at Northern Illinois · W 35–22; defense 66.4 percentile2022 Week 11: Central Michigan vs. Buffalo · W 31–27; defense 41.8 percentile2022 Week 13: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan · L 19–38; defense 24.7 percentile2023 Week 1: Central Michigan at Michigan State · L 7–31; defense 15.8 percentile2023 Week 2: Central Michigan vs. New Hampshire · W 45–42; defense 4.0 percentile2023 Week 3: Central Michigan at Notre Dame · L 17–41; defense 14.6 percentile2023 Week 4: Central Michigan at South Alabama · W 34–30; defense 21.2 percentile2023 Week 5: Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan · W 26–23; defense 12.7 percentile2023 Week 6: Central Michigan at Buffalo · L 13–37; defense 44.1 percentile2023 Week 7: Central Michigan vs. Akron · W 17–10; defense 67.9 percentile2023 Week 8: Central Michigan at Ball State · L 17–24; defense 6.1 percentile2023 Week 10: Central Michigan vs. Northern Illinois · W 37–31; defense 24.1 percentile2023 Week 11: Central Michigan at Western Michigan · L 28–38; defense 17.3 percentile2023 Week 12: Central Michigan at Ohio · L 20–34; defense 46.5 percentile2023 Week 13: Central Michigan vs. Toledo · L 17–32; defense 64.0 percentile2024 Week 3: Central Michigan at Illinois · L 9–30; defense 27.2 percentile2024 Week 4: Central Michigan vs. Ball State · W 37–34; defense 14.1 percentile2024 Week 5: Central Michigan vs. San Diego State · W 22–21; defense 46.6 percentile2024 Week 7: Central Michigan vs. Ohio · L 25–27; defense 20.1 percentile2024 Week 8: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan · L 34–38; defense 30.5 percentile2024 Week 9: Central Michigan at Miami (OH) · L 7–46; defense 13.7 percentile2024 Week 11: Central Michigan vs. Bowling Green · L 13–23; defense 36.1 percentile2024 Week 12: Central Michigan at Toledo · L 10–37; defense 58.1 percentile2024 Week 13: Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan · W 16–14; defense 95.5 percentile2024 Week 14: Central Michigan at Northern Illinois · L 16–24; defense 65.5 percentile2025 Week 1: Central Michigan at San José State · W 16–14; defense 80.8 percentile2025 Week 2: Central Michigan at Pittsburgh · L 17–45; defense 18.3 percentile2025 Week 3: Central Michigan at Michigan · L 3–63; defense 1.1 percentile2025 Week 4: Central Michigan vs. Wagner · W 49–10; defense 61.8 percentile2025 Week 5: Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan · W 24–13; defense 45.9 percentile2025 Week 8: Central Michigan at Bowling Green · W 27–6; defense 74.8 percentile2025 Week 9: Central Michigan vs. Massachusetts · W 38–13; defense 35.9 percentile2025 Week 10: Central Michigan at Western Michigan · L 21–24; defense 39.2 percentile2025 Week 12: Central Michigan vs. Buffalo · W 38–19; defense 29.6 percentile2025 Week 13: Central Michigan at Kent State · W 28–16; defense 64.7 percentile2025 Week 14: Central Michigan vs. Toledo · L 3–21; defense 57.9 percentile2025 Week 1: Central Michigan vs. Northwestern · L 7–34; defense 51.6 percentile2026 Week 1: Central Michigan at New Mexico · L 7–38; defense 20.9 percentile2026 Week 2: Central Michigan vs. Colgate · W 13–10; defense 25.5 percentile2014 defense season mean: 60.3 percentile2015 defense season mean: 59.6 percentile2016 defense season mean: 43.4 percentile2017 defense season mean: 47.1 percentile2018 defense season mean: 42.6 percentile2019 defense season mean: 58.1 percentile2020 defense season mean: 72.6 percentile2021 defense season mean: 57.6 percentile2022 defense season mean: 45.6 percentile2023 defense season mean: 24.3 percentile2024 defense season mean: 41.0 percentile2025 defense season mean: 43.4 percentile2026 defense Bayesian estimate: 39.0 percentile2026 defense empirical mean: 23.1 percentile2014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Individual gameSeason bar · 2026 is the estimate2026 empirical meanCoaching-era band
2015John Bonamego
2019Jim McElwain
2025Matt Drinkall

How to read 2026

The current-season estimate intelligently blends last season with new data.

The 2026 estimate is a Bayesian weighted average of normal-score Z-values. The 2025 season mean counts like 8 games of prior evidence; each completed 2026 game counts once. The result is then translated back to the 0–100 percentile scale.

2026 Z = (8 × 2025 mean Z + games played × 2026 mean Z) ÷ (8 + games played)

Season record

Every annual grade and coach

Retrospective rows average the available single-game grades in normal-score space. The result is shown as a percentile. Roughly speaking, a 95th-percentile season corresponds to about the eighth-best team in a 160-team field.

SeasonHead coachGamesOffenseDefense
2026Live estimateMatt Drinkall2
33.8 estimate20.0 games-only average
39.0 estimate23.1 games-only average
2025Matt DrinkallCoaching change1237.843.4
2024Jim McElwain1032.241.0
2023Jim McElwain1246.924.3
2022Jim McElwain1040.845.6
2021Jim McElwain1049.257.6
2020Jim McElwain636.672.6
2019Jim McElwainCoaching change1457.158.1
2018John Bonamego1211.742.6
2017John Bonamego1333.847.1
2016John Bonamego1238.143.4
2015John BonamegoCoaching change1234.759.6
2014Dan Enos1345.060.3