They’re at halftime and still fighting to win the Mid-American Conference crown.

The thing is, they have to play extremely well from now on to get to the crown.

On Saturday afternoon, the Central Michigan University football team returns to Ypsilanti to face the host Eastern Michigan Eagles in an important Mid-American Conference contest.

Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Rynearson Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Chippewa Sports Radio Network.

Entering the game, the Chippewas are 3-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play. EMU is 4-2 overall and also 1-1 in MAC play.

In the standings, Buffalo, Ohio and Western Michigan are all 2-0 in MAC play. Six teams are 1-1 in conference play. So to keep up, you have to keep winning.

Saturday’s meeting will be the 102nd between the two programs. CMU leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1902, 64-31-6.

Last weekend, the Chippewas fell behind 24-0 at home on the trip to Ohio, but rallied in the second half and lost 27-25. CMU outscored Ohio 25-3 in the second half and had a monster game from running back Marion Lukes as he ran 20 times for 110 yards and scored three scores.

However, the Chippewas were penalized a total of 15 times for 133 yards, while Ohio recorded 424 yards of offense. Additionally, quarterback Joe Labas left last week’s game in the second quarter with an injury and backup quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr. did not dress for the game.

So redshirt freshman Tyler Jefferson came into the spotlight and had a good performance, leading the Chippewas with four goals in the second half. He completed 8 of 13 passes for 95 yards and ran 10 times for 28 yards.

EMU lost at home to the Miami RedHawks 38-14 last weekend.

Both teams average 29 points per game on offense. CMU allows 29 points per game on the defensive side while EMU allows 25.