Enos: This is what college football is all about

Central Michigan is coming off a lackluster performance on Wednesday night against Ball State, but their mindset should change with the simple utter of two words: Western Michigan. It's Western Week and each team is fully enveloped in one of the MAC's best rivalries.

Read below to hear what CMU head coach Dan Enos had to say regarding his teams loss to Ball State and their upcoming game vs. the Broncos.

On the loss to Ball State

"Obviously we ran into a very good Ball State team, and you have to take your hat off to them. I thought they did a great job. I thought we were a bit flat and tentative on defense as the game started, and certainly that caught up to us. At the end of the day we turned the ball over three times and they didn't turn it over at all, and you're not going to beat a good team when you are -3 in the turnover margin. Obviously we have to move on and we are on the road again next week at Western Michigan."

On the matchup with Western Michigan

"Great rivalry game and we have nothing but respect for them and their program. We're just looking forward to playing another game here as soon as possible."

On the importance of this rivalry in Mt. Pleasant and the surround communities

"You know, this rivalry has been going on a long time. Started long before I got here and will still be going on when I'm gone. This is a game that is very important to both schools, and really to me it is what college football is all about."

On if any positives can be taken from the Ball State game and his team continuing to fight

"The big thing is we moved the ball pretty much the whole game, we just had two turnovers in the redzone in the first half, and that was a big key to the game. When they were on offense, they were able to capitalize on their opportunities. In the second half we were able to capitalize on our redzone, which is nice to see. Titus Davis had nine catches for 187 yards, and Cooper Rush was 20-32 and he continues to play very well. There is certainly a lot of positives, but we were very disappointed with the way we played. Especially with the last three weeks and the way we competed, but we just have to be very resilient and get back on track."

On the dynamic between receivers Titus Davis (CMU) and Corey Davis (WMU) who are brothers and playing on opposite sides of the field

"He's [Corey] obviously an outstanding player, heck both of them are. It's going to be interesting as their family will be torn a little bit for the game, I know that. But really just two great players, and I know their family real well, and they are two great young men from a great family."

On the amazing return of RB Zurlon Tipton who was thought to be lost for the season after breaking his foot in the opener vs. Michigan

"I think he still has seven screws in his foot right now, and the surgery was something where they didn't think he would play the rest of the year. He has just kind of willed himself back, and he's as tough as they get and really had a great mindset."

On how his return impacted the team

"When he got injured a couple of years ago in 2011 at Kentucky, they basically said the same thing and that he was out for the year, but he came back and played in the last few games. It's really something when the rest of the guys look at a guy like that and see how badly he wants to play. Zurlon knows you don't get to play this game forever, he's a senior and he just wanted to make sure he could come back and help his team any way he could."

On the play of Titus Davis over the season

"He's a great player, he's a hard worker and he really has the right mindset every day he comes out here. He's not only a talented young man, he works hard and he really takes a lot of pride in what he does and he's a student of the game. He's a lot of fun to be around and coach. But to go along with all that, he's extremely talented."

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