Western Michigan Broncos Season Preview

Gary Cubit enters his seventh season in Kalamazoo, and his Broncos have been up and down for the past few seasons. Cubit’s Broncos are 40-33 while going 29-18 in the MAC. Those are not bad records and the Broncos have started to develop some of their own home grown players.

A 6-6 season which featured no signature wins makes most wonder if this team has any shot at getting back to contention of a MAC Championship. With fifteen starters back though, there is no way they won’t improve.

The offense was 34th in total offense averaging a whopping 411 yards per game where their passing offense averaged 285 YPG at number 16 in America.

Meet Alex Carder who had 30 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions along with 3,334 yards! He also ran for over 200 yards along with 6 rushing TDs.

Carder was 12th in America in total offense, averaging 296 yards per game, which goes to show how potent this offense can be with him at disposal. He only has two offensive line backs, but left guard Anthony Parker is a 6’5", 325 pound monster that has a chance to play on Sundays, and more importantly, get selected to the All-MAC team.

Now to the fun part of this Broncos team! They are loaded at receiver, with Jordan White who hauled in 94 balls for 1,378 yards with 10 TDs.

White has solid speed as he made first team All-MAC one season ago. Robert Arnheim is another solid target with deceptive speed. Ansel Ponder is yet another skinny 6’1", 183 pound target who can beat you deep. This the best receiving core in the MAC and their backfield is rock solid as well. 

Tevin Drake is a solid 5’11", 212 pound back who ran for 405 yards on just 40 attempts. Aaron Winchester ran the rock 92 times for 271 yards with 6 TDs! The two will split carries and should improve the rushing offense that was only 93rd averaging 125 YPG. 

The defense has eight starters back and hopefully improvements will be made on a defense that ranked just 73rd, allowing 387 yards per game. They were gashed against the run giving up 166 YPG and in the big non-conference games in which they were throttled.

Michigan State and Notre Dame hung 82 points and ran for over 400 yards! The entire defensive line is back and they will be led by senior Drew Nowak and sophomore Travonte Boles. Both interior linemen contributed a season ago and will improve on harassing MAC quarterbacks.

The secondary must step up their 62nd ranked pass defense after allowing 221 yards per game. Lewis Toler was the team’s fourth tackler despite playing corner and his 5 INT’s showed his play making ability.

Doug Wiggins is a former Miami Hurricane and is a big hitter at SS. He needs to improve his pass coverage but he has the ability to get in the backfield in a hurry. CB Garrett Smith was recruited by some Big Ten schools two seasons ago and is expected to start despite being a first year player.

The depth may be a concern, but in the MAC it should not be too much of a problem.

This schedule is just brutal with six road tests! Three are in conference and three are out of conference. Going to Ann Arbor in the opener will be difficult trying to contain the best running quarterback in America, as well going up against Brady Hoke in his first game.

Then, three weeks later, they get Illinois and Connecticut in what will be tough games to win since they are on the road in a somewhat hostile environment.

Throw in Toledo, Northern Illinois, and Miami Ohio on the road and you have yourself the toughest schedule of any MAC team, at least non-conference wise.

The other five MAC games are cupcakes against Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Akron, Bowling Green, and Central Michigan. All in all, this team will have a winning record and they could sneak in a bowl game.

Predicted Finish: 7-5, 6-2

Predicted Bowl: None 

Predicted order of finish in MAC: Fifth overall, Third in West Division