Western Michigan Football

Sylvester Stallone can appreciate a scrappy underdog fighting his way to the top. 

Western Michigan University walk-on Kasey Carson meets the mold, so the Rocky star took the time to shock him with a full-scholarship offer.

The video starts with WMU head coach P.J. Fleck running onto the field in full uniform. He challenges Carson to stop him from crossing the goal line. The linebacker succeeds, earning everyone the night off instead of a team meeting.

It doesn't end there. After commending the 5'11" defender, Fleck directs his team's attention to the big screen, where Stallone appears alongside businessman and WMU alum Alec Gores.

"The fact that you are a walk-on and you accomplished this is extraordinary," Stallone said in the video. "It's really amazing."

He buried the lede, closing his piece by announcing the full-ride scholarship. Then the Broncos celebrated as if they had all won a heavyweight title fight.

[GhostBronco Video]

Western Michigan 45, Middle Tennessee 31, Final

It was a shootout in the 2015 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl, but it was the Western Michigan Broncos who were able to outlast the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and come away with the 45-31 win. The win gives Western Michigan its first bowl victory in school history and its second straight season with eight or more wins. 

The game started fast with a combined 34 points scored in the first quarter, but it was crucial stops by both defenses that defined the second quarter. The game went into halftime tied at 17, and it was back and forth for much of the second half. 

The Broncos sealed it late in the fourth quarter with an interception and a stop on fourth down that helped them run the clock out. It was a career day for Broncos running back Jamauri Bogan who rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns on just 19 carries. 

Quarterback Zach Terrell also had a nice day, throwing for 297 yards and two touchdowns, and he had a lot of help from two star wide receivers. Corey Davis totaled eight catches for 183 yards and a touchdown, while Daniel Braverman added 101 yards and a score. The Western Michigan offense racked up 613 yards of total offense in the win. 

Middle Tennessee was led by quarterback Brent Stockstill and wide receiver Richie James. James started off the scoring with a 46-yard touchdown run, and he finished with 187 total yards and three touchdowns. Stockstill was 26-of-39 passing for 327 yards and three touchdowns. 

Jay Harris made headlines earlier this year when he announced he would put his football career at Michigan State on hold for the chance of becoming a rap superstar. The decision sent the Internet into a firestorm and later forced Michigan State to later strip the talented receiver's scholarship.

It turns out Harris has had a change of heart and will in fact give this football thing another try. He has now committed to Western Michigan:

Lou Rabito of the Philadelphia Inquirer also confirmed the news:

Due to NCAA guidelines, the school has yet to confirm this commitment, but Harris' Twitter account also indicates that he is a Western Michigan University commit. (h/t College Football Talk)

Good for him.

While nobody can tell him he made the right or wrong decision, simple logic will show that there is a brighter future staying in school and pursuing a degree and football. Becoming a famous rapper who makes millions of dollars isn't really a realistic lifestyle. Even if the football thing doesn't work out, at least he'll have a degree to fall back on to provide some type of future.

And who knows, rap could always be on the side if Harris does feel he is talented enough to break into the industry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGwe_5L8i5w

As far as football is concerned, Harris was a 3-star recruit in the 2013 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. He has the speed and playmaking ability to be a difference maker for the Broncos offense.

It's good to know that this story did have a happy ending after all.

The Western Michigan Broncos are a middle-of-the-pack MAC team. Over the past five seasons, they have accumulated a win-loss record of 31-31. 

During that span, they have been to two bowl games, both of which they lost.  The last time the Broncos played in the MAC Championship game was in 2000.

Head coach Bill Cubit's eight-year tenure came to an end after last season's 4-8 record.  His replacement is P.J. Fleck, who at 32 years old is the youngest head coach in FBS football.  Fleck's experience at anything above the level of a position coach is a whopping one day as Northern Illinois' offensive coordinator.

Suffice it to say, on the surface Western Michigan does not appear to be a program that should have a lot of excitement surrounding it right now.  A mid-level team in one of the low-tier conferences—coming off of a losing season that ended in the head coach getting fired and replaced with a relatively inexperienced newcomer—does not exactly inspire unbridled enthusiasm.

And yet, WMU is quietly putting together a monster recruiting class. 

With 19 commits already, including one 4-star and six 3-star recruits according to ESPN's recruiting evaluations, the school has put together a class that is currently rated higher than Boise State's, Utah's and Kansas State's classes, among others.

And the surprising success on the recruiting trail may not even be finished yet. Four more 4-star recruits and eleven more 3-star recruits are considering the Broncos.

These aren't just lightly recruited athletes who fell by the recruiting wayside that WMU is getting either.  Their 4-star commit, QB Chance Stewart, turned down offers from Illinois and Wisconsin in favor of the Broncos. Other power-conference teams that Western Michigan has beaten out for recruits include Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia Tech.

Geography doesn't fully explain WMU's recruiting success either.  While four of the seven 3- and 4-star commits are in-state prospects, the other three hail from Illinois, New Jersey and Florida.  Of those, only Illinois could be considered as being in WMU's natural recruiting territory.

So how is WMU doing it? What is making a mid-tier MAC team put together such an impressive class, especially when the two conference teams who put together stellar seasons last year, Northern Illinois and Kent State, have only one 3-star recruit combined and whose combined number of total commits are the same as WMU's number of 3- and 4-star recruits?

There is no solid answer to that question. 

A new coach usually infuses excitement into a program, but this level of success goes well beyond what that can provide.  The fact that Western Michigan also hired its first-ever recruiting coordinator could also be playing a role, but that still doesn't explain it all.

Perhaps players are more trusting of a coach who is close to their own age and whose own collegiate playing career was less than a decade ago.  Perhaps Coach Fleck understands better how to relate to and appeal to these young men. 

Maybe Fleck has been able to parlay his one-year tenure as the receivers coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into a recruiting pitch of massive potential and growth. 

Whatever the underlying reasons for it, something amazing is happening in Kalamazoo, and Western Michigan fans have got to be enjoying it.  If WMU puts a product onto the field that is half as impressive as the current recruiting class they've put together, many more stellar recruiting classes are sure to come their way.

Western Michigan University football coach Bill Cubit has made it no secret that his team likes to throw the football.

Last season, the Broncos had one of the highest-ranked passing offenses in all of college football. Cubit looks to make his team's passing attack even more potent in 2012, as the squad has added six new receivers to the team.

The new receivers are part of a 27-player recruiting class for the Broncos in 2012, announced today in a press conference. Twelve of the prospects are from Florida—a state notorious for producing WMU's football talent—while only two are from Michigan.

“The two sports in [Florida] are really football and spring football,” Cubit said.

At quarterback, the Broncos brought in two Midwestern athletes in Zachary Terrell and Anthony Maddie.

According to Cubit (via mlive.com), the two new quarterbacks provide WMU with a solid option under center for the future.

“I'm shocked that we got two of these guys here at the same time,” he said. “Terrell and Maddie are two of the really good players that came in. I think the transition from Alex and Tyler to these guys is going to be pretty easy.”

As far as the number of recruits that have come from Florida, Cubit said that his staff has a system for the way that they pick up recruits.

“This process started about 13 months ago,” Cubit said. “We always start up north in Michigan, then we work our way over to Illinois and Wisconsin.”

“If we can't find the guys we need, we move down south,” he continued. “That's kind of been our philosophy since we got here.”

Along with the six new receivers, WMU also added five new defensive lineman. Cubit said that having a surplus of defensive lineman isn't a bad thing at all.

“You can never have enough defensive lineman,” he said. “You just hope that you get the right guys.”

Cubit said that if his squad wouldn't have brought in its two new defensive ends, the team could be left with a large deficit going into next season.

“It would have left a big hole. If you don't get them, then you really have to scramble,” he said. “That's what happened to us last year at wideout. When these two guys decided to come, that was really big.”

While the team was able to fill the void at punter with J. Schroeder, Cubit said that they'll look to fill the role of place kicker through open tryouts.

The Little Caesars Bowl features a great matchup between two teams that held teams to under 30 points per game: The Western Michigan Broncos (7-5, 5-3) take on the Purdue Boilermakers (6-6, 4-4). 

Western Michigan comes into this game with the better overall offense, passing game and more points per game. However, Purdue has the better rushing offense and had the better opponents average points per game. 

Where: Ford Field, Detroit, MI 

When: Tuesday, December 27th 4:30 PM

Watch: ESPN and ESPN-3.com

Listen: Western Michigan- WZUU 92.5 FM Purdue- WZBD 92.7 FM

Betting Line

According to Odds Shark, the Boilermakers are favored by -2.5 points. You should take Western Michigan in this game, because they have the better overall offense. 

Yes, Purdue has the better defense, however, Western Michigan allowed 28 points per game compared to Purdue’s who gave up 26 points per game.  

Key Storyline

The Purdue Boilermakers are looking for their first winning season since the 2007 season. Where as the Western Michigan Broncos, are looking to take down a BCS school to represent the mid-major conference, the MAC.  

Who Might Not Play for Purdue

RB Akeem Shavers is probable with a concussion. Shavers did not play in the Boilermaker’s season finale game against Indiana. 

LB Kaulana Judd is probable with an illness: Judd missed the last four games because of this illness. 

LB Dwayne Beckford is doubtful with a suspension. Beckford was arrested recently and could miss their bowl game against Western Michigan.  

Who Might Not Play for Western Michigan

QB Alex Carder is probable with a shoulder injury. This injury came during the Broncos’ game against Miami (OH). 

OL Greg Peterson is probable with a foot injury. This injury has kept Peterson out of action since Week 7.

RB Calvin Smith is doubtful because of a suspension. Smith was suspended for their Nov. 22nd game and then did not play the following week against Akron.  

What it Means for Purdue

Purdue needs this win for its first winning season since 2007. If not that will have made for four straight losing season for this Boilermaker club.  

What it Means for Western Michigan

Western Michigan can cap off a great season finishing 8-5. They would score a huge win for mid-major schools with a win over a Big Ten school.

What They're Saying

Purdue

From Mike Carmin of JConline.com, he says that two Boilermakers who were arrested earlier this week will play in their bowl game. 

Defensive end Gerald Gooden and linebacker Will Lucas won't miss playing time in the upcoming bowl game following Monday's arrest, Purdue coach Danny Hope said Thursday.

Gooden and Lucas were both arrested by Purdue Police on suspicion of theft under $100,000 value. Lucas was also picked up on suspicion of criminal mischief and receiving stolen property. Both spent Monday night in jail and were released around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Western Michigan

From Mat Kanan from WMUBroncos.com: 

Of course, all four of these Broncos have something to be proud of, playing so many games in a career, but this trio also have one more way they can distinguish themselves from Broncos of the past and it also has to do with a number.  That number is one, meaning Armer, Potter and Zajac, and the rest of the Broncos have a chance to be the first to bring a bowl win back to Kalamazoo.

Purdue Player to Watch: RB Ralph Bolden

Bolden had a down year compared to his 2009 season where he rushed for 935 yards and nine touchdowns. However, he still had a very productive season with 674 yards and six scores. 

In his last three games, Bolden has scored three times, while averaging between 3.9 to 5.1 yards per game. 

If Purdue is going to be successful in their bowl game, it will be because of Bolden.

Western Michigan Player to Watch: QB Alex Carder

Carder led this Broncos offense for a second consecutive year of over 3,330 yards passing with 28 or more touchdowns. If Carder can throw two or more touchdowns in their bowl game, he will have surpassed every his major stats from last year. 

Carder comes into this bowl game after throwing for 548 and 429 yards in his last two games. In those two games, Carder had 10 touchdowns, throwing for seven against Toledo and three against Miami (OH).

Carder should light the scoreboard up against the Purdue defense. 

Key Matchup: QB Alex Carder vs. Purdue’s defense

Carder went off against his last two defenses that he faced. While Purdue was okay against quarterbacks this year. 

Purdue gave up 2,434 passing yards this year, while allowing 203 yards per game. They only gave up 14 passing touchdowns, which should make it difficult for Carder to find his receivers downfield. 

Prediction

Purdue should win this game because of the talent on their team. They are from a BCS conference and have played better talent compared to Western Michigan. However, you cannot ignore how good WMU’s Carder has played over his last two games. 

For that reason, I’m going to give the advantage to the Broncos to win the game. 

Western Michigan 38 - Purdue 23

Follow @tjmcaloon

The 2011 Little Caesars Bowl pits Mid American Conference champion Western Michigan against the Big Ten's Purdue.

It is a welcomed return for the Boilermakers, who are making their first bowl appearance in four years, their last being in this very same bowl.

Their counterpart, The Western Michigan Broncos entertain with their highly-powered offense that is looking to avenge their two losses against Big Ten teams this season.

Although the Little Caesars Bowl looks like an average matchup at best on paper, games like these have great potential to provide a great and close game.

For a complete preview of the Little Caesars Bowl, continue below.

Location: Ford Field, Detroit, MI

Time: December 27th at 4:30 p.m. EDT

TV: ESPN/ESPN3D/ESPN3

Radio: 1260 AM- Purdue, 92.5 FM- Western Michigan

Line: Line has yet to be set

Storyline

Purdue greatly struggled throughout the inaugural season of the new, two-division Big Ten. After a dismal 6-6 season, Purdue looks to end their average season on a very high note, while providing a bright outlook for 2012. 

Meanwhile, a familiar face returns to Ford Field for the Little Caesars Bowl. Western Michigan and their high flying offense take the field, looking to put a stamp on their season labeled "success."

Who Might Not Play for Purdue

RB Ralph Bolden- OUT (torn ACL) The starting running back tore his ACL during the team's final game of the regular season, and will be sorely missed out of the backfield for the Boilermakers.

Who Might Not Play for Western Michigan

QB Alex Carder- Probable (shoulder) The starting quarterback for the Broncos missed the season finale against Akron, but the junior quarterback should at least play in the bowl. If he does not, Western Michigan is in big trouble.

What the Bowl Means for Each Team

For Western, they're growing impatient. The school's all-time bowl record is 0-4 and see this opportunity as a prime shot to get off the bowl game schnide. 

They have already accomplished their initial season goal by winning the MAC against Ohio. Now they have to go out and defeat a Big Ten team, a conference that went 2-0 against the Broncos.

For Purdue, its a giant opportunity. They've had a miserable season, finishing 6-6 overall. Head coach Danny Hope can breathe for a bit after taking Purdue to his first bowl game.

Western Michigan Player To Watch: QB Alex Carder

Carder is the cannon in the Broncos effective offense. He has a strong arm who can make the long throw downfield. His skills and patience inside and outside the pocket make him a quarterback to be reckoned with. 

The Boilermakers will have to keep their eye on him all day.

Purdue Player To Watch: DT Kawann Short

Short emerged as one of the premier defensive players not only on the Purdue roster, but throughout the entire Big Ten. He will serve a huge role in stopping Carder, and will look to contain him and the Broncos running backs.

Prediction: Western Michigan 37, Purdue 27