Football | September 21, 2016

• Western Michigan begins the season 3-0 for the first time since 1994. The Broncos defeated Illinois 34-10 last Saturday, marking the fewest points the team has allowed to a B1G opponent in program history.

• Western Michigan's 34-10 win over Illinois gave the Broncos two wins against B1G opponents for the first time in school history. Western Michigan opened the season with a 22-21 win over Northwestern. 

• Western Michigan is looking for its first 4-0 start since 1994 when it began the year 5-0. 

• Wide receiver Corey Davis is currently the active leading receiver in the FBS with 4,102 yards a title he ended the 2015 season with. He is currently 85 yards away from the all-time MAC receiving record and 903 yards away from the all-time FBS receiving record. Davis had four catches for 97 yards against Illinois. 

• Running back Jamauri Bogan enters the week ranked fifth in the country in rushing with 426 yards following his 189-yard effort on a career-high 24 carries and two touchdowns. For his efforts he was named MAC West Offensive Player of the Week.

• Linebacker Robert Spillane had a career-best 11 tackles at Illinois including his first career interception. He was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. Spillane leads the Broncos with 25 tackles this season. 

• This summer the Broncos were picked to win the MAC by both the media and the coaches for the first time since 2007.

• In the offseason, Western Michigan claimed its third straight No. 1 recruiting class in the MAC. The class was ranked No. 48 nationally, the best among all Group of 5 schools according to Scout.com.

Beating the Big Dogs
• Western Michigan beat two B1G opponents in the same season for the first time this year, beating Northwestern and Illinois.

• Below are all the wins for the Broncos over current Power 5 opponents

Year    Opponent    Score
1917    Michigan State    W, 14-0
1919    Michigan State    W, 21-18
1964    Louisville    W, 10-7
1988    Wisconsin    W, 24-14
1994    Iowa State    W, 23-19
2000    Iowa    W, 27-21
2006    Virginia    W, 17-10
2007    Iowa    W, 28-19
2008    Illinois    W, 23-17
2016    Northwestern    W, 22-21
2016    Illinois    W, 34-10

Building a Winning Tradition
• Last season marked the first time in program history Western Michigan has won eight games in back-to-back seasons as well as playing in a bowl in consecutive seasons. 

• With the win last Saturday, the Broncos have 19 wins over the last three seasons. Below are the most wins in a two and three-year span.

Two Years    Wins
1      2014-15    16
       1999-2000    16
3.     2005-06    15
        1997-98    15
5.     14 done 9 times

Three Years    Wins
1.     1998-2000    23
2.     2006-08    22
       1997-99    22
4.     1988-90    21
       1970-72    21
--    2014-16    19

Hog the ball
• Western Michigan won the time of possession battle in all 13 games in 2015. 

• The Broncos averaged 34:33 minutes of possesion each game, trailing only Stanford in the FBS. 

• This year Western Michigan are off to another strong start, possessing the ball for at least 34 minutes each game to extend its streak of winning the time of possesion battle to 16 games.  

• The Broncos rank sixth this season with an average of 36:18 each game, while their opponent Georgia Souther ranks fifth with an average of 37:02. Below are the top six teams in the country.

Team    Time of Possession
1.     Air Force    39:51
2.     Army    39:13
3.    Wisconsin    38:25
4.     Houston    37:42
5.    Georgia Southern    37:02
6.    Western Michigan    36:18

Consistency on Defense
• This season the Broncos have shown improvement on the defensive side of the ball, allowing an average of 17.3 points per game and 316.3 yards per game.

• Both those totals rank inside the top 30 in the country after finishing 75th or worse in those categoies last year.

• Western Michigan has been extremely consistent in its first three games allowing totals of 319 to Northwestern, 315 to NCCU and also 315 to Illinois last week.

• The 52 points the Broncos have allowed through their first three games is the fewest since giving up 40 in 2000.

Explosive Offense
• Western Michigan has piled on the points in the first three games, totaling 126.

• The 126 points includes a 70-point explosion against NCCU which was the most points scored by the Broncos since 1996.

• The 126 point total is the most by a WMU team through its first three games since 1919 when the team scored 136.

• The record for the most points through three games was done in 1916 when WMU scored 224.

Most Balanced Offense Around
• Last year the Broncos' offense ranked 26th in the country in passing and 29th in rushing. 

• The team was one of only seven schools to rank in the top-30 in both rushing and passing joining Baylor, Clemson, Arizona, Oklahoma, TCU and Indiana.

• This year the Broncos have improved on the rushing attack, averaging 281.3 yards on the ground through three games, good for 10th in the country. 

• Overall the Broncos rank 29th nationally with 489.0 total yards per game. 

• Western Michigan is the only team in the country to have a running back in the top 5 in rushing yards (Jamauri Bogan, 429 -5th) and a receiver inside the top 16 in receiving yards (Corey Davis, 317 - 16th).

Emphasis on Special Teams
• Western Michigan has put an emphasis on special teams since Coach Fleck arrived in 2013. 

• The Broncos have had a freshman All-American kick returner in Darius Phillips in 2014.

• Part of the reason for WMU's dominance in the third phase of the game has been special teams coordinator Rob Wenger's ability to focus on just special teams as he is one of just 10 FBS coordinators to have no other responsibilties.

• Below is a list of special teams coordiantors who are not tasked with coaching another position.

Boston College
Florida International
Kansas
Kansas State
Nebraska
San Diego State
Utah State
Washington State
Western Michigan
Wisconsin

Electrifying Returns
• Cornerback Darius Phillips made his mark in his first career game as a punter returner against NCCU.

• After earning All-American honors as a kick returner in 2014, Phillips fielded his first punts on Sept. 10 vs. North Carolina Central, returning the second punt of his career 66 yards for the first punt return TD by a Bronco since Greg Jennings in 2004.

Setting Records Off the Field
• Aside from setting a new standard on the field in 2015, the Broncos also set a new standard in the classroom with a record team GPA of 2.93.

• The Broncos also saw 12 student-athletes named to the Academic All-MAC team with four also earning the Distinguished Scholar Athlete award.

• Players who were named to the Academic All-MAC team include Lucas Bezerra, Kasey Carson, Lucas Cherocci, David Curle Kristof Ifkovits, Derrick Mitchell, Taylor Moton, Alec Moulton, Zach Novoselsky, J. Schroeder, Trevor Sweeney, Zach Terrell. 

• Bezerra, Mitchell, Sweeney and Terrell were Distinguished Scholar Athletes.

Quirky Stat
• Junior Caleb Bailey was among the best linebackers in the MAC last season, ranking fourth in the league with 12.5 tackles for loss.

• Despite ranking fourth with 12.5 tackles for loss, none of those were sacks as Bailey picked up the first sack of his career on Sept. 3 at Northwestern and had the second of his career two weeks ago vs. NCCU.

Nose for the End Zone
• Senior wide receiver Carrington Thompson has seen his role increase this season.

• Thompson set his career-high with three receptions at Illinois, giving him seven catches for 91 yards this year, after totaling eight catches for 89 yards last season.

• Thompson has a high ratio of receptions to TDs as he has recorded three TDs on just 15 career receptions.

Doing it Efficiently
• Quarterback Zach Terrell ended 2015 as the seventh most efficent QB in the country with a mark of 162.3.

• Terrell has a career QB efficiency rating of 151.4, ranking ninth nationally. Below are the rankings of QBs across the country.

Quarterback, School    Efficiency
1. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma    171.9
2  Seth Russell, Baylor    169.7
3. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State    163.4
4. Deshaun Watson, Clemson    157.2
5. Chad Kelley, Ole Miss    156.8
6. Patrick Mahomes, Texas Tech    155.6
7. Deshone Kizer, Notre Dame    154.2
8. Brent Stockstill, Middle Tenn.    152.0
9. Zach Terrell, Western Michigan    151.4
10. Jake Browning, Washington    150.9

Best in the Program
• Terrell has also made his mark in Western Michigan history, becoming one of the most decordated Bronco QBs.

• He is atop nearly every career QB record. Here is where he stands at WMU across multiple categories.

Career Completion Percentage
1.    .643    Zach Terrell, 2013-current
2.    .633    Alex Carder, 2009-12
3.    .629    Tim Hiller, 2005, 2007-09

Career Passing TDs
1.    99    Tim Hiller, 2005, 2007-09 
2.    87    Tim Lester, 1996-99
3.    74    Alex Carder, 2009-12
4.    68    Zach Terrell, 2013-current

Career Passing Yards
1.    11,329    Tim Hiller, 2005, 2007-09
2.    11,299    Tim Lester, 1996-99
3.    9,194    Zach Terrell, 2013-current
4.    8,886    Alex Carder, 2009-12
5.    8,717      Brad Tayles, 1989-92

Career Completions
1.    1,013    Tim Hiller, 2005, 2007-09
2.    875    Tim Lester, 1996-99
3.    769    Alex Carder, 2009-12
4.    680    Zach Terrell, 2013-current
5.    663       Brad Tayles, 1989-92

New Kids on the Block
• The last four seasons have seen a Western Michigan freshman earn MAC Freshman of the Year.

• Last year redshirt freshman Jamauri Bogan put his name on a prestigious list of Broncos to capture the first-year award. Below are the last four MAC Freshmen of the Year

Year    Player, Position
2012    Jamie Wilson, WR
2013    Corey Davis, WR
2014    Jarvion Franklin, RB
2015    Jamauri Bogan, RB

Running to Daylight
• Western Michigan's running game has stood out amongst the entire country the last two seasons. 

• In 2014 Jarvion Franklin took the country by storm with 1,550+ yards and 24 touchdowns en route to earning the MAC Offensive Player of the Year Award and Freshman All-American. His 24 TDs are the third most in a single season in the MAC.

• Last season, Jamauri Bogan made his way into the record book, splitting carries with Franklin and racked up over 1,000 yards and 16 TDs himself. He began the season with another 100+ yard game at Northwestern, finishing with 103 yards on 22 carries.

• In the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl, Bogan ran for 216 yards and four TDs as he was named the Offensive MVP of the game.

• Franklin and Bogan's performance marked the first time since 2008-09 that the Broncos have seen 1,000 yard rushers in back-to-back seasons.

• Below are some of the rusing records Franklin and Bogan have set at Western Michigan.

Single Season Rushing TDs
1.    24    Jarvion Franklin, 2014
2.    19    Jerome Persell, 1976
3.    18    Robert Sanford, 2000
4.    16    Jamauri Bogan, 2015

Career Rushing TDs
1.    39    Jerome Persell 1976-78 
2.    31    Jarvion Franklin, 2014-current
3.    30    Robert Sanford, 1997-00
4.    25    Brandon West, 2006-09
    25    Larry Cates, 1971-73
6.    23    Jim Vackaro, 1992-95
    23    Albert Little, 1976-79
8.    22    Roger Lawson, 1969-71
9.    21    Phillip Reed, 2000-03
10.    20    Jamauri Bogan, 2015-current
    20    Tim Majerle, 1966-68