Football | September 29, 2016

• Western Michigan begins the season 4-0 for the first time since 1994. The Broncos defeated Georgia Southern 49-31 last Saturday.


• Western Michigan's 34-10 win over Illinois earlier this season 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 5-0 start since 1994 when it also began the year 5-0. 


• Wide receiver Corey Davis is currently the active leading receiver in the FBS with 4,180 yards a title he ended the 2015 season with. He is currently seven yards away from the all-time MAC receiving record and 825 yards away from the all-time FBS receiving record. Davis had six catches for 78 yards against Georgia Southern, including his 37th career touchdown reception, tying him with his brother, former Chippewa Titus Davis.


• Running back Jamauri Bogan enters the week ranked fifth in the country in rushing with 527 yards following his 104-yard effort against Georgia Southern. Bogan has gone over 100 yards in each of his last five games, dating back to the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl last 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 20 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
6.    2014-16    20

Hog the ball
• Western Michigan had one streak come to an end last Saturday against Georgia Southern, falling in the time of possession battle for the first game since the start of the 2015 season, a streak spanning 16 games.

• 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 14th this season with an average of 34:25 each game, while their opponent Central Michigan ranks 21st with an average of 33:36. 

The Ball is the Program
• Western Michigan is currently one of two teams in the country to not commit a turnover this season with Maryland being the other.

• The Broncos are the only team in the country to have played four games without committing a turnover, with the Terps having a bye week last Saturday.

• Last week against Georgia Southern, Western Michigan was +4 in the turnover column, its best in a single game since also winning the turnover battle 4-0 at Eastern Michigan last season.

• For the year, the Broncos are +7 in turnover margin, good for fourth in the country.

Explosive Offense
• Western Michigan has piled on the points in the first three games, totaling 175.

• The 175 points includes a 70-point explosion against NCCU which was the most points scored by the Broncos since 1996.

• The 175 point total is the most by a WMU team through its first four games since 1918 when the team scored 184.

• The record for the most points through four games was done in 1916 when WMU scored 307, including three games over 80.

• This year's average of 43.8 points per game is the most in the MAC and 15th in the country.

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 243.5 yards on the ground through four games, good for 20th in the country. 

• Western Michigan is the only team in the country to have a running back in the top 5 in rushing yards (Jamauri Bogan, 527 - 5th) and a receiver inside the top 14 in receiving yards (Corey Davis, 395 - 14th).

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 has provided electricity this season, returning a kickoff, punt, and interception for a touchdown.

• Last week, Phillips returned his third career kickoff for a touchdown, and his second of 100-yards after also doing so against Michigan State last season.

• The 70-yard interception TD return is the ninth longest in the country this season. For Phillips, it was his first interception of the season and sixth of his career. It was the second interception returned for a touchdown in his career after returning one 10 yards for a score against Murray State last season.

• 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.

• Phillips has earned MAC West Player of the Week honors twice this season following the NC Central and Georgia Southern games.

Airing it Out
• This week's quarterback matchup pits two of the top five active quarterbacks against each other in Zach Terrell and Cooper Rush.

• Rush leads all quarterbacks with 10,713 career passing yards while Terrell is third with 9,448. Below are the top QBs in the country in career yards.

Career Passing Yards
1.    Cooper Rush, CMU    10,713
2.    Nick Mullens, So. Miss    9,635
3.    Zach Terrell, WMU    9,448
4.    Dane Evans, Tulsa    9,212
5.    Phillip Walker, Temple    8,220

Deadly Accurate
• In addition to throwing for many yards, Terrell is also one of the most accurate QBs with a career completion percentage of 64.4, good for sixth among active QBs. Below are the top 10.

Career Completion Percentage
1.    Luke Falk, Washington State    68.9
2.    Greg Ward Jr., Houston    67.0
3.    Deshaun Watson, Clemson    66.3
4.    Brent Stockstill, Middle Tenn.    66.0
5.    Brandon Silvers, Troy    64.5
6.    Zach Terrell, Western Michigan    64.4
7.    Sefo Liufau, Colorado    63.5
8.    Patrick Mahomes, Texas Tech    63.3
9.    Cooper Rush, Central Michigan    62.9
10.    Gunner Kiel, Cincinnati    62.2

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 152.6, ranking eighth nationally. Below are the rankings of QBs across the country.

Quarterback, School    Efficiency
1  Seth Russell, Baylor    172.8
2. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma    171.9
3. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State    163.4
4. Chad Kelley, Ole Miss    159.2
5. Deshaun Watson, Clemson    156.9
6. Patrick Mahomes, Texas Tech    155.6
7. Deshone Kizer, Notre Dame    154.5
8. Zach Terrell, Western Michigan    152.6
9. Brent Stockstill, Middle Tenn.    151.1
10. Jake Browning, Washington    151.0

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.    .644    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.    72    Zach Terrell, 2013-current

Career Passing Yards
1.    11,329    Tim Hiller, 2005, 2007-09
2.    11,299    Tim Lester, 1996-99
3.    9,448    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.    713    Zach Terrell, 2013-current
5.    663       Brad Tayles, 1989-92

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 vs. NCCU.

Setting a New Standard
• Linebacker Robert Spillane set a new career-high with 11 tackles at Illinois including his first career interception. 

• Following the game, he was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. 

• Spillane followed it up with another 11 tackles against Georgia Southern last week, matching the personal-best set the week before. 

• Spillane leads the Broncos with 36 tackles this season. 

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 nine catches for 128 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 four TDs on just 17 career receptions, including one last week against Georgia Southern to tie last season's output of two TDs.

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
    21    Jamauri Bogan, 2015-current