WESTERN MICHIGAN (0-2, 0-0 MAC)
vs. IDAHO (1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Sept. 16, 2017 • Waldo Stadium (30,200) • Kalamazoo, Mich.
7 PM ET • ESPN3 • 96.5 FM


ESPN3 TALENT:
Dan Gutowsky - Play-by-Play
Tyoka Jackson - Analyst

COACHING FACTS
WMU Head Coach: Tim Lester (Western Michigan, 2000)
Record at WMU: 0-2 (1st Season)
Overall record: 40-25 (7th season)

Head Coach: Paul Petrino
Record at Idaho: 16-34 (Fifth Year)
Overall record: Same

COMMUNIVERCITY
This weekend will be the annual CommUniverCity game which includes halftime fireworks entertainment at Waldo Stadium. This will be the 26th consecutive year for the popular fall celebration designed to focus on community-university partnerships. All tent and corporate reservations for CommUniverCity are full, however reservation space is still available for Southwest Fest on Sept. 23 vs. Wagner (see Wagner note below).

SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan and Idaho will be meeting for the fifth time ever, with the Broncos holding a 3-1 series advantage. The last time the two met, WMU came away with a 45-33 road win at the Kibbie Dome on Sept. 13, 2014. Idaho's lone win over the Broncos was in Kalamazoo on Oct. 2, 2010 (33-13). The other two meetings were in Idaho in 2008 (51-28 WMU victory) and in Kalamazoo in 1972 (27-16 WMU victory). The last time WMU faced a Sun Belt opponent was last season, defeating Georgia Southern, 49-31, on Sept. 24 in Kalamazoo.

ALL-TIME SERIES
WMU leads, 3-1
1972    H    W   27-16
2008    A    W   51-28
2010    H    L    33-13
2014    A    W   45-33

LAST TIME THEY MET - Sept. 14, 2014
WMU 45, IDAHO 33
MOSCOW, Idaho- Zach Terrell passed for 242 yards and three touchdowns and freshman running back Jarvion Franklin rushed for 33 carries and 211 yards with three touchdowns as Western Michigan defeated Idaho 45-33 in front of 14,721 at the Kibbie Dome. Junior Ronald Zamort forced WMU's first turnover of the season, an interception he returned 59 yards for a touchdown.

PHILLIPS RECEIVES NATIONAL ATTENTION
The nation has taken notice of senior Darius Phillips over the last two weeks. Phillips has made multiple National Teams of the Week, including those determined by Pro Football Focus and Bleacher Report, as well as the Paul Hornung Award. Phillips has been named the Mid-American Conference Special Teams Player of the Week in both the opening weeks of the season. In the first two weeks, Phillips has had a 100-yard kickoff return for a score and an interception in each game. He also added a forced fumble and 67-yard fumble recovery for a TD at Michigan State, as well as three pass breakups. Phillips had a 99.7 grade from Pro Football Focus this past week, this highest of anyone in the nation.

MR. VERSATILITY
Senior KR/DB Darius Phillips has 13 career TDs - scored five different ways. He has five TDs off kickoff returns, four off of interceptions, one punt return, one off of a fumble return and two receiving from his freshman year as a wide receiver. Phillips' 11 non-offensive TDs is the most by any player in the FBS since 2004.

THREE BACK ATTACK
WMU's strength on offense is its running game, returning senior Jarvion Franklin (career: 3,715 yds., 41 TDs), redshirt junior Jamauri Bogan (career: 2,081 yds., 25 TDs) and redshirt sophomore LeVante Bellamy (career: 795 yds., 3 TDs). Franklin and Bogan were both MAC Freshman of the Year recipients. Bellamy is one of the fastest players on the team and is at full health after suffering an ACL in week 2 last season at Illinois.

WMU'S BACKFIELD RANKED #7 IN NATION IN 2017
Bleacher Report ranked Western Michigan's backfield #7 in the nation this past preseason.
1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Oregon
4. Penn State
5. Auburn
6. USC
7. Western Michigan
8. Washington
9. LSU
10. Northwestern

SCOUTING IDAHO
• Idaho is 1-1 this season after picking up a 28-6 win vs. Sacramento State in the season-opener and dropping this past Saturday's contest at home against UNLV, 44-16. That loss snapped a six-game win streak for the Vandals. This will be the first road game of the season for Idaho.

• Idaho's 9 wins last year were the most for the program since 1998 when the Vandals went 9-3, and finished first in the Big West with a 4-1 record. Idaho won the Idaho Potato Bowl last season, defeating Colorado State, 61-50.

• Idaho was picked to finish sixth in the Sun Belt Conference, as voted on by the
league's 12 head coaches. The Vandals tied for third in the Sun Belt last season, posting a 6-2 conference mark.

* Idaho returns 2016 All-Sun Belt Second Team senior QB Matt Linehan, who has over 9,000 career passing yards and 49 career passing TDs. Linehan is a native of Orchard Lake, Mich.

WAGNER KICKOFF ANNOUNCED FOR 7 PM
It was announced that the kickoff time for Western Michigan's home football game against Wagner on Saturday, Sept. 23 will be at 7 p.m. The contest will be aired on ESPN3. Western Michigan will be holding its Southwest Fest prior to the Wagner game. Much like the sold-out CommUniverCity corporate tent village on Sept. 16, tent and tailgating space is available the following week at the Southwest Fest for local groups and businesses. To reserve your business or corporation's spot in the 2017 Southwest Fest, contact John Zeleznock at john.zeleznock@wmich.edu or (269) 387-0973.