KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The hype always surrounds a rivalry game but when it could possibly determine a conference or division championship, there is even more that surrounds it. This Friday at 7 p.m., Western Michigan and Central Michigan will meet for the 77th time with the winner moving one step closer to representing West Division in the Mid-American Conference Championship.
THE GAME ? The 77th meeting between Western Michigan and Central Michigan has everything on the line. Both teams are vying for the Mid-American Conference West Division title. The Broncos are looking to continue its season-long winning streak of four games and pick up a difficult win on the road at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. CMU is looking remain undefeated in MAC play and take charge of the West race with a win.
TELEVISION ? The game, orginally scheduled to air on either ESPNU or ESPN Classic will now be seen on Comcast Local at the original time of 7 p.m. on Nov. 10. The game will not be aired in the Mt. Pleasant market but it can be seen in Kalamazoo on the Charter Cable System. The exact channel will be released later this week. Ben Holden will handle play-by-play duties for Comcast Local as has done for WMU wins at Ball State and against Miami.
RADIO ? This and all Western Michigan football games will be broadcast live on the Bronco Radio Network, which includes its flagship station, WFAT - 96.5 FM, as well as WZUU - 92.3 FM in the Kalamazoo market. Robin Hook (play-by-play) and Monty Porter (analysis) will have the call as they have together for the past eight seasons.
WEB SITE ? All home WMU football games can be seen and heard live via the official athletics web site (www.wmubroncos.com) by subscribing to Bronco Insider, which can be found on the home page of the site. This game can be viewed live as Bronco Insider subscribers by logging on at game time. You will receive the video and audio feed directly from Comcast Local.
SERIES IN BRIEF ? This match up would be the biggest game of the year for both teams even if both were winless heading into the contest. The 77th meeting marks the 32nd time it will be played in Mt. Pleasant, a stadium Western Michigan has not won since 2002, 35-10. The Broncos took last year's meeting, 31-24, in front of nearly 24,000 fans at Waldo Stadium.
THE COACHES ? Bill Cubit (Delaware, 1975) is in his second season as the head coach of Western Michigan. The Sharon Hill, Pa., native led the Broncos to the biggest turnaround in Mid-American Conference history with five conference wins. Cubit served as offensive coordinator for WMU from 1997-99.
Brian Kelly (Assumption, 1983) is in his third season at the helm of the Central Michigan football program and is 16-19 overall with the Chippewas and 13-8 in conference play at CMU.
UP NEXT ? Western Michigan's final three games of the season come on the road and there is no rest as WMU will travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to battle Atlantic Coast Conference power Florida State. It will be the last non-conference game before the Broncos close the regular season at Akron (Nov. 24).
