The game Bronco fans have been waiting for is almost here as Western Michigan football takes on Purdue in the 2011 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, Dec. 27 at 4:30 p.m. in Ford Field.

NOTE: A Live Stats Link will be made available at the start of the game.

WMU FOOTBALL NOTES OF INTEREST

• Western Michigan and Purdue will meet for the third time in program history with the Boilermakers holding a 2-0-0 lead in the series
• WMU is playing in its fifth postseason bowl game and third under head coach Bill Cubit
• WMU's Jordan White became WMU football's first Consensus All-American when he was named to the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press and Walter Camp All-America teams; he is also only the sixth Consensus All-American in Mid-American Conference history
• WMU broke 10 single-season team records in 2011
• WMU's Drew Nowak became the program's fifth MAC Defensive Player of the Year and first since Ameer Ismail in 2006
• The Broncos are looking for the program's first postseason bowl win and look to remain undefeated when playing at Ford Field under Cubit — WMU d. Eastern Michigan, 44-36 (Nov. 5, 2005); WMU d. Illinois, 23-17 (Nov. 8, 2008)
• Alex Carder is looking for his fourth 400-yard passing game in a row to extend his program record to six career games reaching that plateau
• Jordan White is 110 yards from breaking the MAC record for career receiving yards (Darius Watts, Marshall — 4,031 yds) and 125 yards from breaking the MAC record for single-season receiving yards (Freddie Barnes, Bowling Green — 1,770 yds in 2009)
• Mitch Zajac, John Potter and Ben Armer are inline to join former long snapper Tom Harrington at 50 career games played at Western Michigan, marking the most in a career at WMU

• WMU boasts eight All-MAC selections, the MAC Defensive Player of the Year, two All-Americans and an Academic All-American on its 2011 squad
• WMU has amassed 10,048 community service hours during head coach Bill Cubit's seven-season tenure
• WMU has two former players on the coaching staff — Ryan Cubit (2004-06) - Quarterbacks; Jake Moreland (1996-99) - Tight Ends
• WMU running backs coach/special teams coordinator Mike Sabock will retire at the end of the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, marking the end of a coaching career that has spanned 28 seasons
• John Potter holds the career record for tackles by a kicker (35)
• Bill Cubit (47) ranks sixth on the all-time wins list at Western Michigan University; Cubit ranks third in MAC wins at WMU (34)
• WMU faced a bowl team from the 2010 season on the road six times this year (Michigan, Illinois, Connecticut, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Miami)

HERE'S SOMETHING YOU DID NOT KNOW
Western Michigan is playing indoors for the fifth time during the Bill Cubit era and look to improve to 4-1 in such games — Ford Field (2-0), Kibbie Dome (1-0), Rogers Centre (0-1).

LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA BOWL - LIVE CHAT