Football | September 04, 2018

Western Michigan (0-1, 0-0 MAC)
at Michigan (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten)
Sept. 8, 2018 • 12:05 PM ET
Michigan Stadium (107,601) • Ann Arbor, Mich.

TV: Fox Sports 1
TV Talent: Radio: Bronco Radio Network - 96.5 FM

COACHING FACTS
WMU Head Coach: Tim Lester (Western Michigan, 2000)
Record at Western Michigan: 6-7 (2nd Season)
Career Record: 46-30 (8th season)

Michigan Head Coach: Jim Harbaugh (Michigan, 1986)
Record at Michigan: 28–12 (4th season)
Career Record: 86–39 (11th season)

STORYLINES
• This will be the seventh all-time meeting between Western Michigan and Michigan, with all of the games being played at Michigan Stadium and the Wolverines holding a 6-0 advantage. The 2018 meeting will be the fifth time since 2001 the two teams have met, after going nearly 60 years from 1943-2001 without playing one another.

• The Broncos have faced at least one Big Ten team every season since 2006. Of WMU's 11 all-time Power 5 wins, nine of those are against Big Ten teams. WMU defeated two Big Ten opponents in the MAC Championship, undefeated regular season (13-0) in 2016, taking down Northwestern (22-21, Sept. 3) and Illinois (34-10, Sept. 17) on the road.

• Tim Lester is in his second season as head coach at WMU and is one of 22 FBS coaches leading their alma mater. Lester was an All-MAC quarterback for the Broncos, playing from 1996-99. He was the 1996 MAC Freshman of the Year and led WMU to the 1999 MAC Championship game. Lester threw for 11,299 yards and 87 career TDs. This will be his 77th game as a head coach, also coaching at the Division II and III levels. Lester was an assistant coach at Western Michigan from 2005-06.

• Western Michigan is coming off a 6-6 overall record in 2017, and went 4-4 in the Mid-American Conference. The Broncos won four of their first six games, with the two losses coming at No. 4 ranked USC and at Michigan State in the first two weeks of the season, but the Broncos struggled down the stretch as injuries took their toll on the team. Western Michigan had 21 season-ending injuries in 2017, among them starting quarterback Jon Wassink, as well as five running backs, five wide receivers and five defensive backs.

• Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester will call the Broncos' plays in 2018. Former Bronco offensive coordinator Kevin Johns play-called in Lester's first season at WMU in 2017. Johns left Western Michigan in January 2018 to become the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech. Lester is entering his eighth season overall as a head coach, last year was the first time in his career he did not play call.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BRONCOS
WMU dropped a 55-42 decision in the season-opener against ACC opponent Syracuse in Kalamazoo on Friday, Aug. 31. The Broncos trailed 34-7 at halftime, but then fought back to within one touchdown in the second half. WMU rattled off three-straight touchdowns in the third quarter, pulling within 34-28. WMU put up 621 yards of total offense in the game, 452 in the second half. Junior quarterback Jon Wassink had 379 yards passing, three touchdowns and one rushing TD. His 379 yards passing ranked fourth most in the FBS in Week One. Junior wide receiver D'Wayne Eskridge made eight receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns, hauling in an 84-yard TD from Wassink. His 240 yards receiving were the most in FBS Week One play, and tied for the 12th most yards in a single game in Mid-American Conference history. Eskridge was named MAC West Offensive Player of the Week. Junior running back LeVante Bellamy had 120 yards rushing on 11 carries with two touchdowns, one which went for 64 yards. Freshman wide receiver Jayden Reed made seven catches for 121 yards and one touchdown.

MICHIGAN TIES
• Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has family ties to Western Michigan. His father, Jack, was the Broncos' head coach from 1982-86 and Jim's brother John, current head coach for the Baltimore Ravens, was a graduate assistant on the Broncos' staff from 1984-86.

• Terry Malone was announced as the Broncos' 10th assistant coach this past January. Malone's title is Assistant Head Coach and he will work with the Bronco running backs. Malone has over 30 years of coaching experience and his impressive resume includes both an NCAA National Championship and an NFL Super Bowl title. Malone spent nine seasons in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints, winning the Super Bowl in 2009. Before his near decade in the NFL, Malone spent nine seasons at Michigan working as the offensive line coach (1997-2005) and the offensive coordinator (2001-2005). Malone was a member of the Wolverines' 1997 National Championship team and a part of five Big 10 Championships, as well as eight New Year's Day bowl games. Malone spent the 2017 season (Lester's first as head coach at Western Michigan) as the Broncos' Director of Player Development. Prior to WMU, Malone and Lester worked together on the Purdue staff. Malone was the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, while Lester oversaw quarterbacks.

• Arriving to Kalamazoo as a graduate transfer is wide receiver Drake Harris, who obtained his undergraduate degree at Michigan. Harris is originally from Grand Rapids, where he was a standout prep for Grand Rapids Christian. Harris was a three-year letterman at Michigan (2015-17), appearing in 26 games with two starting assignments at WR. He totaled nine career receptions  at U-M for 60 yards.

• Michigan senior linebacker Jameson Offerdahl is the son of two-time Bronco All-American John Offerdahl. John Offerdahl is the most decorated defensive player in WMU history, suiting up for the Broncos from 1982-85. He is in both the MAC and WMU Athletics Hall of Fame, was a three-time First Team All-MAC selection and the MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 1985. He still holds school records for career tackles (696) and tackles in a season (192). Offerdahl was drafted in the second round by the Miami Dolphins and was the 1986 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He went on to play five Pro Bowl seasons.

YOUNG TALENT
Fifty players on Western Michigan's 106-person roster are freshmen or redshirt freshmen. The Broncos have 24 sophomores, 22 juniors and just 10 seniors (with two of those 10 being graduate transfers). Thirteen Broncos (six true freshmen) played in their first collegiate game in the season-opener against Syracuse on Aug. 31. Three of those players were starters on offense (Fr. WR Jayden Reed, RFr. WR Jaylen Hall, RFr. LT Jaylon Moore). WMU also played a freshman long snapper (Bryce Bouwens) and punter (Nick Mahalic).

IMPORTANT DATES
The Broncos return home to host Delaware State Saturday, Sept. 15, for the Broncos' annual CommUniverCity game (7 p.m. kickoff). WMU begins its MAC schedule Saturday, Sept. 29, at Miami University. The Broncos' first home conference game is against Eastern Michigan, Saturday Oct. 6 (Noon kickoff), which will be WMU's 95th annual Homecoming game, as well as Youth Day and Family Weekend.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN
• Michigan is coached by Jim Harbaugh in his fourth season. Harbaugh has a 28-12 overall record leading his alma mater. This is the first time Michigan will face a Mid-American Conference school under Harbaugh. The Wolverines were ranked No. 14 nationally in the preseason poll.

• Michigan fell in its season opener, 24-17, at No. 12 Notre Dame on Saturday, Sept. 1. The Wolverines had just 307 yards of total offense. The team's only offensive touchdown came with 2:18 left in the fourth quarter, when Karan Higdon rushed in from 3 yards to cut the lead to seven. Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson (a graduate transfer from Mississippi) went 20 for 30 for 227 yards, with one interception and no touchdowns. Michigan's defense held Notre Dame to 302 yards of total offense.

• Michigan is 32-1 all-time against the Mid-American Conference and have a 6-0 record against Western Michigan. Michigan's lone loss to a MAC team was a 13-10 defeat at home in 2008, falling to Toledo.

• U-M is coming off an 8-5 overall, 5-4 Big Ten record in 2017.

• The Wolverines return 20 starters which is tied for the third highest total of any FBS program. Among those 20 starters are 17 position starters - offense (8) and defense (9).