Football | November 20, 2019
Western Michigan (7-4, 5-2 MAC) at Northern Illinois (4-7, 3-4 MAC)
Huskie Stadium (23,595) • DeKalb, Ill.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019 • 7 pm
Live Television: ESPNU
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Bronco Radio Network
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Coach Lester and Jon Wassink Press Conference | Watch Replay
Bronco Review Radio Show | Listen to Replays
Bronco Updates | Listen to Replays
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• Western Michigan closes out the regular season at Northern Illinois and caps #MACtion with its third consecutive Tuesday tilt ... If the Broncos win, they will advance to the Mid-American Conference Championship ... If Northern Illinois wins, up to five-way tie scenarios are possible within the West Division ... Miami (Ohio) has already won the MAC East Division ... WMU downed the RedHawks 38-16 on October 12.
• Western Michigan is coming off its only open date of the season, having last played November 12 at Ohio ... The Broncos have just three games from October 27 - November 26.
• In its last game, WMU traveled to Ohio and held off the Bobcats for a 37-34 overtime victory as senior RB LeVante Bellamy scored the game-winning four-yard touchdown in the extra session ... The Huskies hosted Eastern Michigan on November 19 and fell 45-17 as the Eagles exploded for 24 points in the third quarter.
• This year's senior class owns 33 victories, the third most in program history and two shy of the 2017 group for the program record.
• The Broncos are looking for their second consecutive road win after earning their first road triumph of the year at Ohio, their first since a 35-10 victory at Central Michigan October 20, 2018.
• Western Michigan heads into Tuesday's contest looking for its eighth win of the campaign ... The Broncos have secured bowl eligibility for a program-record sixth consecutive season and have captured seven or more victories in five of the last six seasons.
• The Broncos finished the home campaign with a 6-0 ledger, joining the 2016 squad as the only ones since 2000 to go 6-0 in Kalamazoo.
WESTERN MICHIGAN vs. NORTHERN ILLINOIS
• The Broncos and Huskies will meet for the 45th time Tuesday with Western Michigan leading the series, 25-19. WMU has won two of the last three meetings after snapping a seven-game skid to the Huskies in 2016.
• Western Michigan has not secured a win in DeKalb since claiming a 17-13 decision on October 13, 2007.
• Last year in Kalamazoo, the Broncos earned a 28-21 victory in the regular season finale as Jamauri Bogan scored the deciding touchdown from a yard out with 1:36 to play.
• Tuesday will mark senior QB Jon Wassink's first appearance versus Northern Illinois after missing the 2017 and 2018 contests due to injury.
Series vs. Northern Illinois:Â Western Michigan leads 25-19
Series Streak:Â Western Michigan won 1
Last Meeting:Â 2018 (Western Michigan, 28-21)
Last Western Michigan Win:Â 2018
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LIVE TELEVISION
• ESPNU will provide television coverage of the event.
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GAME NOTE NUGGETS
• Western Michigan owns its best 11-game record under third-year head coach Tim Lester after going 6-5 in 2017 and 2018.
• With a victory at Northern Illinois, Western Michigan would secure the Mid-American Conference West Division title and advance to the league's championship game. The Broncos last clinched the MAC West Division in 2016 with an 8-0 league regular season record. WMU has won or shared the MAC West Division regular season title in: 1999, 2000, 2015 and 2016 and played in the title tilt in 1999, 2000 and 2016, winning the most recent trip, 29-23 against Ohio.
• Western Michigan will be looking to finish 6-2 in MAC regular season play for the first time under Lester after going 4-4 in 2017 and 5-3 during the 2018 campaign. A 6-2 league ledger would be the best for the program since an 8-0 mark in 2016. The Broncos also posted 6-2 MAC records in 2014 and 2015.
• Senior TE Giovanni Ricci is one of eight semifinalists for the John Mackey Award, presented annually to the top tight end in college football.
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• The Bronco offense has settled in during the last seven games and committed just four turnovers. Western Michigan has gone three consecutive games without a turnover, the longest streak for the program since a six-game stretch from September 3 - October 8, 2016. The Broncos have not lost a fumble since losing three at Syracuse on September 21.
• UnderÂ
Lester, the Broncos have been nearly unstoppable when scoring 30 or more points in a Mid-American Conference contest, going 3-1 in 2017 and 2018 and 5-0 in 2019 for a cumulative mark of 11-2.
• Western Michigan features one of the most balanced offenses in the league, rushing (217.2) and passing (250.0) for more than 215 yards per game. WMU joins Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Clemson, Oklahoma, UCF and TCU in the 215 club.
• Freshman WR
Skyy Moore caught four passes for a career-high 162 yards and a touchdown at Ohio and added a two-yard TD rush. Moore's 162 receiving yards are the most by a WMU freshman since
Corey Alston had 263 at Eastern Michigan on November 1, 1997.
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• The Broncos have amassed 33 total rushing touchdowns this year, the sixth most nationally, third most in the country for a team that does not run a triple-option offense and most for WMU since 36 in 2016.
• Senior QB
Jon Wassink is one of 12 recipients of the 2019 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award, presented by Fidelity Investments, making him a finalist for the Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda. Wassink becomes the third Western Michigan student-athlete to earn the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award, joining
Tim Hiller (2009) and
Zach Terrell (2016). Terrell won the Campbell Trophy in 2016.
•
Wassink and junior OG
Mike Caliendo were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 5 First Team on November 14. It was the second CoSIDA honor for Wassink and Caliendo's first. It is the first time WMU has had more than one Academic All-District selection since Mark Hardy and Tony Scheffler in 2004.
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