KALAMAZOO, Mich. – It is "Unity Day" at Waldo Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 3:30 p.m. as Western Michigan football hosts Mid-American Conference foe Ball State on ESPNU. The Broncos will celebrate and promote diversity and inclusion throughout the day, and will give away "We Must Unite" t-shirts to the first 500 students, and wristbands to the first 1,000 fans. Western Michigan won its MAC opener at Buffalo last Saturday, 24-17.
|| GAME INFORMATION
- Saturday, Oct. 9 | 3:30 p.m. ET
- Waldo Stadium (30,200/Field Turf), Kalamazoo, Mich.
|| BROADCAST INFORMATION
- ESPNU (John Schriffen, Rene Ingoglia)
- Bronco Radio Network 106.5 FM (Robin Hook & John Creek)
BRONCOS vs. CARDINALS
- This is the 48th meeting between Western Michigan and Ball State University.
- WMU is 26-21-0 all-time against the Cardinals.
- Only two of the 47 games in the series have gone to overtime.
- The last four matchups between the Broncos and Cardinals have all favored the home team. The last three games have all been decided by four points or less.
- WMU improved to 5-0 in MAC openers under Tim Lester with last week's win at Buffalo.
MAC WEST NAIL BITERS
- The Broncos have seemingly been locked in a tight battle in every divisional MAC game in recent history. In fact, eight of the last nine MAC West games have been decided by one score:
- Ball State – 12/12/20 (L, 30-27)
- Eastern Michigan – 12/5/20 (L, 53-42)
- Northern Illinois – 11/28/20 (W, 30-27)
- Central Michigan – 11/18/20 (W, 52-44)
- Toledo – 11/11/20 (W, 41-38)
- Northern Illinois – 11/26/19 (L, 17-14)
- Ball State – 11/5/19 (L, 35-31)
- Eastern Michigan – 10/19/19 (L, 34-27)
- Toledo – 10/5/19 (L, 31-24)
SCOUTING BALL STATE (2-3, 0-1 MAC WEST)
- The reigning MAC Champions enter Saturday with a 2-3 record. The Cardinals won their opener at home against Western Illinois, 31-21. Facing a tall task traveling to No. 11 Penn State in Week 2, Ball State fell 44-13 in Happy Valley. The Cardinals lost a road trip to Wyoming 45-12, before falling at home in their MAC opener to Toledo, 22-12. Last week, Ball State knocked off previously undefeated Army at home, 28-16.
- Wide receiver Justin Hall was named MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week after returning the opening kickoff against Army 99 yards for a touchdown. One of the top skill guys in the MAC, Hall also posted seven catches for 78 yards last week.
- At quarterback, veteran Drew Plitt is in his third season as the team's starter, and recently became the fourth 7,000-yard passer in school history. He threw for a season-best 233 yards and two touchdowns against Army.
- On defense, Ball State has three of the top-15 tacklers in the MAC in Jaylin Thomas, Clayton Coll and Bryce Cosby.
ONE-TWO PUNCH
- Western Michigan's one-two punch of sophomore Sean Tyler and junior La'Darius Jefferson have combined for 732 yards on 150 carreis with nine touchdowns.
- Tyler has 65 rushes for 362 yards and two scores, while Jefferson has 85 carries for 370 yards and seven touchdowns.
- Jefferson has a rushing touchdown in eight-straight games.
MAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Sophomore wide receiver Skyy Moore had another big day last week at Buffalo. He finished with 11 receptions for 163 yards and two touchdowns. He now has three straight games with 10+ catches and 100+ receiving yards.
3RD DOWN HEROES
- Western Michigan received three votes in the AP Top-25 poll this week, and two votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll.
- The last time the Broncos were ranked was in the final 2016-2017 AP Poll (No. 15).
ON OUR TERMS
- Western Michigan has done a great job of controlling the pace of the game, and is third in the country (behind only Army West Point and Air Force) in average time of possession (37:27).
- The Broncos have also done an excellent job of protecting the ball, and are one of just five teams in the FBS not to have thrown an interception this season (Auburn, Ole Miss, Baylor, Liberty).
- WMU's defense has recovered eight fumbles through five games, tied for second in the country, trailing only Middle Tennessee State (10).
