DATE | Sept. 28, 2024
TIME | 3:30 PM ET
LOCATION | Huntington, W.V. 
VENUE | Joan C. Edwards Stadium (30,475)
TV | ESPN+ 
RADIO | Bronco Radio Network
LIVE STATS | WMUSTATS.com

THIS WEEK
Western Michigan heads on the road to wrap up non-conference play at Marshall on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The game can be streamed live on ESPN+ and heard live on the Bronco Media Network. 

SERIES
Saturday is the 35th meeting all time between the Broncos and the Thundering Herd, with the two teams having last met in 2004. Western Michigan leads the all-time series at 22-12-0, but are just 1-6 since Marshall moved up to the Division I level in 1997. 

WE ARE…. TAKING A LOOK AT MARSHALL
The Thundering Herd opened up the season with a 45-3 win at home over Stony Brook, but have since dropped two straight games on the road to Virginia Tech and No. 3 Ohio State. 

- A WMU CONNECTION: Marshall is led by fourth-year head coach Charles Huff. Huff spent the 2013 season as WMU's running back coach under P.J. Fleck. Huff then joined James Franklin's staff when Franklin took over at Penn State in 2014. 

- NATION'S LEADER: Defensive lineman Mike Green leads the nation with 4.5 sacks, averaging 1.5 per game. 

- A DIFFICULT PAIR: Marshall's top-two receivers are Elijah Metcalf and Christian Fitzpatrick. Metcalf, a transfer from Middle Tennessee State, has a team-best 15 catches for 140 yards and three touchdowns. Fitzpatrick, a transfer from Michigan State, has 10 catches for 197 yards and two touchdowns. One reason they have been difficult to deal with? Their height. Metcalf is 5-foot-6 and Fitzpatrick is 6-foot-4.

- QB SHUFFLE: Marshall has used three quarterbacks so far this season, with North Texas transfer Stone Earle seeing the bulk of the playing time. Earle has 360 yards passing with four touchdowns and just one interception. He's also a threat to run, rushing for 109 yards so far. Braylon Braxton has thrown for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and sophomore Cole Pennington (son of Marshall legend Chad Pennington) has 57 yards and one touchdown through the air. 

BETHUNE BREAKDOWN
- TWICE IS NICE: Western Michigan running backs Jaden Nixon and Zahir Abdus-Salaam both eclipsed 100 yards on the ground for the first time in their careers. It was the first time a pair of Broncos reached 100 in a game since WMU's win over Nevada in the Quicklane Bowl on Dec. 27, 2021. In that game, both Sean Tyler and Jaxson Kincaide rushed for over 100 each. 

- FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME: Nixon, tight end Chris Toudle and wide receiver Bugs Mortimer all recorded their first career touchdowns as a Bronco. Running back Jamal Hailey also had his first collegiate touchdown.

- THANK YOU FANS: The attendance for the Bethune-Cookman game was 23,476, the largest since a Oct. 6, 2018 game against Eastern Michigan. 

- OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: Western Michigan posted 677 total yards of offense in the win, the most since a 2019 win over Georgia State (694) and the third-most in program history. The 59 points were also the most since a 64-point 

NEAR THE TOP OF THE MAC
After 268 all-purpose yards in the win over Bethune-Cookman, junior running back Jaden Nixon has moved up to second in the MAC in all-purpose yards, now averaging 119.67 per game. His output also bumped him up to 33rd in the nation.