THIS WEEK 
Western Michigan takes on Conference USA Champions Kennesaw State on Friday at 11 a.m. in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. The game can be watched live on ESPN and heard live on the Bronco Media Network. 

THE MATCHUP 
This is the first meeting between the Broncos and the Owls in program history. The Myrtle Beach Bowl is the lone bowl game outside of the College Football Playoffs to feature two conference champions. The game is the third against a team currently in Conference USA. WMU defeated Middle Tennessee State 45-31 in the 2015 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl and fell 23-20 to Western Kentucky in the 2019 SERVEPRO First Responders Bowl. Friday is also just the second time that Western Michigan has played in the state of South Carolina. WMU fell to the University of South Carolina 24-7 back on Sept. 15, 1979. 

WHAT'S AT STAKE? 
A win in the Myrtle Beach Bowl would be WMU's third bowl win in program history. It would also make the 2025 team just the second to reach 10 wins in a season, joining the 2016 team that finished 13-1 and earned a trip to the Cotton Bowl. A victory makes the team the first in WMU history to win a conference championship and a bowl game in the same season. 

HOW'S THAT FOR STARTING FAST? 
Points on the board in the first quarter has been hard to come by for the Western Michigan offense. Heading into the MAC Championship Game, the Broncos had scored a total of 13 points in the first quarter all season. WMU had tallied points in just three games. That all changed on the third play from scrimmage against the RedHawks when Jalen Buckley ran the ball 63 yards for a touchdown, giving Western Michigan a 7-0 lead. Palmer Domschke added a field goal later in the quarter to make it 10-6 and nearly doubling the Broncos' season total. 

A RETURN TO FORM
The second-half of the 2025 season has seen redshirt junior running back Jalen Buckley return to the form of his historic freshman season. In the final five games of the regular season, Buckley has rushed for 546 yards and seven touchdowns. The yardage output is 66 percent of his season total and 87.5 percent of his rushing touchdown total. Western Michigan has won all five of those games, while Buckley has averaged 6.28 yards per carry. He capped it off with a 19 carry, 193-yard and two-touchdown performance in the MAC Championship, earning the MAC Offensive MVP in the win over Miami (OH). 

60 TO HISTORY
WMU quarterback Broc Lowry enters Friday's game with 940 yards rushing on the season. Lowry, who already has the most rushing yards by a Bronco quarterback in program history, needs just 60 to become the first-ever to reach 1,000. Lowry also needs three rushing touchdowns to tie the program record by a quarterback of 17, set back in 1916 by Walt Olsen. 

HONORS WELL EARNED
Last Friday, Western Michigan defensive end Nadame Tucker was named a Walter Camp Football Foundation Second Team All-American. The New York, N.Y., native is the first WMU player on defense to earn All-American honors by Walter Camp. He was then named an Associated Press Third Team All-American on Monday. 

The honors are piling up for the senior. The All-American honors add on to this MAC Defensive Player of the Year, Vern Smith MAC Player of the Year, and MAC Championship Defensive Most Valuable Player awards. 

The Houston transfer has had a remarkable season, leading the nation in sacks with 14.5 and tackles for loss with 21.0. He also has 55 total tackles, 16 quarterback hurries and four forced fumbles. Tucker has recorded a 1.0 or more tackles for loss in 12 of the 13 games on the season, with a season-low of 0.5 against Illinois. He's also had 2.0 or more against Michigan State, Massachusetts, Ball State and Miami (OH).