WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
OVERVIEW: Even though this team finished last year with a 7-6 overall mark, 5-3 in the Mid-American Conference, a closer look at 2011’s scores reveal that Western Michigan University was a very competitive team throughout the year. The Broncos beat Connecticut on the road, were respectable in a loss to Michigan at Michigan Stadium, lost by three points at Illinois, and by five to Purdue at the Little Ceasars Bowl at Ford Field in December. In MAC play, the defense was exposed in losses to Toledo and Northern Illinois, giving up 66 and 51 points respectively. And the Broncos split with their in-state MAC rivals, crushing Central Michigan, but losing a tight 14-10 decision to Eastern Michigan.
OFFENSE: This unit starts with fifth-year senior Alex Carder. Last year, Carder had a great season, throwing for 3,873 yards and 31 touchdowns. He also ran for 270 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 322 passing yards a game. But a lot of his targets graduated, including his favorite one, Jordan White. Last year White was hard to cover, and he finished with 1,911 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns. That production will be hard to replace. The offense does have its top two returning runners coming back, as juniors Tevin Drake and Brian Fields rushed for 586 and 278 yards last year and combined to score seven touchdowns.
DEFENSE: The defense also suffered some hits thanks to graduation, as hard-nose linebacker Mitch Zajac and defensive lineman Drew Nowak are gone. Those two finished second and third on the team in tackles, and Nowak finished with 8.5 sacks. The good news is that the leading tackler, junior safety Johnnie Simon, returns. He will lead a strong defensive backfield that includes Demetrius Pettway and Rontavious Atkins. And in the pass-happy MAC, having good defensive backs is crucial.
OUR TAKE: Like the NFL, the MAC is all about the quarterback. As mentioned earlier, this is a pass-happy league and has been one for quite some time. A look at the quarterbacks who have graduated from this league to the NFL confirms this. That’s why, even though the Broncos lost some serious talent to graduation, Western Michigan will have a good year because it has a fifth-year starting quarterback in Carder. To coach Bill Cubit, that’s like having another coach on the field. It is hard to say if the Broncos will win the MAC; there are holes that need to be filled on this team. But once again they should be exciting to watch.
COACH’S COMMENT: “Our goals have never changed, we think we are good enough to win [(the MAC championship] every year,” Cubit said at last month’s MAC Media Day.
SCHEDULE
9/1 Illinois noon
9/8 EASTERN ILLINOIS 7 p.m.
9/15 Minnesota noon
9/22 CONNECTICUT 2 p.m.
9/29 TOLEDO 7 p.m.
10/6 MASSACHUSETTS 2p.m.
10/13 Ball State 3 p.m.
10/20 Kent State 3:30 p.m.
10/27 NORTHERN ILLINOIS noon
11/3 Central Michigan 1 p.m.
11/10 Buffalo 3:30 p.m.
11/17 EASTERN MICHIGAN 2 p.m.