Dashed line: 100 yards.
Buckley against Western Michigan’s best seasons, game by game
Backs who run like Buckley, and how their seasons went
Buckley against this year’s top backs, game by game
The road ahead: 711 yards, 79 a game, 3 regular-season games left.
Share of the team's total this season.
Each line is one carry: taller means more yards, and a line pointing down lost yards. Black lines are touchdowns. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside each lane the carries are lined up shortest to longest, not placed. Of his carries with a spot in the play text: left 22, middle 102, right 20. His longest went for 66 yards.
Jalen Buckley
Jalen Buckley is a cornerstone for Western Michigan — measured against the line Jalen Buckley joined.
PRODUCES ABOVE PERCEPTION · PCTL GAP
+31
perception vs production percentile · 2026
The production (50th) is outrunning the reputation (19th). The recognition is the thing lagging behind.
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04
Play style
Just keeps getting the ball, series after series.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
44.8% of carries overall (142/317) → 39.7% of Q4-with-lead carries (27/68) — 88.9% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
9 of 10 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (90.0%). 8 of the team's 21 inside-the-5 carries (38.1%).
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Aura™ · Him Watch
Aura compares how much fans talk about this player with how well this player plays, each ranked among RBs.
−31aura tax
50th percentile our rushing-value metric (weighted expected points added) ranked among 104 RBs
— the play ranks higher than the talk.Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Western Michigan | 144 | 711 | 4.9 | 8 | 66 |
| 2025 | Western Michigan | 179 | 1,003 | 5.6 | 9 | 67 |
| 2024 | Western Michigan | 128 | 683 | 5.3 | 9 | 61 |
| 2023 | Western Michigan | 189 | 997 | 5.3 | 10 | 75 |
| 2022 | Western Michigan | 9 | 27 | 3.0 | 0 | 11 |
| Career | 649 | 3,421 | 5.3 | 36 | 75 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Western Michigan | 9 | 93 | 10.3 | 0 | 31 |
| 2025 | Western Michigan | 12 | 75 | 6.2 | 1 | 34 |
| 2024 | Western Michigan | 15 | 112 | 7.5 | 0 | 24 |
| 2023 | Western Michigan | 18 | 161 | 8.9 | 0 | 49 |
| 2022 | Western Michigan | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 54 | 441 | 8.2 | 1 | 49 |
Last game (Wk 9): 77 rushing yards.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 9 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 12-13@ No. 16 Michigan | 19 | 62 | 3.3 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 2 | W 49-14vs Monmouth | 10 | 28 | 2.8 | 3 | 11 | 3 rushing TDs |
| Wk 3 | W 28-21@ Rice | 13 | 117 | 9.0 | 1 | 66 | |
| Wk 4 | L 7-32vs Boise State | 5 | 18 | 3.6 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 5 | W 20-17@ Buffalo | 15 | 62 | 4.1 | 1 | 9 | |
| Wk 6 | W 38-7vs Kent State | 16 | 105 | 6.6 | 0 | 36 | |
| Wk 7 | W 21-14@ Central Michigan | 24 | 150 | 6.3 | 2 | 20 | Season-high 150 yds |
| Wk 8 | L 38-45@ Toledo | 18 | 92 | 5.1 | 1 | 25 | |
| Wk 9 | W 23-10vs Bowling Green | 24 | 77 | 3.2 | 0 | 10 | |
| Total | 144 | 711 | 4.9 | 8 | 66 |
Oct. 31 · W 23-10 vs Bowling Green, play by play
24 carries for 77 yards.
No gain on 3rd and 3. First quarter, down 7-0.
2-yard run on 3rd and 2. Third quarter, up 14-10. Converted.
10-yard run. Third quarter, up 17-10.
Incomplete on 3rd and 3. Fourth quarter, up 17-10.
18 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown.
25-yard run. Third quarter, down 38-28.
19-yard run on 3rd and 5. Fourth quarter, down 38-35. Converted.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
24 carries for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns, his most this season.
8-yard run on 3rd and 1. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
10-yard run on 3rd and 6. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
20-yard run. Second quarter, up 7-0.
3-yard run on 3rd and 2. Second quarter, up 7-0. Converted.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
16 carries for 105 yards.
3-yard run on 3rd and 2. First quarter, up 7-0. Converted.
2-yard run on 3rd and 1. Second quarter, up 14-7. Converted.
36-yard run. Third quarter, up 21-7.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
15 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown.
The per-play feed is missing a 3-yard loss in the third quarter, which the play text shows; the chart draws the 14 carries it has.
3-yard run on 3rd and 6. Second quarter, down 14-7.
8-yard run on 3rd and 19. Third quarter, down 14-10.
4-yard catch on 3rd and 3. Fourth quarter, down 17-10. Converted.
11-yard catch. Fourth quarter, tied 17-17.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
5 carries for 18 yards. He also caught 4 passes for 29 yards.
27-yard catch. First quarter, down 8-0.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
13 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, with Western Michigan ahead by one score, he carried 4 times for 11 yards. He converted a 3rd and 1 with the score tied 14-14.
66-yard run. First quarter, tied 0-0.
14-yard run on 3rd and 16. Second quarter, up 7-0.
1-yard touchdown run on 3rd and 1. Fourth quarter, made it 21-14.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
A big game: 10 carries for 28 yards and 3 touchdowns. He converted a 4th and 1 with the score tied 0-0.
No gain on 3rd and 1. First quarter, tied 0-0.
2-yard run on 4th and 1. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
11-yard touchdown run. Third quarter, made it 28-0.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
Week 2 · 2026
W 49-14
vs Monmouth
28 rush yds (10 car) · 3 TD · 1 rec · 9 yds
Dominant 35-point win at home against Monmouth.
With B. Lowry — 212 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 56.4 · 40 rush yds (4 car) · R. Millmore — 48.8 yards per punt · 4 punts · 56 long
The plays that mattered most
27th in rushing yards, among all 1,551 FBS players with a rushing row this season, any position
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -21 to +12 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
42%142 carriesFumble rate
0.7%1 of 144 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.9 yds/carry on 144 carries · 12% explosive (10+ yds) · 42% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 57.0 | 4.0 | 0.8 |
| Road5g | 96.6 | 5.6 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 77.4 | 5.1 | 1.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 84.5 | 4.2 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lance Taylor
Pass share
33.7%
202 pass / 397 run
Plays / game
66.6
9 games
Team sack rate
6.1%
231 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-MAC
Based on 2025: #4 of 30 Mid-American RBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 35% of returning players who ranked #4–10 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 31–38%).
Returning starter at running back for a 10-4 Western Michigan team that went +1 in the portal.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 46 games over five seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC
All-MAC mention (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Tim Lester → Lance Taylor. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
CBS Sports College Football
