Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
1/21Inside-5 share
1 of the team's 21 inside-the-5 carries (4.8%).
Ofa Mataele
Rushing yards231242nd of 278 running backsLast gameW 23–10vs Bowling Green · Oct 31
Nextat AkronTue Nov 10 · 7 pm ET
- touchdown
Bowling Green · W 23-10
No carries.
Mataele has carries in 8 of Western Michigan’s 9 games: none against Bowling Green.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
This week
- RecordWestern Michigan is 6-3.
- Next gameat Akron · Tue Nov 10
Ofa Mataele
Second year in the same backfield at Western Michigan. A game that shows it: 62 rushing yards and 2 receptions against Rice — Week 3, 2026.
231 rushing yards · 1 rushing TD · 53 carries
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Just keeps getting the ball, series after series.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
In the game threads
at Michigan, Sep 5Mataele??? Wasn’t he at Utah?Utah fan, r/CFB game threadWhere to follow
The latest game
Against Toledo on Oct. 24: 4 carries for 34 yards. In the 8 games drawn here: 53 carries for 231 yards.
First quarterSecond quarterThird quarterFourth quarter
- L 38-45 at Toledo4 carries, 34 yds
- W 21-14 at Central Michigan13 carries, 60 yds
- W 38-7 vs Kent State4 carries, 7 yds
- W 20-17 at Buffalo8 carries, 5 yds
- L 7-32 vs Boise State5 carries, 19 yds
- W 28-21 at Rice11 carries, 62 yds, 1 TD
- W 49-14 vs Monmouth4 carries, 28 yds
- L 12-13 at Michigan4 carries, 16 yds
a carry, by its yardsa loss, below the linea catcha touchdown
Each game is split into its four quarters, so the columns line up from game to game; inside a quarter, plays keep their order. Third and fourth downs are marked under the line, bold when he moved the chains.
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Western Michigan | 53 | 231 | 4.4 | 1 | 23 |
| 2025 | Western Michigan | 57 | 252 | 4.4 | 3 | 22 |
| Career | 110 | 483 | 4.4 | 4 | 23 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Western Michigan | 7 | 25 | 3.6 | 0 | 13 |
| 2025 | Western Michigan | 5 | 8 | 1.6 | 0 | 3 |
| Career | 12 | 33 | 2.8 | 0 | 13 |
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 12-13@ No. 16 Michigan | 4 | 16 | 4.0 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 2 | W 49-14vs Monmouth | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 0 | 16 | |
| Wk 3 | W 28-21@ Rice | 11 | 62 | 5.6 | 1 | 23 | Season-high 62 yds |
| Wk 4 | L 7-32vs Boise State | 5 | 19 | 3.8 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 5 | W 20-17@ Buffalo | 8 | 5 | 0.6 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 6 | W 38-7vs Kent State | 4 | 7 | 1.8 | 0 | 2 | |
| Wk 7 | W 21-14@ Central Michigan | 13 | 60 | 4.6 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 8 | L 38-45@ Toledo | 4 | 34 | 8.5 | 0 | 12 | |
| Total | 53 | 231 | 4.4 | 1 | 23 |
Signature game
Week 3 · 2026
W 28-21
at Rice
62 rush yds (11 car) · 1 TD
A close one, won by 7 on the road.
With R. Millmore — 43.8 yards per punt · 4 punts · 2 inside the 20 · B. Lowry — 116 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 59.6 · 39 rush yds (17 car) · 1 TD
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 3 · Rice · 3rd and 1 · Q4 · EPA +2.45O.Mataele rush left for 1 yard gain to the Rice00 TOUCHDOWN
- Week 3 · Rice · 2nd and 5 · Q4 · EPA +2.08O.Mataele rush right for 23 yards gain (J.Benjamin; A.Brown)
- Week 4 · Boise State · 2nd and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.06Lowry to Mataele: a 13-yard pass.
- Week 7 · Central Michigan · 3rd and 1 · Q3 · EPA +1.94O.Mataele rush middle for 12 yards gain (D.Philord; D.Bryant, Jr.)
- Week 8 · Toledo · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.93O.Mataele rush middle for 10 yards gain (N.Thompson; I.Zay)
- Week 5 · Buffalo · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA −1.93O.Mataele rush left for 5 yards loss (J.Owens)
4 more plays
- Week 5 · Buffalo · 2nd and 6 · Q1 · EPA −1.41O.Mataele rush middle for 2 yards loss (M.Crawford; C.Evans)
- Week 3 · Rice · 3rd and 8 · Q1 · EPA −1.16Lowry to Mataele: a 3-yard pass.
- Week 1 · Michigan · 2nd and 2 · Q4 · EPA −1.03O.Mataele rush middle for 1 yard gain (C.Brandt; C.Bracy)
- Week 1 · Michigan · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +0.98O.Mataele rush middle for 8 yards gain (J.Hill; C.Taylor)
Where he ranks
Rush yards231242ndAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Yards / carry4.4tied for 194thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Rush TDs1tied for 227thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Long run23tied for 228thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Carries53222ndAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Rec yards25tied for 226thAmong 273 backs with 40 or more carries
Receptions7tied for 157thAmong 273 backs with 40 or more carries
301st in rushing yards, among all 1,551 FBS players with a rushing row this season, any position
Opponents faced, by strength
Ratings of the games shown run from -21 to +12 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
52 of 53 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
46%52 carriesFumble rate
3.8%2 of 53 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer yds6%of carries
3 carries
Grind
1–3 yds44%of carries
23 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds40%of carries
21 carries
Explosive
10+ yds10%of carries
5 carries
3 of 5 (60%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go)
4.4 yds/carry on 53 carries · 10% explosive (10+ yds) · 46% success rate.
Teams and coaches
2 seasons under Lance Taylor, all run-heavy offenses — 16-7 over that span.
2025Western Michigan10-4HC: Lance Taylor · Run-heavy
2026Western Michigan6-3HC: Lance Taylor · Run-heavy
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 18.0 | 4.2 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 35.4 | 4.7 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 28.1 | 3.9 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 34.0 | 8.5 | 0.0 |
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.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
53 carries and 7 catches in 8 games
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
36 · #271 of 330 RBs
Unranked recruit. Now #271 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-MAC
Based on 2025: #22 of 30 Mid-American RBs
How the All-MAC base rate is computed
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
Two seasons at Western Michigan
2026 is in progress.
- 2026 Western Michigan TaylorYear 2 · 8 games
- 2025 Western Michigan TaylorYear 1 · 12 games
- Before collegeSigned with Western Michigan in 2025 as a junior college recruit out of College of San Mateo.
Moves
- Signed with Western Michigan in the 2025 class.
2025 12 games
- Signed with Western Michiganout of College of San Mateo