Mid-American Western Michigan

Head coach Lance Taylor · 4th season · 26-22 at Western Michigan

Record6-34-1 Mid-American · T-2nd
Conference title36%to win the Mid-American
Nextat AkronTue Nov 10 · 7 pm ET · CBS Sports Network

The rest of the season

Every game left is at least 70%

Win out 52% · expect 2.4 of 3 more wins

Western Michigan's chance to win each game left, from our model: Akron 86%, Eastern Michigan 83%, Miami (OH) 73%

Bar height is our model’s chance in each game left. Dashed line: 50%.

StandingTied for 2nd in the Mid-American · 4-1 in conference play · All standings

LeadersPassing Broc Lowry 1,397 · Rushing Jalen Buckley 711 · Receiving Aveion Chenault 540 All player stats

The nationunrankedAP / Coaches
The model#51 CFB ZeitgeistPublic ratings: SP+ #86 (-2.7) · FPI #80
The marketno line yetBetting line at Akron · our model 86% Western Michigan

Updated Wed Nov 4 · through week 9

Follow Western Michigan:athletics siteMid-AmericanX

Schedule and results

Western Michigan · 2026 schedule and results6-3Balanced slateAverage opponent win rate 52% · 1 opponent played so far is in the AP top 25 now.Our rank entering each game: #24 to #44
WkDateOur rankOpp rankLineOpponentResultRecordConfTop performers
1Sep 5#24#19+27.5✓ +26.5@MichiganL 12-13 115Western Michigan lost 12-13 at Michigan. Chance to win started at 3%, low under 1%, high 90%. Firestorm0-10-0Pass Lowry 89 · Rush Buckley 62 · Rec Chenault 53
2Sep 12#21#168−29.5✓ +5.5MonmouthW 49-14 57Western Michigan won 49-14 vs Monmouth. Chance to win started at 98%, low 96%, high better than 99%.1-10-0Pass Lowry 212 · Rush Lowry 40 · Rec Chenault 101
3Sep 19#22#147−8.5✗ −1.5@RiceW 28-21 125Western Michigan won 28-21 at Rice. Chance to win started at 65%, low 53%, high better than 99%.2-10-0Pass Lowry 116 · Rush Buckley 117 · Rec Chenault 62
4Sep 26#27#32+8.5✗ −16.5Boise StateL 7-32 116Western Michigan lost 7-32 vs Boise State. Chance to win started at 34%, low under 1%, high 34%.2-20-0Pass Lowry 110 · Rush Petty 41 · Rec Buckley 29
5Oct 3#34#157−13.5✗ −10.5@BuffaloW 20-17 126Western Michigan won 20-17 at Buffalo. Chance to win started at 76%, low 32%, high 91%.3-21-0Pass Lowry 212 · Rush Buckley 62 · Rec Levicki 76
6Oct 10#48#132−13.5✓ +17.5Kent StateW 38-7 134Western Michigan won 38-7 vs Kent State. Chance to win started at 87%, low 85%, high better than 99%.4-22-0Pass Lowry 257 · Rush Buckley 105 · Rec Parks 55
7Oct 17#39#119−7.5✗ −0.5@Central MichiganW 21-14 125Western Michigan won 21-14 at Central Michigan. Chance to win started at 64%, low 53%, high better than 99%.5-23-0Pass Lowry 48 · Rush Buckley 150 · Rec Chenault 34
8Oct 24#43#47+2.5✗ −4.5@ToledoL 38-45 150Western Michigan lost 38-45 at Toledo. Chance to win started at 33%, low under 1%, high 47%.5-33-1Pass Lowry 207 · Rush Buckley 92 · Rec Chenault 105
9Oct 31#44#156−14✗ −1Bowling GreenW 23-10 119Western Michigan won 23-10 vs Bowling Green. Chance to win started at 88%, low 63%, high better than 99%.6-34-1Pass Lowry 146 · Rush Cabana 110 · Rec Chenault 109
10Bye week
11Nov 10#51#159@Akron7 pm ET · CBS Sports Network86% to win
12Nov 17Eastern Michigan7 pm ET83% to win
13Nov 24Miami (OH)time TBA73% to win
How to read this table

Win chances are our model for Western Michigan, through 9 games. This week's game comes from the playoff simulation, later games from the rating model. They are estimates and move every week.

The small line beside each score is the team's win chance through the game, drawn on one scale for every game. The small number is total plays.

Line is the closing point spread for Western Michigan: a minus number means favored. A green check means the team covered it, by the number beside it. A red cross means it fell short by that much.

Advanced box score (EPA, success rate, big plays)▼
DateOppResultYdsTOTOPEPA/playSuccess%Big plays (IsoPPP)Note
Oct 31Bowling GreenW 23-10336227:42-0.05833.9%1.28Best defensive stand
Oct 24@ToledoL 38-45351326:40-0.02534.9%1.73Most explosive
Oct 17@Central MichiganW 21-14272129:44+0.23346.3%0.93One-score win
Oct 10Kent StateW 38-7466029:47+0.34746.2%1.34Blowout win
Oct 3@BuffaloW 20-17327031:55+0.11547.5%0.88One-score win
Sep 26Boise StateL 7-32223123:14-0.16438.5%1.00Season-low EPA/play
Sep 19@RiceW 28-21333132:53+0.12841.5%1.21One-score win
Sep 12MonmouthW 49-14414028:08+0.45148.3%1.33Season-high EPA/play
Sep 5@MichiganL 12-13221040:08-0.03732.9%1.07One-score loss
Season average (9 games)3270.9+0.11041.1%1.20

Western Michigan's wildest games since 2013: comebacks, long shots, line misses

What’s ahead

The forecast
Offense softRun-heavy, ground-controlDefense solid

Season expectations

MAC title#1 in market+210

Median odds across sportsbooks · Nov 4. A number with a minus is the favorite: −130 means $130 wins $100. A plus is the underdog: +170 means $100 wins $170.

Today’s games across college football

What fans said

What fans said

Real posts about each game (they name the opponent, a player or a play), chosen by community score · usernames not shown

The games that decide the season

The games that decide the season

Tue Nov 17Michigan MAC Trophy (WMU-EMU)vs Eastern Michigan · at home

Recent form · last 10 games

Western Michigan has won four of its last five.

7-3 over the last 10, and won the last one.

Streak W1Last 5 · 4-1Last 10 · 7-3
After further study and investigation, it is now evident that replay protocol was not properly followed in determining whether time remained on the game clock at the conclusion of the Western Michigan vs. Michigan football game
MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher · FOX Sports3 days after Western Michigan's 2026 opener

Playoff chance, day by day

<1% now

020%<1%High 7%, Sep 23Aug 31Nov 4

Our simulation, 20,000 seasons a night, counted from the first full week of games.

Who to root for this week

Our simulation, 20,000 seasons with this one game forced each way. Only games that move the chance by two points or more are listed.

1 storyline developing

What Western Michigan’s season is really about

The open questionwhere does it go from here?

Power broker conflict2026-11-02new

WMU Board approves Asylum Lake transfer.

Statusfront page

How past storylines here turned out

ReplacedWestern Michigan's defensive coordinator spot turned over again the following season. See who's next →
Died downWestern Michigan's offensive coordinator change has died down — no clear next chapter yet.

Range of outcomes · Western Michigan · 2026

Western Michigan’s most likely regular season is 9-3. 91% of outcomes land from 8-4 to 9-3.

Regular-season wins: chance of each total, from the game chances above

7 wins 9%; 8 wins 38%; 9 wins 52%
What a title game and a playoff run could add
Floor7-5No postseason.
Base9-4A bowl game.
Ceiling10-3A bowl game, 1 more win.

Bars are the chance of each regular-season win total, from our model's chance in each game left, through 9 games. Paler bars are the outer 10% at each end. The closed row comes from the season-path projection, which also plays out conference title games and the CFP.

How fans reactedreal posts and moves · tap to open
Developing · Western Michigan

WMU Board approves Asylum Lake transfer.

The saga so far~2 months old
last weekMAC title odds: +160 to +210 (the market’s chance is down 6.2 points)
2 weeks agoMAC title odds: +320 to +165 (the market’s chance is up 13.9 points)
2 weeks agoMAC title odds: +165 to +320 (the market’s chance is down 13.9 points)
3 weeks agoMAC title odds: +142 to +165 (the market’s chance is down 3.6 points)
3 weeks agoMAC title odds: +217 to +142 (the market’s chance is up 9.8 points)
How fans reacted · tap to expand
Believers bullishSkeptics no dissentThe Boards quiet
📣Believers2 bullish items making the case that it's working.›

The optimistic read: momentum, and the 'this is real' takes.

“Lakers’ standout Feliciano commits to play football at Western Michigan”
Yahoo Sports · Jun 1 · read ↗
“The scoreboard says Michigan won. In Kalamazoo, Western Michigan's victory lives on”
Cbs Sports CFB · Sep 24 · read ↗
“Gordon Monson: Don’t act like you don’t care. Utah has a new football rival dressed out in a darker shade of blue.”
Gordon Monson · The Salt Lake Tribune · Sep 15 · read ↗
🧐SkepticsNo prominent dissent; the coverage runs one way.›

The analytical counter: rankings, results, and 'the hype is ahead of the tape' takes.

Nothing in our corpus yet.

💬The boards2% of recent board volume, less than the headlines suggest.›

This event was in 27 of 1530 board posts (2%) over the last 60 days, a modest share of the conversation. Fan text is shown verbatim and credited to the community it came from; posters stay anonymous.

"Hi, I've been looking to put myself out there For Once in my Miserable Goddamn Life and thought I might try that by getting back into DnD. Does anyone know any good DnD groups out"
r/WMU ~ fan take

Board posters are a vocal, self-selected slice of the fanbase.

More in this tab

This week and this season

Worth watchingGames average 45 combined points, rock fights

What it is like to watch them2026 · 6-3

Game feel45rock fightscombined pts / game11th highest-scoring of 13 in the Mid-American
Heart rate3-2white-knucklein one-score games (5 of 9)3rd most one-score games of 13 in the Mid-American
Margin+7.0comfortableavg scoring margin3rd best margin of 13 in the Mid-American
Tempo60average paceoffensive plays / game10th fastest of 13 in the Mid-American
Big plays1.20some popexplosiveness (IsoPPP)9th most explosive of 13 in the Mid-American
Home crowd23,838avg attendance1st biggest crowds of 13 in the Mid-American

Measured from 9 games · ranks are among Mid-American teams the same season

Team storyThe story of this team right now, in one line.
The weekly grind

Western Michigan was picked seventh in the MAC and won the whole thing — a 23-13 title-game win over Miami, then a 41-6 bowl blowout, the Broncos' first conference title since the P.J. Fleck miracle of 2016.

Title DroughtSince 2016 · 10 yrs

Bronco fans are sick of being a punchline about a coach who left and a rowing slogan he took with him. They say a program picked seventh and crowned champion proved Kalamazoo can win on its own…

Read the full program story ↓
Game-day weatherKickoff-time weather at home, and the forecast in game week.

Western Michigan · Game-day weather

Typical at Waldo Stadium: kickoff time makes little difference, scores run 86 to 89

  • noon: 89, Mixed
  • 3:30 pm: 86, Mixed
  • 7:30 pm: 86, Mixed

Typical weather score at each kickoff time.

Tap a dot to read it.

Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.

Game dayWhat a Saturday in this stadium actually feels like.
The experience

Western Michigan is the MAC program whose P.J. Fleck 2016 13-1 + Cotton Bowl appearance + 'Row the Boat' origin define what scheme-and-brand-pioneer-G5-football looks like.

Offense: SoftRun/Pass: Run-heavy, ground-controlDefense: Solid
Open questionsThe unresolved questions this season keeps asking.

Roster and recruiting

Roster100% of production back, talent #108

Roster reload: Western Michigan

2026 snapshot, Nov 4
Returning Production100%High continuity
Talent Composite#108 nationally247 composite 572.2
Portal Additions14Primary repair: S
Portal Losses13Primary pressure: EDGE
Draft Loss0No NFL Draft departures recorded
Recruiting Reload#112Depth class
EDGEin 1 - Austin Alexander3.60out 3 - Popeye Williams4.28Starter Risk
current room: 239 lbs avg (2025 roster)
Versatile Endholds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack
Transferred in
Sin 3 - Tahj Owens3.40out 1 - Jason Mitchell3.49Need Filled
current room: 188 lbs avg (2025 roster)
LBin 2 - Brenden Anes3.49out 1 - Derek Pennington3.49Even
current room: 217 lbs avg (2025 roster)
Balanced Linebackeris steady in every phase without a signature trait
Transferred in
QBin 1 - Trey Petty3.30out 2 - Brady Jones3.40Downgrade
current room: 206 lbs avg (2025 roster)
CBin 1 - Willard Ferrell3.40out 2 - Fitzroy Ledgister3.49Downgrade
RBin 1 - AJ Green4.28out 2 - Tre' Hartwell3.49Even
current room: 204 lbs avg (2025 roster)
Balanced Back2023 profiledoes a little of everything without one standout trait
Full roster (156 players)
Top commits

Top 3 signees

2026 class
★★★☆☆
Donovan Triplett
ATH · Walled Lake, MI
#1754 national
★★★☆☆
Brodon Moore
CB · Lakewood, OH
#1806 national
★★★☆☆
Max Baker
DL · Detroit, MI
#1914 national
Profiles like a typical incoming interior lineman — 12 of his 25 closest recruiting profiles since 2018 shared the Two-Gap Base archetype.Projection from his recruiting profile; no college snaps yet.
Recruiting buzzWhat fans say about the incoming class right now.

r/cfb this year

[Postgame Thread] Western Michigan Defeats Monmouth 49-14
1,185 upvotes · Sep 2026
[Postgame Thread] Western Michigan Defeats Rice 28-21
165 upvotes · Sep 2026

Top community posts · last 12 months · r/cfb

Fans and ratings

Mood vs. historyFan mood is higher than 53% of FBS programs
→

Fan confidence in a typical range for this program right now

53rd percentile among FBS programs

Fans vs. the lineWhere fans and the betting market read this team differently.
Fan vs. market≈
53rd
Fan mood
(percentile among FBS)
7.5
Sportsbook win total
(57th among FBS)
Fan mood aligned with market consensus
Win total consensus · 3 books
RivalsRival pulse: Eastern Michigan bearish, Central Michigan uneasy

Rival pulse

Eastern Michigan
Bearish
-37
Michigan MAC Trophy (WMU-EMU)
Central Michigan
Uneasy
-14
Victory Cannon

Fan mood index · most recent r/CFB data

More

FollowThe team's own sites, its reporters and its podcasts.

Follow Western Michigan

Each link was checked against two outside sites.

This page may include content derived from public news sources, social media, and fan communities. We relay these sources as-is — we are not reporting them. Sources may be summarized or quoted imperfectly; for anything that matters, go look at the original source directly. The original source may also be wrong. Text written by our model says so in a line beneath it, and it can get facts wrong. All analysis is editorial opinion, not professional reporting. Data sources · About this site