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NCAA Football Betting Online: As is typical in the MAC, the more success a coach has, the more likely he is to get plucked for a more lucrative position. And after the Western Michigan Broncos went undefeated during the 2016 regular season, P.J. Fleck got an offer from Minnesota he couldn’t refuse. The 2016 season was a bit unusual, but not totally surprising. Fleck’s Broncos put together back-to-back eight win seasons the two previous years and went bowling each time, the first consecutive postseason trips in school history. Now, former WMU quarterback Tim Lester looks to continue the successful run.
2017 Western Michigan Broncos at a Glance
Broncos National Championship Odds: +50000
Broncos Regular Season Win Total: 9
Lester has big shoes to fill and several holes to plug in his first year on the job. Even then the Broncos have enough returning talent to be a favorite in the MAC West. They’re probably not 13-1 and Cotton Bowl good, but good enough to battle with Toledo in the division.
The Broncos had the 19th-ranked offense in the FBS last season with 481 yards per game, but the aerial attack definitely got hit the hardest this offseason. Four-year starter Zach Terrell, who threw every WMU pass last season, is done. The guys in the running have the pedigree they just don’t have the experience. Tom Flacco, younger brother of Joe, will get a shot at taking over. He threw 12 passes in 2015. Jon Wassink is a highly-touted prospect and will give Flacco a fight.
Corey Davis was selected in the first-round of the NFL draft taking his 97 receptions from a season ago with him. The Broncos need to replace the top three pass catchers who accounted for 79 percent of Terrell’s targets last season. D’Wayne Eskridge is the only returning receiver who caught more than 10 passes in 2016. The passing attack will have time to evolve with a ground game that will be efficient.
Leading rushers Jarvion Franklin and Jamauri Bogan are back for an attack that averaged nearly 230 yards per game on the ground. Franklin amassed 1,353 yards and 12 touchdowns last season while Bogan added 923 yards and eight scores. They’ll work behind an experienced line with three starters returning. Lester inherits a good situation with plenty of talent to work with. However, coming off the best season in school history, some regression should be expected.
2017 Western Michigan Broncos Schedule
Week 1: Western Michigan at USC, Saturday, September 2
Week 2: Western Michigan at Michigan State, Saturday, September 9
Week 3: Western Michigan vs. Idaho, Saturday, September 16
Week 4: Western Michigan vs. Wagner, Saturday, September 23
Week 5: Western Michigan vs. Ball State, Saturday, September 30
Week 6: Western Michigan at Buffalo, Saturday, October 7
Week 7: Western Michigan vs. Akron, Saturday, October 14
Week 8: Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan, Saturday, October 21
Week 9: OFF
Week 10: Western Michigan vs. Central Michigan, Wednesday, November 1
Week 11: Western Michigan vs. Kent State, Wednesday, November 8
Week 12: Western Michigan at Northern Illinois, Wednesday, November 15
Week 13: Western Michigan at Toledo, Friday, November 24
List of Western Michigan Broncos Seasons
| Year |
Record |
Bowl Game |
| 2016 |
13-1 |
L – Cotton Bowl |
| 2015 |
8-5 |
W – Popeyes Bahamas Bowl |
| 2014 |
8-5 |
L – Famous Idaho Potato Bowl |
| 2013 |
1-11 |
|
| 2012 |
4-8 |
|
| 2011 |
7-6 |
L – Little Caesars Bowl |
| 2010 |
6-6 |
|
| 2009 |
5-7 |
|
| 2008 |
9-4 |
L – Texas Bowl |
| 2007 |
5-7 |
|
| 2006 |
8-5 |
L - International Bowl |
| 2005 |
7-4 |
|
| 2004 |
1-10 |
|
| 2003 |
5-7 |
|
| 2002 |
4-8 |
|
| 2001 |
5-6 |
|
| 2000 |
9-3 |
|
| 1999 |
7-5 |
|
| 1998 |
7-4 |
|
| 1997 |
8-3 |
|
| 1996 |
2-9 |
|
| 1995 |
7-4 |
|
| 1994 |
7-4 |
|
| 1993 |
7-3-1 |
|
| 1992 |
7-3-1 |
|
| 1991 |
6-5 |
|
| 1990 |
7-4 |
|
| 1989 |
5-6 |
|
| 1988 |
9-3 |
L – California Bowl |
| 1987 |
5-6 |
|
| 1986 |
3-8 |
|
| 1985 |
4-6-1 |
|
| 1984 |
5-6 |
|
| 1983 |
6-5 |
|
| 1982 |
7-2-2 |
|
| 1981 |
6-5 |
|
| 1980 |
7-4 |
|
| 1979 |
6-5 |
|
| 1978 |
7-4 |
|
| 1977 |
4-7 |
|
| 1976 |
7-4 |
|
| 1975 |
1-10 |
|
| 1974 |
3-8 |
|
| 1973 |
6-5 |
|
| 1972 |
7-3-1 |
|
| 1971 |
7-3 |
|
| 1970 |
7-3 |
|
| 1969 |
4-6 |
|
| 1968 |
3-6 |
|
| 1967 |
5-4 |
|
| 1966 |
7-3 |
|
| 1965 |
6-2-1 |
|
| 1964 |
3-6 |
|
| 1963 |
2-7 |
|
| 1962 |
5-4 |
|
| 1961 |
5-4-1 |
L – Aviation Bowl |
| 1960 |
4-4-1 |
|
| 1959 |
4-5 |
|
| 1958 |
4-5 |
|
| 1957 |
4-4-1 |
|
| 1956 |
2-7 |
|
| 1955 |
1-7-1 |
|
| 1954 |
4-5 |
|
| 1953 |
1-6-1 |
|
| 1952 |
4-4 |
|
| 1951 |
4-4 |
|
| 1950 |
5-4 |
|
| 1949 |
4-4 |
|
| 1948 |
6-3 |
|
They’ve been playing football in Kalamazoo since 1906, but it was the 2016 team that put Western Michigan in the national spotlight. Since being classified as a major college team in 1962, the Broncos had never won more than nine games in a season or been nationally ranked. In their fourth season under Fleck, the Broncos enjoyed the finest season in school history. WMU went undefeated during the regular season, won their third MAC title and played in a New Year’s Six Bowl game, losing to Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl. They ended the season ranked 15th in the AP poll after reaching a high of No. 12 during the year.
WMU joined the MAC in 1948 during its second year of existence. It took until 1966 before the Broncos would finish at the top of the standings. They shared the league title with Miami that year. The Broncos would have moderate success after that with 12 winning seasons over the next two decades. However, none of those years produced more than seven victories. In 1988 WMU won its first outright MAC title and appeared in its first major college bowl game.
Under Gary Darnell the Broncos won the MAC West in back-to-back years but lost the title game in both 1999 and 2000. Following an eight-win season in 2006, the Broncos would return to a bowl game but come out on the losing end once again. The Broncos won eight games in 2015, reaching consecutive bowls for the first time in school history. They also won their first bowl game defeating Middle Tennessee in the Bahamas Bowl.
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