2001 Western Michigan Broncos football team

The 2001 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth season under head coach Gary Darnell, the Broncos compiled a 5–6 record (4–5 against MAC opponents), finished in fourth place in the MAC's West Division, and outscored their opponents, 277 to 266.^[1][2][3] The team played its home games at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.^[4]

2001 Western Michigan Broncos football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	5–6 (4–4 MAC)
Head coach	Gary Darnell (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Brian Rock (2nd season)
MVP	Bryan Lape
Home stadium	Waldo Stadium
Seasons ← 2000 2002 →

2001 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Div							Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall x		6	–	0					8	–	0					11	–	2
Miami (OH)		4	–	2					6	–	2					7	–	5
Bowling Green		4	–	2					5	–	3					8	–	3
Kent State		3	–	3					5	–	3					6	–	5
Akron		3	–	3					4	–	4					4	–	7
Buffalo		1	–	5					1	–	7					3	–	8
Ohio		0	–	6					1	–	7					1	–	10
West Division
No. 23 Toledo xy$		4	–	1					5	–	2					10	–	2
Northern Illinois x		4	–	1					4	–	3					6	–	5
Ball State x		4	–	1					4	–	3					5	–	6
Western Michigan		2	–	3					4	–	4					5	–	6
Central Michigan		1	–	4					2	–	6					3	–	8
Eastern Michigan		0	–	5					1	–	6					2	–	9
Championship: Toledo 41, Marshall 36
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Due to an unbalanced conference schedule, the team with best division record within each division was awarded that division's championship game berth. Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Jeff Welsh with 1,702 passing yards, Philip Reed with 539 rushing yards, and Joshua Bush with 617 receiving yards.^[5]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31		No. 16 Illinois State*	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI		W 48–7	33,976	[6]
September 8	12:00 p.m.	at No. 9 Virginia Tech*	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN2	L 0–31	53,662
September 22	12:10 p.m.	at No. 20 Michigan*	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	ESPN	L 21–38	109,837
September 29	6:00 p.m.	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI		W 31–10	17,310
October 6		Akron	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI		W 31–14
October 13	4:00 p.m.	Bowling Green	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI		W 37–28	21,874
October 20	2:00 p.m.	at Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		L 12–20	18,150
October 27	2:30 p.m.	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	FSN	L 11–25	15,850
November 6	8:00 p.m.	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	ESPN	L 35–41	23,923
November 17		Central Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI (rivalry)		W 20–17	23,112	[7][8]
November 24		Ball State	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI		L 31–35
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

References

1. "Football Records: Annual Results". Western Michigan University. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
2. "Football Records: Year-By-Year Results - 2000-09". Western Michigan University. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
3. "2001 Western Michigan Broncos Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
4. "Waldo Stadium". Western Michigan University. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
5. "2001 Western Michigan Broncos Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
6. Reinhardt, Randy (August 31, 2001). "W. Michigan airs it out on ISU". The Pantagraph. p. B1. Retrieved December 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Western Michigan 20, Central Michigan 17". Lansing State Journal. November 18, 2001. p. 5C – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Last-second field goal lifts Western Michigan". The Times Herald. Port Huron, Michigan. November 18, 2001. p. 2C – via Newspapers.com.