1988 Western Michigan Broncos football team

The 1988 Western Michigan Broncos football team was an American football team that represented Western Michigan University during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second season under head coach Al Molde, the Broncos compiled a 9–3 record, won the Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship, and lost to Fresno State in the 1988 California Bowl.^[1]

1988 Western Michigan Broncos football
MAC champion
California Bowl, L 30–35 vs. Fresno State
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	9–3 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach	Al Molde (2nd season)
Home stadium	Waldo Stadium
Seasons ← 1987 1989 →

1988 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Western Michigan $	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Eastern Michigan	5	–	2	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
Ball State	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Central Michigan	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Ohio	4	–	3	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Toledo	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Kent State	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Bowling Green	1	–	6	–	1			2	–	8	–	1
Miami (OH)	0	–	7	–	1			0	–	10	–	1
$ – Conference champion

The win over Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium was Western Michigan's first ever over a Big Ten opponent in 12 attempts. Western Michigan had previously defeated Michigan Agricultural College (Michigan State) in 1917 and 1919, however those victories came prior to Michigan State's university status (1955) and Big Ten Conference membership (1953).^[2][3]

The team's statistical leaders were Tony Kimbrough with 2,831 passing yards, Robert Davis with 1,125 rushing yards, and Robert Oliver with 42 catches for 831 receiving yards.^[4] Kimbrough was selected as the MAC's most valuable player and the offensive player of the year.^[5] Offensive lineman Kevin Haverdink was selected by the Associated Press as a third-team All-American.^[6] Al Molde was named the MAC Coach of the Year.^[7]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	at Wisconsin*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 24–14	38,230
September 10	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	W 31–9
September 27	Illinois State*	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	W 44–14	22,207	[8]
October 1	Bowling Green	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	W 37–10
October 8	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	W 41–18
October 15	Kent State	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	L 28–45
October 22	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI (rivalry)	W 31–24
October 29	Central Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	W 42–24
November 5	at Ball State	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN	W 16–13
November 12	at Northern Illinois*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	L 7–15
November 19	Ohio	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	W 23–16
December 10	at Fresno State*	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA (California Bowl)	L 30–35	31,272
*Non-conference game