2018 Western Michigan Broncos football team

The 2018 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University (WMU) in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Tim Lester and played their home games at Waldo Stadium as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in MAC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl where they lost to BYU.

2018 Western Michigan Broncos football
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, L 18–49 vs. BYU
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	7–6 (5–3 MAC)
Head coach	Tim Lester (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Jake Moreland (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast
Defensive coordinator	Tim Daoust (2nd season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Lou Esposito (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3 or 4–2–5
Home stadium	Waldo Stadium
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Buffalo x		7	–	1					10	–	4
Miami (OH)		6	–	2					6	–	6
Ohio		6	–	2					9	–	4
Akron		2	–	6					4	–	8
Bowling Green		2	–	6					3	–	9
Kent State		1	–	7					2	–	10
West Division
Northern Illinois x$		6	–	2					8	–	6
Western Michigan		5	–	3					7	–	6
Eastern Michigan		5	–	3					7	–	6
Toledo		5	–	3					7	–	6
Ball State		3	–	5					4	–	8
Central Michigan		0	–	8					1	–	11
Championship: Northern Illinois 30, Buffalo 29
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Rimington Trophy[1]	John Keenoy	C	SR
Doak Walker Award[2]	Jamauri Bogan	RB	SR
	LeVante Bellamy	RB	JR
John Mackey Award[3]	Giovanni Ricci	TE	JR
Outland Trophy[4]	Luke Juriga	G	JR
	John Keenoy	C	SR
Wuerffel Trophy[5]	Jamauri Bogan	RB	SR
	Justin Tranquill	DB	JR

Preseason media poll

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 24, 2018, with the Broncos predicted to finish in third place in the West Division.^[6]

West Division
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Northern Illinois	133 (15)
2	Toledo	125 (7)
3	Western Michigan	87 (1)
4	Eastern Michigan	67
5	Central Michigan	58 (1)
6	Ball State	34

Schedule

The following table lists WMU's schedule.^[7]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	6:00 p.m.	Syracuse*	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	CBSSN	L 42–55	20,628
September 8	Noon	at No. 21 Michigan*	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	FS1	L 3–49	110,814
September 15	7:00 p.m.	Delaware State*	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPN+	W 68–0	23,244
September 22	2:00 p.m.	at Georgia State*	Georgia State Stadium Atlanta, GA	ESPN+	W 34–15	15,264
September 29	3:30 p.m.	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	ESPN+	W 40–39	15,012
October 6	Noon	Eastern Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy)	ESPN+	W 27–24	24,282
October 13	3:00 p.m.	at Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPN+	W 42–35	18,551
October 20	3:00 p.m.	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI (Victory Cannon / Michigan MAC Trophy)	ESPN+	W 35–10	10,097
October 25	7:00 p.m.	Toledo	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPN2	L 24–51	11,389
November 1	7:00 p.m.	Ohio	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPNU	L 14–59	11,935
November 13	6:00 p.m.	at Ball State	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN	ESPN2	L 41–42 OT	5,503
November 20	7:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPNU	W 28–21	18,278
December 21	4:00 p.m.	vs. BYU*	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl)	ESPN	L 18–49	18,711
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Syracuse

	1	2	3	4	Total
Orange	24	10	14	7	55
Broncos	7	0	28	7	42

See also: 2018 Syracuse Orange football team

Series Record	Previous meeting	Result
First meeting

At Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	0	0	3	3
No. 21 Wolverines	21	14	7	7	49

See also: 2018 Michigan Wolverines football team

Series Record	Previous meeting	Result
0–6	2011	MICH, 34–10

^[8]

Delaware State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hornets	0	0	0	0	0
Broncos	14	14	16	24	68

See also: 2018 Delaware State Hornets football team

Series Record	Previous meeting	Result
First meeting

At Georgia State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	3	17	14	0	34
Panthers	0	9	6	0	15

See also: 2018 Georgia State Panthers football team

Series Record	Previous meeting	Result
First meeting

At Miami (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	14	0	13	13	40
RedHawks	17	10	6	6	39

See also: 2018 Miami RedHawks football team

Series Record	Previous meeting	Result
21–37–1	2015	WMU, 35–13

Eastern Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	10	7	7	24
Broncos	7	7	0	13	27

See also: 2018 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team and Michigan MAC Trophy

Series Record	Previous meeting	Result
33–18–2	2017	WMU, 20–17

At Bowling Green

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	7	21	14	42
Falcons	7	14	7	7	35

See also: 2018 Bowling Green Falcons football team

Series Record	Previous meeting	Result
18–32–3	2015	BGSU, 41–27

At Central Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	7	14	0	14	35
Chippewas	0	0	10	0	10

See also: 2018 Central Michigan Chippewas football team, Western Michigan–Central Michigan football rivalry, and Michigan MAC Trophy

Series Record	Previous meeting	Result
48–38–2	2017	CMU, 35–28

Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	14	9	21	7	51
Broncos	7	10	7	0	24

See also: 2018 Toledo Rockets football team

Series Record	Previous meeting	Result
30–42	2017	TOL, 37–10

Ohio

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	21	24	7	7	59
Broncos	0	0	7	7	14

See also: 2018 Ohio Bobcats football team

Series Record	Previous meeting	Result
33–28–1	2016	WMU, 29–23

At Ball State

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Broncos	7	10	3	15	6	41
Cardinals	7	14	7	7	7	42

See also: 2018 Ball State Cardinals football team

Series Record	Previous meeting	Result
25–19	2017	WMU, 55–3

Northern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	7	0	14	0	21
Broncos	7	6	8	7	28

See also: 2018 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

Series Record	Previous meeting	Result
24–18	2017	NIU, 35–31

Vs. BYU (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	7	0	28	14	49
Broncos	0	10	0	8	18

See also: 2018 BYU Cougars football team and 2018 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Series Record	Previous meeting	Result
2–3	1970	WMU, 35–17