2010 Western Michigan Broncos Football Preview

2009 Results: 5-7, No Bowl

Head Coach: Bill Cubit (6th year @ WMU, 34-27 Overall)

Home Venue: Waldo Stadium (30,200), Kalamazoo, Michigan

Western Michigan has always been competitive under Head Coach Bill Cubit, only falling below a .500 league mark once in five years. However, their 4-4 league record last season wasn’t enough for the Broncos to earn bowl eligibility as they fell short on the season’s final day at home against Ball State to finish 5-7. With the core of a very productive offense gone, can WMU regroup and get back to the postseason this fall?

OFFENSE

The WMU offense was surprisingly ineffective last season, scoring fewer than 25 points per game. I say ‘surprisingly’ because four year starting quarterback Tim Hiller (3,249 yards, 23 TDs, 13 INT) was under center all season long and he ended his career 3rd all time in the MAC in TD passes! With a talented veteran starter putting up good numbers, I expected more from the Bronco offense. Needless to say, replacing him will not be easy as they have virtually no experience at the quarterback position.

However, every major contributor at wide receiver returns this fall as junior Rob Arnheim (59 tackles, 701 yards, 3 TDs) and seniors Jordan White (53 tackles, 581 yards, 4 TDs, 2nd Team All-MAC), Chleb Ravnell (48 catches, 513 yards) and Juan Nunez (32 catches, 435 yards, 6 TDs) form the deepest set of wideouts in the conference. Thus, the new QB will have plenty of outlets to throw to in 2010 and that will help the transition under center in a major way.

The Broncos also have a very good offensive line which returns four starters, two of whom were 1st Team All-MAC selections last year! This quality of a front wall is going to be very important because the running game is a very big concern. With nobody returning who even managed to gain 150 yards on the ground in 2009, I think that the Broncos are in for a step back in the running game because this group of tailbacks doesn’t appear to be particularly dynamic.

Overall, there are certainly plenty of pieces in place on offense. However, the Broncos will severely miss Hiller’s excellence and experience on offense and their lack of any proven runners is also a serious worry. As a strong rushing attack is any quarterback’s best friend, I’m very concerned how well their young new starter will perform. I think that WMU will eventually find the right combination to field a productive offense but their unproven backfield is going to be their Achilles heel in 2010.

DEFENSE

Western Michigan was no better than an average defense last season, allowing 420 yards per game while ceding opponents 27.5 points per outing, 8th in the conference. With a defense that managed only 19 sacks, they simply couldn’t stop opponents when it mattered.

And their D-Line has to improve if the defense is going to be better this year. Unfortunately, they only have two returning starters and neither is a particularly disruptive player. Junior DT Drew Nowak (36 tackles) should be the best bet to have a strong campaign but he is going to see a lot of double teams in the trenches. The running game concerns continue as the linebackers must absorb the loss of Austin Pritchard, the team’s top tackler. The good news is that the other two starting linebackers return but they only combined to match Pritchard’s total production last fall. I don’t have much hope for the defense to improve their poor run D this season..

The secondary is also concerning. The fact that senior LB Jamail Berry led the team with 5 interceptions should underline the reality that this group of defensive backs is severely lacking in playmakers. Senior safety Mario Armstrong (62 tackles) is the team’s top returning tackler from last season and he will pair with junior Doug Wiggins (47 tackles) to form a decent safety tandem. However, with no experience at corner, my opinion is sealed: This will not be a strong aerial defense this fall.

Overall, there are not a lot of great pieces in place on this unit. The D-Line is full of holes, the linebackers are better against the pass than in run support and the secondary has a dearth of ballhawks. I don’t think that they’re going to manage a strong pass rush and that means another long season for the Western Michigan defense.

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SCHEDULE

The non-conference schedule is a mixed bag. Trips to Michigan State and Notre Dame will be difficult contests but home affairs against D-1AA Nicholls State and Idaho are very winnable tilts. In conference play, the Broncos play lowly Akron and Bowling Green from the East, though they also must host improved Kent State. This is a much easier schedule than last year’s non-league portion, which included 3 Big Ten teams.

OUTLOOK

There are a lot of serious losses from last season’s team. Anytime an offense loses a 4 year starter at quarterback and a 1,100 yard rusher, it will not be easy to replace that production. While the attack should still be all right with a great line and a deep set of wideouts, there is no way that they get quarterback play approaching the level that Hiller displayed.

Defensively, this team lost three of their top four tacklers from 2009. As the Broncos weren’t very good last season slowing down opponents, those are some serious losses. Furthermore, there just aren’t a lot of potential impact players on this defense and I think it will be among the MAC’s worst. This defense is going to be the team’s undoing this season.

Overall, I just don’t think that this team is going to be able to score enough to make up for their defensive deficiencies. Furthermore, they have lost too much talent from a team that already underachieved in 2009 and I think that Western Michigan will repeat their disappointing 5-7 record from a year ago. The WMU Broncos are my choice to finish 5 th in the MAC West Division.

PREDICTED RESULT: 5-7 (3-5 MAC)