Tag: Western Michigan Broncos

Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Van Dyke (10) calls a play during football practice Wednesday, August 14, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Wisconsin, Tyler Van Dyke out to bust Broncos with strong first impression

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The second year of the Luke Fickell era begins with a new quarterback and plenty of questions when Wisconsin opens the season against Western Michigan on Friday in Madison, Wis.

Wisconsin finished 7-6 overall and 5-4 in the Big Ten last year in Fickell’s first season, culminating in a 35-31 bowl game loss to LSU.

The Badgers were picked seventh in the preseason poll for the revamped 18-team Big Ten.

“That Week 1, there’s a lot buildup to it,” Fickell said. “You know, we’re getting close, we’re excited about that, but we’ve still got some work to do before we get to (Friday).”

Tyler Van Dyke, a transfer from Miami, won the preseason quarterback battle ahead of Braedyn Locke, who started three games last season after Tanner Mordecai was injured.

Van Dyke completed 65.8 percent of his passes for a team-high 2,703 yards with 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Leading rusher Braelon Allen, who ran for 3,494 yards and 35 touchdowns in three seasons, opted for the NFL. Sixth-year senior Chez Mellusi returns after playing in four games last season before suffering a leg injury. He has run for 1,595 yards in three seasons at Wisconsin.

Will Pauling, who had a team-high 74 catches last season with six touchdowns, is the top returning receiver.

The Badgers defense suffered a blow when Fickel confirmed Monday that senior defensive end James Thompson Jr. likely would miss all of 2024 with an injury. Thompson started 11 games last season.

Western Michigan was 4-8 last season, including 3-5 in the Mid-American Conference, in coach Lance Taylor’s first season.

Hayden Wolff completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 1,505 yards and eight touchdowns in eight games (four starts) last season.

Jalen Buckley was the MAC Freshman of the Year last season, rushing for 10 touchdowns on 1,003 yards while averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

Kenny Womack had 76 receptions for 691 yards and one score. Anthony Sambucci had a team-high five touchdown catches.

“As we have gone through training camp, one of the things is this is a team of togetherness, not about offense or defense or special teams,” Taylor said. “They believe in each other and want to win and do whatever it takes to win.”

–Field Level Media

Oct 7, 2023; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Mike Wright (14) runs the ball against the Western Michigan Broncos during the first quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Mississippi State starts fast, puts away Western Michigan

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Will Rogers threw three touchdown passes and Mississippi State defeated Western Michigan 38-28 in a nonconference game Saturday at Starkville, Miss.

Rogers was 16-of-22 passing for 189 yards before going to the locker room with an apparent non-throwing arm injury in the fourth quarter. Mike Wright, who ran for a touchdown earlier in the game, finished at quarterback for the Bulldogs (3-3).

Hayden Wolff came off the bench to complete 27 of 35 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns for Western Michigan (2-4).

Mississippi State drove 61 yards on the first possession of the second half and Wright ran 3 yards for a touchdown that increased the Bulldogs’ lead to 24-7.

Wolff’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Blake Bosma trimmed the lead to 24-14.

The Bulldogs took a 28-yard field goal off the scoreboard after kicker Kyle Ferrie was brought to the ground for a penalty. On the next play, Seth Davis ran 5 yards for a touchdown and a 31-14 Mississippi State lead.

The Broncos’ Zahir Abdus-Salaam ran 11 yards for a touchdown that cut the lead to 31-21 at the end of the third quarter.

Rogers’ 36-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Roberson gave MSU a 38-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Wolff’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Leroy Thomas on fourth-and-2 pulled Western Michigan within 38-28 with 10:48 remaining.

Nick Barr-Mira kicked a 49-yard field goal to increase the lead to 41-28 with 4:12 remaining.

Western Michigan turned the ball over on downs on the game’s first possession when Abdus-Salaam was stopped for no gain on fourth and 1 at the Broncos’ 47. That led to Ferrie’s 31-yard field goal before Rogers’ 15-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Mosley gave MSU a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Rogers threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Creed Whittemore in the second quarter for a 17-0 lead before Western Michigan turned the ball over again when Jack Salopek threw an incompletion on fourth-and-2 at the Bulldogs’ 37.

Wolff replaced Salopek and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Austin Hence to trim the Bulldogs’ lead to 17-7 at halftime.

–Field Level Media

Sep 2, 2023; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Cade McNamara (12) throws a pass against the Utah State Aggies during the second quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

No. 25 Iowa in search of more growth vs. Western Michigan

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Cade McNamara is feeling better, and that makes Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz more optimistic about what the Hawkeyes’ offense can do the rest of the season..

McNamara, a Michigan transfer, has battled a right quad ailment for the past month and hasn’t been sharp in his first two Iowa starts at quarterback. But the Hawkeyes are 2-0 and ranked No. 25 heading into their non-conference matchup with Western Michigan at Iowa City on Saturday.

“The fact that he can practice now is huge because he’s missed a lot of practice time, and the timing component is so important,” Ferentz said. “It’s important because it’s not like he’s played with our guys a lot. That’s encouraging for me. I talk about the potential of our team; that’s a big part of it. If we can keep him out there, keep him practicing, common sense would say he’d probably play better.”

In Iowa’s 20-13 victory over Iowa State last weekend, McNamara completed 12 of 22 passes for just 123 yards. He also was intercepted once.

Fortunately for the Hawkeyes, their typically stout defense picked up the slack. That unit held Iowa State to 290 total yards, and Sebastian Castro made a pivotal play in the second quarter with a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown. Castro was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

Iowa freshman running back Jaziun Patterson rushed for 86 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown. Iowa wasn’t penalized the entire contest.

“Our team made strides,” Ferentz said. “I saw a lot of improvement in different areas.”

After Saturday’s game, the Hawkeyes will jump into the Big Ten schedule Sept. 23 at No. 7 Penn State.

“Bottom line is we have to worry about this team (Western Michigan), and I think our guys understand that,” Ferentz said.

The Broncos (1-1) are coming off a 48-7 loss to Syracuse. Western Michigan actually took the lead on Jalen Buckley’s 75-yard run in the opening minute. It was a struggle from there, as the Orange racked up 496 total yards.

“That’s the learning curve for a young football team,” Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor said. “We’ll be better this week.”

The Broncos didn’t do themselves any favors by committing nine penalties for 99 yards.

“We started fast, and from there it got very sloppy,” Taylor said. “That’s on me. I’ve got to prepare our guys better. Just too many penalties, turnovers and self-inflicted wounds.”

Jack Salopek is the team’s starting quarterback, though Treyson Bourguet has taken some snaps. Buckley has two touchdowns and is averaging 7.4 yards per carry.

Western Michigan will head into its Mid-American Conference schedule Sept. 23 at Toledo after visiting Iowa. The Broncos are coming off a disappointing 5-7 season.

They actually lead the all-time series with the Hawkeyes 2-1. However, those wins came in 2000 and 2007. Iowa won the last meeting 59-3 in 2013 when current Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck was head coach of the Broncos.

Iowa’s victory last weekend was the 200th of Ferentz’s career, but he has a long memory.

“Lot of talk of 200 the last couple of days,” he said. “I can throw out the number two. That’d be two losses to Western Michigan since I’ve been here.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 9, 2023; Syracuse, New York, USA; Syracuse Orange running back Juwaun Price (28) runs with the ball as Western Michigan Broncos cornerback Aaron Wofford (25) defends during the first half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Syracuse wins one-sided affair over Western Michigan, 48-7

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Garrett Shrader threw for 286 yards and one touchdown, ran for another score, and LeQuint Allen tallied on three short runs as host Syracuse demolished Western Michigan 48-7 on Saturday afternoon.

Shrader played just the first half, completing 19 of 30 passes and leading the Orange (2-0) to points on all of their possessions before intermission. Freshman Donovan Brown made three catches for 89 yards, including an 86-yard touchdown, and Isaiah Jones and Umari Hatcher had five receptions apiece, for 86 and 83 yards, respectively.

The Broncos’ Jalen Buckley carried eight times for 87 yards, 75 of them on the second play from scrimmage. He burst through the line and down the right side to give Western Michigan (1-1) a 7-0 lead just 30 seconds into the first quarter.

Buckley ran for 194 yards on 30 carries in Western Michigan’s season-opening 35-17 win over St. Francis (Pa.) on Aug. 31.

Western Michigan’s Jack Salopek was 15 of 22 passing for 110 yards with one interception, which Jason Simmons Jr. brought back 84 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half, making the score 45-17 at the break.

Allen’s first touchdown, from 1 yard out, gave Syracuse the lead at 10-7 with 8:55 left in the first period.

After Western Michigan’s early strike, it punted five straight times, and the Orange kept scoring quickly. Brown’s touchdown catch was followed by Shrader’s 18-yard scoring rush early in the second quarter, and then TD runs of 1 and 2 yards by Allen.

Brady Denaburg of Syracuse added field goals of 36 and 33 yards in the first and third quarters, respectively.

The Orange, which piled up 677 total yards in whipping Colgate on Sept. 2, amassed 496 more on Saturday — 343 in the air between Shrader and backup Carlos Del Rio-Wilson.

Western Michigan managed 318 total yards but also hurt itself with nine penalties for 99 yards.

Both teams have road games against Big Ten opponents next week. Western Michigan meets Iowa while Syracuse travels to Purdue.

–Field Level Media

Sep 10, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Kedon Slovis (9) passes under pressure from Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman Roman Harrison (30) during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

No. 23 Pitt’s QB situation a mystery for trip to WMU

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Coming off a tough overtime home loss to now-15th ranked Tennessee, No. 23 Pittsburgh will try to rebound as well as gain a measure of revenge Saturday night when the Panthers play at Western Michigan in a nonconference tilt in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Last season, the Broncos stunned the Panthers in Pittsburgh, 44-41, which one of just three losses for Pitt — giving this relatively unusual Power Five at Group of Five contest a little extra juice.

Pittsburgh (1-1) will travel with hopes of earning some payback and keeping its status as a ranked team.

“They do a lot of similar things to us, so it will be some carryover from what our offense sees every day in practice with what they do coverage-wise and front-wise,” Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi said.

Pittsburgh enters 1-1 after a 38-31 win over West Virginia to start the year and the 34-27 overtime loss to Tennessee, when the Panthers squandered a 10-0 lead but then rallied to tie the game late to force overtime.

The big concern for the Panthers this week is the status of starting quarterback Kedon Slovis, who had gotten off to a good start replacing Heisman Trophy finalist Kenny Pickett.

Slovis, a highly touted transfer from USC, had completed 30 of 48 passes for 503 yards on the season before an undisclosed injury caused him to miss the second half and overtime against Tennessee.

Backup Nick Patti came and produced 9-of-20 passing for 79 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers. But even Patti appeared to injure his leg early in the fourth quarter, limping noticeably between plays but throwing the tying touchdown pass with 2:23 remaining.

Narduzzi provided no update Monday on the status of Slovis or Patti and said the third-string quarterback remains “unsettled.”

“I’m not talking personnel,” Narduzzi said. “We all know what we know. I know nothing. How about that?”

On the other side, the starting quarterback for Western Michigan will be a familiar face to Pittsburgh fans: Jack Salopek. He is a redshirt freshman who was a record-setting passer at Norwin High School, 20 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

In two games this season, Salopek has completed 46 of 79 passes for 423 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Western Michigan (1-1) opened the season with a 35-13 loss at now-No. 11 Michigan State and a 37-30 victory at Ball State on Saturday.

The Broncos trailed 23-14 with 8:34 remaining in the third quarter before rallying.

“They just kept swinging,” Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester said. “That’s our motto on offense, ‘Keep swinging.’

“We’ve got a new offensive coordinator (Jeff Thorne), we’ve got a new quarterback, we’ve got three new (offensive) linemen, we’ve got new wideouts and it’s going to take time. But we don’t have time. We need it now and they just need to keep swinging and trust the process.”

This will be Western Michigan’s first home game against a Power Five school since 2018, when the Broncos lost to Syracuse, 55-42.

–Field Level Media