2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team

2015 Western Michigan Broncos football
MAC West Division co-champion
Bahamas Bowl champion
Conference Mid-American Conference
Division West Division
2015 record 8–5 (6–2 MAC)
Head coach P. J. Fleck (3rd year)
Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca (3rd year)
Defensive coordinator Ed Pinkham (3rd year)
Home stadium Waldo Stadium
(Capacity: 30,200)
2015 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
East Division
Bowling Green x$   7 – 1         10 – 4  
Ohio   5 – 3         8 – 5  
Akron   5 – 3         8 – 5  
Buffalo   3 – 5         5 – 7  
Kent State   2 – 6         3 – 9  
Miami   2 – 6         3 – 9  
UMass   2 – 6         3 – 9  
West Division
Northern Illinois xy   6 – 2         8 – 6  
Western Michigan x   6 – 2         8 – 5  
Toledo x   6 – 2         10 – 2  
Central Michigan x   6 – 2         7 – 6  
Ball State   2 – 6         3 – 9  
Eastern Michigan   0 – 8         1 – 11  
Championship: Bowling Green 34, Northern Illinois 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
As of December 26, 2015; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University (WMU) in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach P. J. Fleck and played their home games at Waldo Stadium as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

Previous season

In 2014, the Broncos finished the season 8–5, 6–2 in MAC play to finish in third place in the West Division. They were invited to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl where they lost to Air Force.

Coaching staff

The following table lists the team's coaching staff.[1]

Name Position Year at WMU Alma mater
P. J. Fleck Head coach 3rd Northern Illinois (2004)
Kirk Ciarrocca Offensive coordinator 3rd Temple (1990)
Ed Pinkham Defensive coordinator, Defensive backs 3rd Allegheny (1975)
Brian Callahan Offensive line 3rd Eastern Illinois (1992)
Mike Hart Running backs 2nd Michigan (2008)
Bill Kenney Tight ends, Offensive tackles 3rd Norwich (1982)
Tim McGarigle Linebackers 4th Northwestern (2006)
Vinson Reynolds Defensive line 3rd Northern Illinois (2004)
Matt Simon Wide receivers 2nd Northern Illinois (2004)
Rob Wenger Special teams, Defensive ends 3rd Colgate (2008)

Season

Ball State

WMU defeated Ball State 54–7 in a mid-week MACtion game nationally televised on CBS Sports Network. In the game, the Broncos gained a school-record 711 yards of total offense.[2] The win improved Western Michigan to 5–0 in conference games and left them alone in first place in the West Division.

Conference Players of the Week

Four WMU football players have won five conference player of the week awards. Sophomore kickoff returner Darius Phillips has won two, and redshirt freshman running back Jamauri Bogan, sophomore linebacker Robert Spillane and junior quarterback Zach Terrell have each won one.

Jamauri Bogan

Bogan won the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week award for Week 7. He ran the ball nine times for 135 yards and two touchdowns in a 49–14 win over Ohio. In the game, WMU as a team rushed for 430 yards, with 404 of those coming in the second half.[3]

Darius Phillips

Phillips was named MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 1 and 6. In Week 1, he returned four kickoffs for 185 yards, including a touchdown on a 100-yard kick off return in a loss to No. 5 Michigan State University.[4] In Week 6. Phillips had two kick returns for 101 yards in WMU's 41–39 victory over rival Central Michigan.[5]

Robert Spillane

Spillane was named MAC West Defensive Player of the Week for Week 8. Spillane had 9 total tackles and 3 1⁄2 for loss (including 1 1⁄2 sacks) in a 35–13 win over Miami (Ohio).[6]

Zach Terrell

Terrell was named MAC West Offensive Player of the Week for Week 9. He was 17 of 23 passing for 252 yards and ran for a team-high 71 yards in a 58–28 win over Eastern Michigan. He also rushed for one touchdown. The 71 yards rushing were a career high.[7]

Schedule

Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance
September 4 7:00 pm No. 5 Michigan State* Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI ESPNU L 37–24   30,885[8]
September 12 6:00 pm at Georgia Southern* Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA ESPN3 L 43–17   23,520[9]
September 19 7:00 pm Murray State* Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI ESPN3 W 52–20   20,543[10]
September 26 3:30 pm at No. 1 Ohio State* Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH ABC/ESPN2[11] L 38–12   106,123[12]
October 10 Noon Central Michigan Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy/Victory Cannon) ESPN3 W 41–39   20,201[13]
October 17 Noon at Ohio Peden Stadium • Athens, OH ASN[14] W 49–14   22,825[15]
October 24 2:00 pm Miami (OH)dagger Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI ESPN3[16] W 35–13   18,523[17]
October 29 7:30 pm at Eastern Michigan Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy) CBSSN[18] W 58–28   3,534[19]
November 5 7:30 pm Ball State Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI CBSSN[20] W 54–7   12,058[21]
November 11 8:00 pm Bowling Green Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI ESPN2[22] L 41–27   14,436
November 18 8:00 pm at Northern Illinois Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL ESPN2[23] L 27–19   10,194[24]
November 27 Noon at No. 24 Toledo Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH CBSSN W 35–30   16,151
December 24 Noon vs. Middle Tennessee* Thomas Robinson Stadium • Nassau, Bahamas (Bahamas Bowl) ESPN W 45–31   13,123
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time Zone.
Schedule source:[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Football –Coaches". Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  2. ↑ http://espn.go.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400787346
  3. ↑ http://www.mac-sports.com/news/2015/10/19/FB_1019150131.aspx
  4. ↑ http://mac-sports.com/news/2015/9/7/FB_0907154022.aspx
  5. ↑ http://mac-sports.com/news/2015/10/12/FB_1012153042.aspx
  6. ↑ http://www.mac-sports.com/news/2015/10/26/FB_1026154618.aspx
  7. ↑ http://www.mac-sports.com/news/2015/11/2/FB_1102152150.aspx
  8. ↑ "Michigan St vs Western Michigan Game Summary". ESPN. September 4, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Georgia Southern vs Western Michigan Game Summary". ESPN. September 12, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Terrell throws for 4 TDs, W. Michigan tops Murray St., 52-20". ESPN. September 19, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  11. ↑ http://mattsarzsports.com/Schedule/Weekly/football2015/4#.Vfc5fnUVhHw
  12. ↑ "Cardale Jones improves, gets help from defense in win over Broncos". ESPN. September 26, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Western Michigan outlasts Central Michigan 41-39". ESPN. October 10, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  14. ↑ http://mattsarzsports.com/Schedule/Weekly/football2015/7#.Vg_vhXUVhHw
  15. ↑ "Terrell's 4 TDs help Western Michigan beat Ohio 49-14". ESPN. October 17, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  16. ↑ http://mattsarzsports.com/Schedule/Weekly/football2015/8
  17. ↑ "Western Michigan rolls over Miami (Ohio) 35-13". ESPN. October 24, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  18. ↑ http://mattsarzsports.com/Schedule/Weekly/football2015/9#.ViZwgnUVhHw
  19. ↑ "Western Michigan scores 21 straight; beats Eastern Michigan". ESPN. October 29, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  20. ↑ http://mattsarzsports.com/Schedule/Weekly/football2015/10#.VjjmoHyrQlU
  21. ↑ http://espn.go.com/college-football/game?gameId=400787346
  22. ↑ http://mattsarzsports.com/Schedule/Weekly/football2015/11#.VjzHgHyrQlU
  23. ↑ http://mattsarzsports.com/Schedule/Weekly/football2015/12
  24. ↑ http://espn.go.com/college-football/game?gameId=400787358
  25. ↑ "2015 Western Michigan Broncos Football Schedule". FBS Schedules. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
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