Joe Williams and his meitus touch on campus

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Matchup Preview | September 15, 2012
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Colorado Buffaloes (2-1, 0-1 Away)		Western Michigan Broncos (1-1, 1-0 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 1859 Total Yards 996 1360 Total Offensive Yards 804 1028 Passing Yards 666 332 Rushing Yards 138 38.0 Points Per Game 38.5 8 Passing TD 6 6 Rushing TD 3 54 First Downs 37 16 Red Zone Attempts 11 9-3 Red Zone TD-FG 8-0 75% Red Zone Percentage 72% Defensive Stats Comparison 1380 Total Yards Allowed 680 802 Passing Yards Allowed 398 578 Rushing Yards Allowed 282 108 Points Allowed 45 14 Sacks 4 2 Fumble Recoveries 5 3 Interceptions 2 36.0 Points Per Game 15.0 10 Red Zone Attempts 6 3-1 Red Zone TD-FG 4-1 40% Red Zone Percentage 83% Injury Report No Injuries No Injuries Game Notes Coming off a huge win against a used to be ranked Michigan State, Western Michigan looks to knock off Colorado. Colorado is coming off a 63-45 loss to Washington State. Colorado has already won 2 games already which make them 1 win shy of matching last year’s total only 3 games into the season. Both teams have slightly different agendas. Western is looking to repeat as MAC champs and go to a bigger bowl. Colorado is looking to figure their 3-3-5 defense out and have a .500 record this year at the least. If Western Michigan wants to win: WMU needs to step up on the ground. They are currently 108th in the nation when it comes to rush offense. It’s not that they’re weak at running the ball, they just don’t do it much. Their running back Dave Myers is in the Heisman conversation but his case is shrinking fast with only 31 carries for 138 yards. Lee Holiday also needs to keep the turnovers down. WMU is a perfect 10-0 when Lee Holiday throws more TD’s than INT’s under Joesph Williams. Their only loss under Williams was when Lee Holiday threw 3 INT’s with his 3 TD’s. The Broncos also need to stick to their 4-3 that they usual run and stay away from their crazy schemes they tried against Oregon State and loss with. If Colorado wants to win: If the Buffalos want to upset WMU they need to get their defense together. I mean really get it together because it’s not pretty. They rank #118 in total defense, #115 in pass defense and #117 in rush defense. That’s out of 120 teams folks. Not good. Their change to the 3-3-5 defense has not been a good one so far. On the bright side they have the #1 pass offense in the country currently. If they can get that going they could do well. Colorado also needs to keep the turnovers down because WMU ranked #3 last year in turnover difference and are currently #13 this year. The Buffalos are #102 currently. Key Players: QB Lee Holiday needs to continue his success last week by throwing for 383 yards and 3 TD’s with NO interceptions. As long as he doesn’t do as poorly as he did in the first half of the Oregon State game, then WMU should be fine. For Colorado it’s their QB Adam West. He currently leads the nation with 910 yards passing and if he can manage to keep the picks down then he can lead his team to an upset. Prediction: The Buffalos keep close for most of the game but Western prevails late in the 3rd. Western has always been a second half team. When they haven’t been leading at halftime, they are 3-1 after the half. That one loss was week 1 against Oregon State, but they erased a 21 point deficit in the mid-3rd to only lose by 3. Western Michigan Broncos - 31 Colorado Buffalos - 24

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Heisman Watch - Updated: Sep 15, 2012
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		SEASON STATS
Melvin Chapman	QB	Mich		15-22, 209 Yds, 3 TD, 3 Car, 12 Yds
Chandler Allen	HB	USF		26 Car, 114 Yds, 4 TD, 2 Rec, 46 Yds
Tyler Cochran	HB	LSU		18 Car, 135 Yds, 4 TD, 13 Rec Yds
Dave Myers	HB	WMU		22 Car, 99 Yds, 2 TD
Ricky Harper	HB	Wisc		9 Car, 61 Yds, 3 Total TD

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Kalamazoo, Michigan - Plunk. And also picked. Those were the only 2 things that went wrong for Western Michigan in their matchup against Colorado. WMU was nearly perfect in their 35-14 win against the Buffalos. Their two mistakes were an early interception and a double field goal miss that hit the cross bar TWICE.

The game started off ruff for the Broncos early. On their first possession Holiday threw an ill-advised throw into double coverage and was picked. Colorado hoped to capitalize but couldn’t. Lucky for WMU they didn’t repeat the same performance as week one. Lee and his team were able to drive and score. After that it was over from there. Western scored 28 unanswered points in the first half. The game ended at a 35-14 score that could have been easily 38-7 at least. Oh well.

On a sour note for Western Michigan their Heisman hopeful Dave Myers had a solid game but was dropped from the top 5 in the watch list. He did though run for 132 yards on 17 attempts but had no touchdowns. Lee Holiday on the other hand had yet another good performance by going for 15-26 and 251 yards. He also had 4 TD’s to 1 INT. Maybe he can creep into the Heisman list if keeps performances like this up.

Colorado did have some bright spots. They were able to pass the ball pretty effectively early, just simply couldn’t finish drives. They turned the ball over twice at 2 very costly times. Western did also hold them to -1 yards rushing. Not good at all.
Next week Colorado plays #18 Pittsburgh where Pitt is heavily favored by 3 scores. Western Michigan has a rematch against UCONN who sent their old coach Cubit packing last year. As many recall Joesph Williams stepped in and took them on a 9 game winning streak and a bowl win. His current collegiate record stands at 11-1.

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2012 Game 4 (2-2)

Kalamazoo, Michigan – Maybe next year Western shouldn’t schedule UConn again. It now is 2 straight years that WMU has lost to the mighty Huskies. Turnovers once again doomed the now 2-2 Broncos. Western had their largest margin of points in a loss since Joesph Williams stepped in as head coach. The final score was 42-31 UConn.

Why Uconn Won: The Huskies were able to keep their wheels churning on 3^rd downs. They were an unbelievable 84% on 3^rd down conversions. On the other side they held Western to 43% which isn’t great, but was just enough to stop their high powered offense. The huskies also had over 200 yards on the ground and averaged 5 plus yards per carry. What really won the game was that they were able to force the turnovers and then score at the perfect time. Late in the second when WMU was driving they picked Holiday off for a score. Again late in the 4^th when Western was in the middle of their comeback Lee Holiday was once again picked off for 6.

Why Western Michigan Lost: Turnovers at the worst time. It was mostly the only reason that Western couldn’t knock off the Huskies. Lee Holiday had yet another 2 INT day which were very costly. The Broncos defense also could not stop the Huskies on defense and especially 3^rd downs. It did look early that the run game was effective for WMU, but in the second half it disappeared. That wasn’t the case for UConn. Huskie running back Domminic Clark ran for 202 yards on the ground. Way to much if the Broncos wanted to win the game.

What’s Up Next: UConn are now 3-1 on the season and play Colorado State next. CSU has a star QB who many NFL scouts think have potential. That’s about all that CSU has going for them. UConn should have it in a 45-10 win. Western Michigan looks to bounce back but has to wait a week because of the bye week. They are now 2-2 on the season. This is Joesph Williams’s second career loss and second of this year. His two losses have come when QB Lee Holiday throws 2 or more season.

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Mount Pleasant, Michigan - Lee Holiday plays like Tom Brady? No, but he like Tom Terrific has already thrown more INT’s very early in the season than the whole season last year. It took Holiday 4 games to surpass his 5 INT mark of last year unlike Tom Brady who broke it in 3 games. On the bright side Lee Holiday was actually able to win his game. Western Michigan finally beat their arch rivals Central Michigan 34-31.

Joesph Williams has had a perfect track record so far against fellow MAC opponents, and the Chippewa’s were no different. It had been 8 long years but the Broncos finally managed to beat them. This was an actually close game too, which was not expected. With William’s at helm, WMU has had a 15 plus margin of victory against conference opponents.

How WMU pulled it off: With a huge kickoff return in the second and with an air raid looking offense. Usually Coach Williams has a good mixture of run and pass, but today it was all about the pass. A lot of this was due to their star running back Dave Myers being hurt early in the 3^rd. Myers actually was the player of the game with over 270 total yards, but was missed very much in the 4^th. Also early in the 1^st, WMU went for it on 4^th due to being in an awkward spot in the field. They don’t have a kicker, well if you don’t count their water boy who kicks for them. With the 2 early conversions they kept their drives alive and were able to score. Quarterback Lee Holiday also had over 300 yards in the air with 3 touchdowns. He did though throw 2 INT’s which puts his season total at 7. Not good for a player with his skill, but we all make mistakes. Only we don’t have full ride scholarships to play Division 1 athletics.

Why Central lost, and how they managed to almost comeback: Well Central lost because they could not stop WMU in the first half. Also they could not move the ball to save their life. The second half was different. They absolutely pooped on Western’s defense and rushed for 146 yards. They also managed 236 yards in the air, 50 on a botched interception attempt that went wrong. The Chippewa’s loss was due most to not having the ball that long. The Broncos held the ball for 7 more minutes, which could have been enough time for CMU to win the game.

What’s next for both teams: Central Michigan (2-5) goes on to play Northern Illinois (3-2) in which the game could go either ways. CMU has the prolific offense, but one of the worst defenses in the country. NIU is very average all around. We’ll go with the Huskies on this one. For Western Michigan (3-2) they go to play Eastern Michigan (1-4), Yikes. The Ypsilanti hope to, well, I guess not get 70 dropped on them? Eastern Michigan has a worst shot against Western than Appalachian State has against the University of Michigan. Oh wait that didn’t turn out too well did it….. Any way’s EMU has absolutely no shot at all so I’m predicting Western by 40. By Halftime. Just kidding, by the end of the 1^st quarter.

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Notes from Western Michigan over the past 2 games: Pre-Season top 5 Heisman hopeful Dave Myers is starting to finally live up to his hype. In the past 2 games Myer’s has combined for 444 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also has crept into 10^th place on the rushing yards list. Dave Myers is currently leading the MAC in yards rushing, yards per carry and multiple other categories.

Western Michigan has won a combined by 104-20 over the past 2 games. They have gained over 900 yards on offense and forced 6 turnovers during that span.

Another large contributor is quarterback Lee Holiday. I am quite surprised he hasn’t crept up in any of the Heisman or Award talks yet. In the past 2 games he’s combined for this stat line: 206.4 Rating, 35-53 Comp/Att, 563 and 9 touchdown passes.

Lastily is soon to be All-American tight end Kevin Brown and Joe Austin. Brown has been a force all season, and expecially during the last 2 games. He has 16 catches and 167 yards with 4 touchdown grabs. Pretty good for a tight end I’d say. Joe Austin has 3 Int’s during the past 2 games, taking 2 of those back for touchdowns. He also has already 9 touchdown grabs on the season.


Looking Ahead: Western Michigan had 5 remaining games left, not counting the MAC Championship (if they qualify). Luckily for them, all the teams they have left to face have .500 or worse records. Their future opponents combined record is a measly 8-22. Their hardest test looks to be against Temple (3-3). Western Michigan is currently 5-2 and 3-0 in conference play. Lee Holiday looks to strengthen his already strong Maxwell campaign, whilst Dave Myers looks to bounce back into the Heisman race after his past 2 amazing performances.

[arotwlv]

Western Michigan Broncos Recruiting - 2012
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Dan Hill	#24 WR	HS	Vandalia, OH	6-4	186
Ryan Williams	#7 FS	HS	Seagoville, TX	6-0	212
Jonathan Long	#37 CB	HS	Madison Heights, MI	6-1	192
Kody Butler	#56 DT	HS	Saginaw South, MI	6-3	259
Reggie Montgomery	#70 QB	HS	Highland Park, MI	6-0	199
Nate Douglas	#89 OLB	HS	Cadillac, MI	6-2	230
Tyler Campbell	#42 C	HS	North Olmsted, OH	6-3	330
Michael James	#31 P	HS	Macomb, IL	5-11	218
Jason Noble	#36 K	HS	Grand Haven, MI	5-11	222
Roderick Davis	#16 FB	HS	Kentwood, MI	6-1	219

This class features two 4 star recruits in WR Dan Hill (Left) and FS Ryan Williams (Right). They both are ranked in the top 25 in their respective positions. Williams is the 7th best FS while Dan Hill is the 24th best WR. This also pushed Western's recruiting class to 25th. WMU has never had a class good, let alone be that high at any point of time. Hat's off to Joe Williams to the amazing recruiting efforts.

#24 WR Dan Hill: Has great size at 6-4, but could add to his skinny 186lb frame. Doesn't have that great top end speed, but might have the best Acceleration off the line that we've seen in a long time. Catching could do some work, but you can't go wrong with his ability to catch in traffic and his amazing one handers. Two other things that he's one of the best at is jumping and route running. He also is one of the few WR that look to be able to hold onto the ball. Maybe a little HB in his career? Sky is the limit for this guy barring injuires.


#7 FS Ryan Williams: Looks to have great top end speed and agility. He also good quckness along with one of the better tackling DB's out there. Can play man and zone well, but could use some work. Everything else is about above average to good talent, but it's the best that the Broncos have seen on their campus in their uni's in a long time. Sometimes he get's lost out there but look for him to be a force for the BRONCO FORCE.

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Kalamazoo, Michigan – Wow. That’s all you can say about Dave Myers effort today. Myers was a preseason all-american but faulted early in the season. Well the past 3 games have bounced him back into contention. Some people still don’t know about Myers, but after today the whole country will be buzzing

Dave Myer’s Magical Day: Where shall we start? Okay let’s start with the running. He had a longs of 71 and 64 yards. Both were for scores. He scored 4 rushing touchdowns, and 1 return touchdown. After the first hit he had 105 yards. Myers had two 20+ runs and 6 broken tackles. He yet again had no fumbles for the millionth straight game. Oh and also 194 yards rushing on only 17 carries! That’s an average of 11.4 folks. So how many yards together did he have today? 441 yards total by Mr. Myers. Oh yeah and he had a 107 yard field goal kick returned for a touchdown. I would say that was a pretty darn good day.

The Rest of WMU: On offense they gained 760 total yards. On defense they did give up 447 yards, which is a little too much. But hey, if you still gain 300 more yards, then you should be fine. Lee Holiday, well he’s just torching defenses still. He had another 300 yard performance. 374 yards and 4 touchdowns by going 23-32 with no picks. Patrick Phillips is looking like he’s going to be a long term threat at slot. He had 142 yards catching on 6 catches with 1 touchdown. Kevin Brown as usual led the way with 9 catches for 109 yards with 2 TD grabs.

What’s Next: Western Michigan heads to Temple in their toughest conference test so far. It could be a good game if Temple can stop Dave Myers. Speaking of Myers, if he or Holiday doesn’t creep into the Heisman watch, then that is just stooped. They both have been torching defenses together the past 3 games. Holiday has combined for over 900 passes in the 3 games while Myers has over 800 combined yards.