Waldo Stadium -- Kalamazoo, Mich
ESPNU
The Western Michigan vs Ohio matchup probably should have been circled on calendars weeks ago. That was when it became apparent the Broncos were a legit MAC West contender. Pitting them against MAC East preseason favorite Ohio seemed like an entertaining battle at the very least. It might even be a preview of December’s MAC championship.
That could still happen, of course, but if Western Michigan gets there, it will be without the services of Jon Wassink -- the talented quarterback who guided WMU through eight games (and six straight wins) before sustaining a season-ending injury last week against Toledo.
Wassink was injured early, so while the Broncos absorbed their first conference loss, freshman Kaleb Eleby got plenty of experience in his collegiate debut. Under the circumstances, he performed relatively well, completing 23 of 28 passes for 293 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Like Western, Ohio had just one MAC loss -- that coming three weeks ago (24-21) at Northern Illinois. Since that time, they posted two easy wins for some momentum heading into quarter pole.
Aside from the loss at NIU, the only other close call for Ohio in conference play was a 27-26 win at Kent State. Opponents can score some on Ohio (28.9 ppg - 7th MAC), but how much can they limit a Bobcat offense that is scoring 38.2 ppg.?
With Wassink at the helm, Western Michigan was relatively comfortable in offensive shootouts. Given Eleby’s performance off the bench last week, the Broncos should still be able to score their share. The key question may be how much WMU’s defense can step up not only against Ohio, but during the critical stretch run.
It’s MAC football in November. Anything can happen on a given night.