CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2005 Western Michigan

7–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Mid-American Conference), coached by Bill Cubit.

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 2005, game by game: lost at No. 25 Virginia 19–31; lost at Toledo 23–56; won vs. Southern Illinois 34–28; won at Temple 19–16; won vs. Buffalo 31–21; lost vs. Ball State 57–60; won at Bowling Green 45–14; won vs. Kent State 44–14; won vs. Eastern Michigan 44–36; won vs. Central Michigan 31–24; lost at Northern Illinois 7–42+31−35Lost 19–31 at No. 25 Virginia-12No. 25 VirginiaLost 23–56 at Toledo-33ToledoWon 34–28 vs. Southern Illinois+6Southern Illino…Won 19–16 at Temple+3TempleWon 31–21 vs. Buffalo+10BuffaloLost 57–60 vs. Ball State-3Ball StateWon 45–14 at Bowling Green+31Bowling GreenWon 44–14 vs. Kent State+30Kent StateWon 44–36 vs. Eastern Michigan+8Eastern MichiganWon 31–24 vs. Central Michigan+7Central MichiganLost 7–42 at Northern Illinois-35Northern Illino…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3at25VirginiaL 19–⁠3116%
Sep 10atToledoL 23–⁠5617%
Sep 17vsSouthern IllinoisW 34–⁠2837%
Sep 24atTempleW 19–⁠1646%
Oct 1vsBuffaloW 31–⁠2170%
Oct 8vsBall StateL 57–⁠6065%
Oct 22atBowling GreenW 45–⁠1417%
Oct 29vsKent StateW 44–⁠1468%
Nov 5vsEastern MichiganW 44–⁠3661%
Nov 12vsCentral MichiganW 31–⁠2465%
Nov 23atNorthern IllinoisL 7–⁠4230%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northern Illinois 42–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 35th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Led the nationGreg Jennings: receptions (98 catches)

Record
7–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
354–⁠342
Coach
Bill Cubit
Elo
1475 +114 this season
SP+ rating
-13.9 No. 96 of 118; offense No. 80, defense No. 108
SRS
−6.1 No. 85 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 81
Offensive coordinator
George McDonald
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense69th of 119
  • Defense84th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0340%0.9669th of 119
Defense0.1042%1.0384th of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 333% allowed
Defense0.0own 292% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2005 class

Grant Nemeth DT★★No. 966
Cody Cielenski DT★★No. 966
Andy Laue OG★★No. 966
Robert Livingston S★★No. 1132
Joe Gardner TE★★No. 1132

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2005 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs12.00.767
Receivers22.00.767
Offensive line42.00.772
Defensive line22.00.789
Linebackers32.00.767
Defensive backs32.00.767
Athletes and specialists12.00.722
Whole class162.00.768

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2006

The 2006 draft
Rd 2Greg Jennings WRGreen Bay Packers
Rd 2Tony Scheffler TEDenver Broncos

2005 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Toledo6–⁠29–⁠3
Northern Illinois6–⁠27–⁠5
Miami (OH)5–⁠37–⁠4
Western Michigan5–⁠37–⁠4
Central Michigan5–⁠36–⁠5
Bowling Green5–⁠36–⁠5
Akron5–⁠37–⁠6
Ball State4–⁠44–⁠7
Ohio3–⁠54–⁠7
Eastern Michigan3–⁠54–⁠7
Buffalo1–⁠71–⁠10
Kent State0–⁠81–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.