CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Western Michigan

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

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 2009, game by game: lost at Michigan 7–31; lost at Indiana 19–23; won vs. Miami (OH) 48–26; won vs. Hofstra 24–10; lost at Northern Illinois 3–38; won at Toledo 58–26; lost vs. Central Michigan 23–34; won vs. Buffalo 34–31; lost at Kent State 14–26; lost at Michigan State 14–49; won at Eastern Michigan 35–14; lost vs. Ball State 17–22+32−35Lost 7–31 at Michigan-24MichiganLost 19–23 at Indiana-4IndianaWon 48–26 vs. Miami (OH)+22Miami (OH)Won 24–10 vs. Hofstra+14HofstraLost 3–38 at Northern Illinois-35Northern Illino…Won 58–26 at Toledo+32ToledoLost 23–34 vs. Central Michigan-11Central MichiganWon 34–31 vs. Buffalo+3BuffaloLost 14–26 at Kent State-12Kent StateLost 14–49 at Michigan State-35Michigan StateWon 35–14 at Eastern Michigan+21Eastern MichiganLost 17–22 vs. Ball State-5Ball State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atMichiganL 7–⁠3145%
Sep 12atIndianaL 19–⁠2353%
Sep 19vsMiami (OH)W 48–⁠2677%
Sep 26vsHofstraW 24–⁠1076%
Oct 3atNorthern IllinoisL 3–⁠3846%
Oct 10atToledoW 58–⁠2644%
Oct 17vsCentral MichiganL 23–⁠3449%
Oct 24vsBuffaloW 34–⁠3162%
Oct 31atKent StateL 14–⁠2651%
Nov 7atMichigan StateL 14–⁠4929%
Nov 14atEastern MichiganW 35–⁠1470%
Nov 24vsBall StateL 17–⁠2272%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ball State 22–⁠17; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 46th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Wuerffel TrophyTim Hiller, QB

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
296–⁠330
Coach
Bill Cubit
Elo
1428 −82 this season
SP+ rating
-12.0 No. 99 of 120; offense No. 91, defense No. 98, special teams No. 63
SRS
−11.6 No. 102 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 98
Defensive coordinator
Steve Morrison
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense96th of 120
  • Defense98th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted106th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted112th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0042%0.8696th of 120
Defense0.1145%0.9198th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
0.09 def		41% off
44% def		—106th off
112th def
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. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 323% allowed
Defense-0.1own 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsTim Hiller QB3,249 yds
Passing touchdownsTim Hiller QB23 TD
Rushing yardsBrandon West RB1,164 yds
Rushing touchdownsBrandon West RB10 TD
Receiving yardsRobert Arnheim WR701 yds
Receiving touchdownsJuan Nunez WR6 TD
InterceptionsJamail Berry 5 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Josh Hadel OT★★★No. 1372
Mark Zielinski OT★★★No. 1383
Greg Peterson OT★★★No. 1439
Antoin Scriven RB★★★No. 1461
Ben Samson OT★★★No. 1471

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

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.796
Running backs23.00.814
Receivers52.60.787
Offensive line52.80.812
Defensive line42.30.769
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs32.00.756
Whole class212.50.787

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.

Roster 100

The 2009 roster

100 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 25 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan8–⁠012–⁠223
Temple7–⁠19–⁠4
Ohio7–⁠19–⁠5
Bowling Green6–⁠27–⁠6
Northern Illinois5–⁠37–⁠6
Kent State4–⁠45–⁠7
Western Michigan4–⁠45–⁠7
Toledo3–⁠55–⁠7
Buffalo3–⁠55–⁠7
Akron2–⁠63–⁠9
Ball State2–⁠62–⁠10
Miami (OH)1–⁠71–⁠11
Eastern Michigan0–⁠80–⁠12

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