CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Western Michigan

6–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Tim Lester.

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 2017, game by game: lost at No. 4 USC 31–49; lost at Michigan State 14–28; won vs. Idaho 37–28; won vs. Wagner 49–14; won vs. Ball State 55–3; won at Buffalo 71–68; lost vs. Akron 13–14; won at Eastern Michigan 20–17; lost vs. Central Michigan 28–35; won vs. Kent State 48–20; lost at Northern Illinois 31–35; lost at Toledo 10–37+52−27Lost 31–49 at No. 4 USC-18No. 4 USCLost 14–28 at Michigan State-14Michigan StateWon 37–28 vs. Idaho+9IdahoWon 49–14 vs. Wagner+35WagnerWon 55–3 vs. Ball State+52Ball StateWon 71–68 at Buffalo+3BuffaloLost 13–14 vs. Akron-1AkronWon 20–17 at Eastern Michigan+3Eastern MichiganLost 28–35 vs. Central Michigan-7Central MichiganWon 48–20 vs. Kent State+28Kent StateLost 31–35 at Northern Illinois-4Northern Illino…Lost 10–37 at Toledo-27Toledo
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2at4USCL 31–⁠4939%
Sep 9atMichigan StateL 14–⁠2857%
Sep 16vsIdahoW 37–⁠2877%
Sep 23vsWagnerW 49–⁠1491%
Sep 30vsBall StateW 55–⁠380%
Oct 7atBuffaloW 71–⁠6871%
Oct 15vsAkronL 13–⁠1481%
Oct 21atEastern MichiganW 20–⁠1771%
Nov 1vsCentral MichiganL 28–⁠3580%
Nov 8vsKent StateW 48–⁠2089%
Nov 15atNorthern IllinoisL 31–⁠3548%
Nov 24atToledoL 10–⁠3735%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Toledo 37–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Record
6–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
407–⁠348
Coach
Tim Lester
Elo
1559 −90 this season
SP+ rating
-2.4 No. 78 of 128; offense No. 84, defense No. 73, special teams No. 50
SRS
−3.9 No. 84 of 130 in FBS
Returning
22% of last season’s EPA, No. 123 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 89 roster talent No. 83 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Kevin Johns and Jake Moreland
Defensive coordinators
Tim Daoust and Lou Esposito
Offense
West Coast
Defense
4–⁠3 or 4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense68th of 130
  • Defense82nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted67th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted99th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0843%1.0968th of 130
Defense0.1341%1.2982nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.15 def		43% off
43% def		—67th off
99th 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
Offense3.2own 3715% allowed
Defense3.7own 3219% caused

CORE rating -5.9, 88th of 130 (offense -3.5, defense 2.4).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJon Wassink QB1,391 yds
Passing touchdownsJon Wassink QB14 TD
Rushing yardsJarvion Franklin RB1,228 yds
Rushing touchdownsJarvion Franklin RB11 TD
Receiving yardsD’Wayne Eskridge WR506 yds
Receiving touchdownsKeishawn Watson WR7 TD
TacklesAsantay Brown LB98 tkl
SacksAntonio Balabani DE3 sacks
InterceptionsDarius Phillips WR3 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Trevor Campbell OT★★★No. 1382
Luke Sanders WR★★★No. 1508
Dwayne Chapman ILB★★★No. 1508
Dylan Deatherage OT★★★No. 1678
Tanner Motz TE★★★No. 1678

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs12.00.786
Receivers42.80.805
Offensive line42.50.792
Defensive line42.30.787
Linebackers52.80.804
Defensive backs32.70.792
Athletes and specialists12.00.780
Whole class222.50.795

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 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 3Chukwuma Okorafor OTPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 5Darius Phillips CBCincinnati Bengals

Roster 102

The 2017 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Toledo7–⁠111–⁠3
Northern Illinois6–⁠28–⁠5
Central Michigan6–⁠28–⁠5
Akron6–⁠27–⁠7
Ohio5–⁠39–⁠4
Buffalo4–⁠46–⁠6
Western Michigan4–⁠46–⁠6
Miami (OH)4–⁠45–⁠7
Eastern Michigan3–⁠55–⁠7
Bowling Green2–⁠62–⁠10
Kent State1–⁠72–⁠10
Ball State0–⁠82–⁠10

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