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2018 Western Michigan

7–⁠6 (5–⁠3 Mid-American Conference), coached by Tim Lester.

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 2018, game by game: lost vs. Syracuse 42–55; lost at No. 21 Michigan 3–49; won vs. Delaware State 68–0; won at Georgia State 34–15; won at Miami (OH) 40–39; won vs. Eastern Michigan 27–24; won at Bowling Green 42–35; won at Central Michigan 35–10; lost vs. Toledo 24–51; lost vs. Ohio 14–59; lost at Ball State 41–42; won vs. Northern Illinois 28–21; lost vs. BYU 18–49+68−46Lost 42–55 vs. Syracuse-13SyracuseLost 3–49 at No. 21 Michigan-46No. 21 MichiganWon 68–0 vs. Delaware State+68Delaware StateWon 34–15 at Georgia State+19Georgia StateWon 40–39 at Miami (OH)+1Miami (OH)Won 27–24 vs. Eastern Michigan+3Eastern MichiganWon 42–35 at Bowling Green+7Bowling GreenWon 35–10 at Central Michigan+25Central MichiganLost 24–51 vs. Toledo-27ToledoLost 14–59 vs. Ohio-45OhioLost 41–42 at Ball State-1Ball StateWon 28–21 vs. Northern Illinois+7Northern Illino…Lost 18–49 vs. BYU-31BYU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsSyracuseL 42–⁠5572%
Sep 8at21MichiganL 3–⁠4931%
Sep 15vsDelaware StateW 68–⁠092%
Sep 22atGeorgia StateW 34–⁠1550%
Sep 29atMiami (OH)W 40–⁠3956%
Oct 6vsEastern MichiganW 27–⁠2468%
Oct 13atBowling GreenW 42–⁠3573%
Oct 20atCentral MichiganW 35–⁠1064%
Oct 25vsToledoL 24–⁠5165%
Nov 1vsOhioL 14–⁠5955%
Nov 13atBall StateL 41–⁠4266%
Nov 20vsNorthern IllinoisW 28–⁠2147%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvsBYUFamous Idaho Potato BowlL 18–⁠4946%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to BYU 49–⁠18 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 41st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 5th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
416–⁠449
Coach
Tim Lester
Elo
1451 −88 this season
SP+ rating
-10.7 No. 104 of 130; offense No. 60, defense No. 112, special teams No. 129
SRS
−6.9 No. 96 of 130 in FBS
Returning
80% of last season’s EPA, No. 26 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 76 roster talent No. 84 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jake Moreland
Defensive coordinators
Tim Daoust and Lou Esposito
Offense
West Coast
Defense
4–⁠3 or 4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense72nd of 130
  • Defense115th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted81st of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted121st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0944%1.1172nd of 130
Defense0.2245%1.43115th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.21 def		43% off
45% def		—81st off
121st 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
Offense3.5own 3314% allowed
Defense4.2own 3218% caused

CORE rating -4.8, 94th of 130 (offense 3.3, defense 8.1).

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 QB2,009 yds
Passing touchdownsJon Wassink QB16 TD
Rushing yardsLeVante Bellamy RB1,228 yds
Rushing touchdownsJamauri Bogan RB16 TD
Receiving yardsJayden Reed WR792 yds
Receiving touchdownsJayden Reed WR8 TD
TacklesDrake Spears LB86 tkl
SacksAli Fayad DE6.5 sacks
InterceptionsAnton Curtis CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Antwan Reed OT★★★No. 425
Kaleb Eleby PRO★★★No. 644
DaShon Bussell ATH★★★No. 1085
Anthony Torres TE★★★No. 1178
Patrick Lupro CB★★★No. 1244

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.856
Running backs13.00.840
Receivers33.00.830
Offensive line23.00.858
Defensive line33.00.826
Linebackers22.50.798
Defensive backs52.80.816
Athletes and specialists33.00.832
Whole class212.90.829

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 107

The 2018 roster

107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Buffalo7–⁠110–⁠4
Ohio6–⁠29–⁠4
Northern Illinois6–⁠28–⁠6
Miami (OH)6–⁠26–⁠6
Toledo5–⁠37–⁠6
Western Michigan5–⁠37–⁠6
Eastern Michigan5–⁠37–⁠6
Ball State3–⁠54–⁠8
Akron2–⁠64–⁠8
Bowling Green2–⁠63–⁠9
Kent State1–⁠72–⁠10
Central Michigan0–⁠81–⁠11

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