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2022 Western Michigan

5–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Tim Lester.

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 2022, game by game: lost at No. 15 Michigan State 13–35; won at Ball State 37–30; lost vs. No. 23 Pittsburgh 13–34; lost at San José State 6–34; won vs. New Hampshire 44–7; lost vs. Eastern Michigan 23–45; lost vs. Ohio 14–33; won at Miami (OH) 16–10; lost at Bowling Green 9–13; lost vs. Northern Illinois 21–24; won at Central Michigan 12–10; won vs. Toledo 20–14+37−28Lost 13–35 at No. 15 Michigan State-22No. 15 Michigan StateWon 37–30 at Ball State+7Ball StateLost 13–34 vs. No. 23 Pittsburgh-21No. 23 PittsburghLost 6–34 at San José State-28San José StateWon 44–7 vs. New Hampshire+37New HampshireLost 23–45 vs. Eastern Michigan-22Eastern MichiganLost 14–33 vs. Ohio-19OhioWon 16–10 at Miami (OH)+6Miami (OH)Lost 9–13 at Bowling Green-4Bowling GreenLost 21–24 vs. Northern Illinois-3Northern Illino…Won 12–10 at Central Michigan+2Central MichiganWon 20–14 vs. Toledo+6Toledo
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2at15Michigan StateL 13–⁠3533%
Sep 10atBall StateW 37–⁠3050%
Sep 17vs23PittsburghL 13–⁠3449%
Sep 24atSan José StateL 6–⁠3451%
Oct 1vsNew HampshireW 44–⁠779%
Oct 8vsEastern MichiganL 23–⁠4564%
Oct 15vsOhioL 14–⁠3361%
Oct 22atMiami (OH)W 16–⁠1032%
Nov 2atBowling GreenL 9–⁠1346%
Nov 9vsNorthern IllinoisL 21–⁠2462%
Nov 16atCentral MichiganW 12–⁠1033%
Nov 25vsToledoW 20–⁠1442%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Toledo 20–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The tied 42nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
228–⁠289
Coach
Tim Lester
Elo
1446 −95 this season
SP+ rating
-17.3 No. 120 of 131; offense No. 127, defense No. 67, special teams No. 103
SRS
−13.7 No. 119 of 131 in FBS
Returning
32% of last season’s EPA, No. 105 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 105 roster talent No. 96 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jeff Thorne
Defensive coordinator
Lou Esposito
Offense
West Coast
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense125th of 131
  • Defense63rd of 131
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted133rd of 131
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted82nd of 131
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0734%1.25125th of 131
Defense0.1145%1.2363rd of 131
Opponent-adjusted-0.07 off
0.13 def		34% off
45% def		—133rd off
82nd 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
Offense2.8own 2923% allowed
Defense3.4own 3221% caused

CORE rating -14.9, 116th of 131 (offense -12.3, defense 2.6).

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 yardsJack Salopek QB1,285 yds
Passing touchdownsJack Salopek QB7 TD
Rushing yardsSean Tyler RB1,027 yds
Rushing touchdownsSean Tyler RB7 TD
Receiving yardsCorey Crooms WR814 yds
Receiving touchdownsCorey Crooms WR5 TD
TacklesZaire Barnes LB94 tkl
SacksCorvin Moment LB6.5 sacks
InterceptionsKeni-H Lovely CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2022 class

Christian Rapley ATH★★★No. 664
Tag Bonnema LB★★★No. 1110
Treyson Bourguet QB★★★No. 1261
SaVeon Brown S★★★No. 1461
Jamal Hailey RB★★★No. 1769

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

The 2022 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.795
Running backs13.00.831
Receivers32.70.810
Offensive line13.00.801
Defensive line22.50.809
Linebackers13.00.856
Defensive backs13.00.843
Athletes and specialists23.00.838
Whole class132.80.819

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 2023

The 2023 draft
Rd 6Zaire Barnes OLBNew York Jets

Roster 112

The 2022 roster

112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2022 line; 54 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 5

The 2022 portal
Anthony Romphf CB★★★from Purdue
Bryce Austin DL★★★from Purdue
Eleasah Anderson OT★★★from Sam Houston
Jehlani Galloway WR★★★from Boston College
Stone Hollenbach QB★★from Alabama

Transfers out 8

Jaylen Hall WR★★★to Western Kentucky
Nick Kargman QB★★to Wagner
Anthony Torres TE★★★to Toledo
Christian Singleton RB★★★no new school on file
Jaali Parker S★★★no new school on file
James Phillips TE★★★no new school on file
Ali’Vonta Wallace LB★★no new school on file
Mohammed Elazazy OT★★no new school on file

2022 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio7–⁠110–⁠4
Eastern Michigan5–⁠39–⁠4
Toledo5–⁠39–⁠5
Buffalo5–⁠37–⁠6
Bowling Green5–⁠36–⁠7
Miami (OH)4–⁠46–⁠7
Kent State4–⁠45–⁠7
Western Michigan4–⁠45–⁠7
Ball State3–⁠55–⁠7
Central Michigan3–⁠54–⁠8
Northern Illinois2–⁠63–⁠9
Akron1–⁠72–⁠10

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