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WMU comes up short in Muncie, loses out on chance for MAC West title

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LeVante Bellamy had a huge game against Ball State. Photo via WMU Broncos.

It was a tough loss for the Broncos Tuesday night after Ball State stopped WMU from converting a two point conversion in overtime to win 42-41. From my vantage point, there were plenty of positives. It was a good game between the teams with both offenses scoring and racking up yards. In the end it was a very tough loss for WMU, as they were favored coming in to the game and needed a win to keep their MAC West dreams alive.

Here’s what I saw from the game.

Back to Basics

WMU got back to what they’ve been really good at the last couple of years: running the ball. The Broncos piled up 331 yards rushing, using a lot of two tight end looks; either in a Wing-T formation or with both tight ends stacked on one side off the ball. The offensive line did a much better job than in previous weeks with getting a push.

LeVante Bellamy lead the way with 213 yards and a TD and Jamauri Bogan had a very nice game with 105 yards and 2 TDs.

It’s so fun to watch LeVante run with the way he uses his speed and having Jamauri as a compliment to him has been a luxury for WMU. Bellamy’s huge game put him over 1,000 yards for the year (he leads the MAC) and Bogan’s two TDs extended his lead for rushing touchdowns in the conference.

Hats off again to the offensive line and tight ends and to Coach Lester for a nice game plan. WMU controlled time of possession and was able to respond well to Ball State’s scores with composed, balanced drives.

Defense!?!

It was another tough game for the WMU defense and it ended up getting defensive coordinator Tim Daoust fired.

To be honest, I don’t feel that they played that terrible. They were able to force a couple turnovers and they made a couple of timely stops. The defense also held Ball State to 67 yards rushing, which is pretty outstanding.

Unfortunately, some of the same issues we’ve seen all year showed up like struggling in coverage and tackling. Ball State’s offense worked pretty exclusively through the air with 282 yards and 3 TDs.

It’s hard to remember that the defense is young with three new linebackers and some new defensive backs, but we haven’t seen a lot of improvement out of them this year. A change was necessary and we will have to see how the defense will improve going into the possible bowl game/next season.

The Decision

Tim Lester made the call to go for the win in overtime, and I totally agree with his decision.

Obvious possible motives for the call: WMU had been running the ball well all night; Lester didn’t have faith in the defense.

You’ve gotta be able to get the two yards necessary, and the play that they called had worked throughout the game (it did fail on a previous fourth down however, and didn’t really appear to work that well in the red zone). It’s something that if it works, everyone loves it and if it doesn’t they hate it. Obviously since it didn’t work we all wish Lester would’ve called something different like a QB keep or RPO looking for Gio or Jayden. It didn’t work out, oh well.

Looking at the defense, they had just given up the go ahead score after Ball State picked up a chunk of yards on the first play of OT. I don’t think anyone watching thought WMU would be able to come up with a stop.

It hurt to lose the game like that but it’s all good experience for the team and for Lester and the staff.

Quick Hitters

Hats off to Kaleb Eleby. He pretty much did what Coach Lester asked him to in handing the ball off a lot and making sharp, short throws. He did miss a throw at the end of the first half that would’ve been a touchdown to Dee. He made a great throw to Gio on 4th and 8 late in the game to pick up a first down. Eleby has some zip on his throws and was able to use his feet a little bit. I’m very excited for his future.

LeVante Bellamy had a huge game, but he fumbled twice, losing one of them. I guess it’s harsh to criticize him when he did so well, but you can’t fumble the ball. Someone once said, “The ball is the program.”

Backpacking off of that, WMU needs to be more disciplined. I know Kaleb is still new at QB, I know that you’re going to have penalties, but there were a couple of false starts that killed at least one drive. We have to eliminate that.

Nice job by Gavin Peddie on his kicks.

That’s a Wrap

Well, it was a disappointing result for WMU. I’m overall happy that they came out and looked better than they did against Ohio. It would’ve been great to win – and we probably should’ve won – especially with NIU losing to Miami. We also could’ve really used a win to up our bowl stock.

One last go around on Tuesday against NIU. Let’s see what we can do against the Huskies.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

Georgia State Preview

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Jayden Reed returning a punt against Delaware State. Photo via Jason McMillan, BC Enquirer.

Western Michigan took care of Delaware State last week, putting up 68 points en route to a shutout victory at Waldo Stadium. No need to really go into it further than saying it was a much needed confidence boost for the team heading into the rest of the season.

Next is a trip to Atlanta to face Georgia State. I know nothing about this team so I figure not many others outside of GSU do either. So, for myself and the other Bronco fans out there I wanted to do a little research to be prepared for this matchup. I say that because having to go on the road all the way to Georgia and face a team we don’t really know about seems a little daunting.

Here is a little about GSU’s style of play, guys to look for and how their season has shook out thus far.

Playing Style

This team is actually very similar in style to WMU. They run a spread offense, relying a lot on the quarterback to make reads and move the ball around to their talented playmakers on the outside. They will use the screen game to get the ball out quickly just like WMU does.

According to coach Lester, GSU plays a similar style of defense as WMU does. During his weekly presser he said GSU was ‘pretty good at getting to the QB and decent in coverage’.

GSU has struggled on this side of the ball though, partly because they have played some superior opponents the last few weeks (NC State and Memphis). They did not have a good game against Memphis, giving up 410 yards rushing in a 59-22 loss. One thing Lester attributed GSU’s struggles in the run game to was some new players in the secondary who have been a little slow to come up and support the front seven in the run game.

Big Names

Dan Ellington – QB #13. Ellington is a first year starter at GSU. He can run and throws a decent ball. What concerns me is his dual threat ability because WMU struggled against Eric Dungey and Syracuse. Ellington is one of GSU’s primary runners in read option and designed run plays. He can also get the ball out to some very versatile targets outside.

Penny Hart – WR #18. Hart is the lead target for Ellington and the Panthers’ offense. A first-team all conference player last year, Hart entered 2017 as the active FBS leader in receiving yards and touchdown receptions. He’s a dynamic threat and pairs well with GSU’s other receivers. Tim Lester said Hart “has the ‘it’ factor” and when you watch GSU’s highlights you can see that to be true.

Christian Owens – WR #85. The first thing you notice about Owens is how big he is. He’s very talented and really goes to get the ball. The 6’4″ receiver is a transfer from South Carolina. He was a four star recruit in high school according to Rivals and ESPN. If GSU isn’t throwing to Penny Hart, Owens is the guy they’re looking for.

Destin Coates – RB #17. Coates is the leading rusher from the RB spot for GSU. The freshman averages six yards a carry and has the ability to make plays if you don’t bring him down on first contact.

Marterious Allen – DE #95. Allen measures out at 6’2″ 270 lbs. He’s a playmaker on the edge. He led GSU in sacks last year and was named third-team all conference in 2017.

Other notables: Devin Gentry – WR #14 , Tra Barnett RB #5.

Season Rewind (with highlights!)

GSU opened the season against fifth ranked FCS opponent Kennesaw State and it was a close one. Georgia State ended up winning a back and forth game with a touchdown with under a minute remaining.

1-0 GSU then went on the road to play ACC opponent NC State. GSU scored on their first possession and played pretty decent in the first half before going on to lose 41-7.

Last week GSU played on ESPN vs Memphis and proceeded to really just get outclassed. They couldn’t stop Memphis and lost 59-22.

So…

So, I think that Georgia State has some athletes that can give the WMU defense a hard time. WMU needs to play sound assignment football to try and keep Dan Ellington under wraps. They also need to work together in the secondary to cover Hart and Owens. It doesn’t look to be an easy task for the WMU defense.

On the other side of the ball the WMU offense should be able to dictate the game. LeVante Bellamy and Jamauri Bogan should have a good day behind WMU’s offensive line. With WMU’s strong run game and new starters in the GSU secondary, Jon Wassink shouldn’t have trouble connecting with Dee Eskridge, Drake Harris and Jayden Reed.

Hopefully, WMU can take care of business in the ATL and be 2-2 heading into the MAC season. It’s about to get real for the Broncos as we see what they’ve really got in conference play.

Thanks for reading, and Go Broncos!

 

 

Syracuse vs WMU Review

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Dee Eskridge had a career game for WMU. He now leads the FBS in receiving yards. Photo via WMU.

The Broncos suffered a disappointing 55-42 loss at home to Syracuse to open the 2018 season. From the beginning Syracuse was in control and didn’t really look back, even after allowing WMU to come back within seven points. Here are my brief takeaways from the game. All stats via WMU.

Discipline

One of the things that stood out to me was the lack of discipline for WMU. Eric Dungey and the Syracuse offense picked WMU apart with read option runs to gain chunks of yards. While it’s not easy to stop a dynamic dual threat like Dungey, you’ve got to play to your assignments to try and limit big plays. This is something that can improve as the season goes on, and we have to be patient with the front seven as there are new starters and young players playing big minutes.

Quick Starts

Syracuse came out right away and scored on their first possession with ease. They were very physical up front and did whatever they wanted, jumping out to a 24-7 lead.

On the other side, WMU struggled in their first three drives on offense. They didn’t have the ball for very long, they turned the ball over on the second possession, and they just didn’t look very sharp in the first half. That has to change because getting into a hole and coming back isn’t sustainable.

In the second half, WMU had a much better start. Down 34-7, the defense forced and recovered a fumble. WMU’s offense then scored in 40 seconds to start the comeback. They ended up scoring 28 points in the third quarter to make it a seven point game heading to the fourth. That kind of start and energy is what WMU needs to bring to their game against Michigan, and for the rest of the season.

Big Plays

This game was chalk full of big plays. Dungey was unstoppable for Syracuse. When he wasn’t running for a big gain, he was throwing it to Justin Custis who had a big day (6 rec for 168 yds and 2 TDs).

WMU also showed they’ve got some big guns on offense, which is very encouraging for the rest of the season. Dee Eskridge hauled in a touchdown catch for 84 yards and another reception of 59 yards. Levante Bellamy had a big game including a 64 yard touchdown run. Jamauri Bogan had a 59 yard run.

Each team grabbed multiple plays of 20 yards or more, with both teams benefitting from strong offensive line play.

My point here is it’s great that WMU’s offense seems to have taken a step in finding big plays through the passing game. It’s just not as good that they gave up big plays as well.

When the bright lights are on…

This game had a lot of star power. Eric Dungey was incredible. He’s definitely someone to watch for, a possible Heisman Trophy candidate. He had over 200 yards rushing and went 7-17 for 184 and 2 TDs passing.

Along with Dungey 6’6″ receiver Justin Custis was a problem for WMU. He easily caught a TD over Justin Tranquill on Syracuse’s first drive and was a difficult matchup throughout.

Jon Wassink played well in his return to the starting role. Jon went 19-36 for 379 yards (career high) with three TDs and two interceptions, one of which wasn’t the best pass (but still catchable) and the other caused by being hit as he threw. He looked comfortable, threw some very nice balls and lead the team back in the second half.

Dee Eskridge had a career day with 8 receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns. Dee stepped up like many Bronco fans wanted him to last year. He used his speed to get behind the defense for big plays and now leads the FBS in receiving yards. He was named MAC West Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

LeVante Bellamy had some big runs and was the feature back for WMU. I look forward to seeing how he’ll be used throughout the year. I think he could split out to the slot and cause matchup problems. There’s a lot of talent at the skill positions, which is a great problem for WMU to have.

Jayden Reed showed up for his first college game, grabbing seven catches for 121 yards and a TD.

And last but certainly not least, both teams’ offensive lines played very well. Syracuse moved the ball well and at will when Dungey was in. WMU used their ground game effectively and gave Wassink time to throw down the field.

Last Word

While this was a disappointing loss for WMU, the upsides were very good. Obviously, they need to avoid being down big early. I think with one game under their belt they will have gained confidence because they’ve seen they can score points and threaten opponents through the air.

The offensive line was great as they have been and running backs Bellamy and Bogan both played well and were able to run for big gains. Even freshman Chase Brown got snaps and carries, so keep an eye on him.

The defense had guys like Najee Clayton, Ali Fayad, AJ Thomas and Alex Grace show as big contributors. This is a unit that will collectively get better as the season progresses. They face a big test and opportunity against Michigan.

Special teams weren’t that special. Josh Grant missed a 24 yard field goal before halftime which could have changed the game. I don’t think new punter Nick Mihalic had his best day, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt as he was trying to keep the ball away from Syracuse’s return man. Speaking of keep away, WMU opted to squib kick most or all kickoffs. I didn’t love the strategy because it gave Syracuse too good of field position.

I think that little things held the team back in this opening game. Those are good coaching opportunities, and while the game against Michigan may not be the best barometer for how the team is progressing, we will see over the next few weeks if the team can tighten up and execute on all levels like we as fans know they can.

So…

Did you watch the game? Do you plan on watching WMU play Michigan or are you going to be in Ann Arbor this week? Let me know, and let me know what you thought of the game, this article, etc. Thanks for reading.