WESTERN MICHIGAN (2-2, 0-0 MAC WEST) AT MIAMI (1-3, 1-0 MAC EAST)
Contributing Writer
There are explosive offenses. Then there’s what Western Michigan has been putting on the field for the first four games of the college football season.
The Broncos, in their second season under coach Tim Lester, go into their Mid-American Conference opener at Miami today leading the conference with averages of 471 yards of total offense and 225 yards of rushing offense. Led by a pair of juniors, running back LaVante Bellamy and quarterback Jon Wassink, Western Michigan also ranks third in the conference in scoring with an average of 36.8 points.
The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Bellamy leads the MAC with an average of 97.2 rushing yards, and Wassink ranks second with an average of 246.0 passing yards.
Count Miami coach Chuck Martin among the impressed.
“Their stats are mind-boggling,” the fifth-year RedHawks coach said during Monday’s media session. “They’re averaging 9.85 yards per play in their No. 1 formation. They have a tremendous tailback. He’s a game-breaker. He’s capable of breaking off a big run every week. He creates distance. Their big-play tape had a like 48 plays. Their offense is pretty simple, but they can score so quickly.
“Their defense is sound. They move guys around to give you different looks.”
The Broncos also lead the MAC with an average of 31.4 yards per punt return. Sophomore Tryon Arnett is first individually, averaging 32.0 yards per return, followed at No. 2 by freshman Jayden Reed.
Western Michigan, 6-6 ■ When: Today, 3:30 p.m., 980, 1450
■ Yager Stadium (24,286), Oxford
■ Western Michigan Tim Lester, second season, 8-8 at WMU, 48-31 overall; Miami Chuck Martin, fifth season, 17-36 at Miami, 91-43 overall.
■ Western Michigan wiped out a 10-7 Miami first-quarter lead by outscoring the RedHawks 28-3 the rest of the way for a 35-13 win at the Broncos’ Waldo Stadium on Oct. 24, 2015.
■ Miami leads the series 37-21-1, including 22-7-1 at Oxford. The Broncos are on a fivegame winning streak in the series since the RedHawks’ 42-21 win at Kalamazoo, Mich., in 2004.
■ Western Michigan RB LeVante Bellamy 50 carries, 389 yards, 7.8 avg., 3 TDs; QB Jon Wassink 78-of-125 passing, 984 yards, 8 TDs, 3 int; WR D’Wayne Eskridge 10 catches, 260 yards, 2 TDs; LB Drake Spears 28 tackles, 18 solo. Miami RB Alonzo Smith 39 carries, 220 yards, 5.6 avg., 1 TD; QB Gus Ragland 88-of-122 passing, 723 yards, 5 TDs, 2 int.; WR Jack Sorenson 13 catches, 204 yards, 2 TDs; S De’Andre Montgomery 38 tackles, 19 solo.
■ Fr. TE Jackson Knipper, Beavercreek
■ For the second time in three seasons, Western Michigan has seen a kicker transfer before his eligibility expired. This year, it was kickoff specialist Josh Grant leaving a trio of freshmen to compete for the job. Place-kicker Gavin Peddie and punter Nick Mihalic are listed as co-starters on the Broncos’ depth chart, but Peddie might have the edge after making two field goals and four extra points during their win over Georgia State on his way to being named the MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week. Backup punter Cameron Braaten also is in the mix.
■ Lester on Wassink going 20 of 25 for 236 yards and three touchdowns with Eskridge and tight end Gio Ricci out of action: “We have a ton of depth, which is something we didn’t have before. Having some upperclassmen for a change also helps your depth because upperclassmen, in general, know every position. That depth, obviously, we’ve had that around here with our running backs for a long time, but we’re starting to build it in other places. If we’re going to make a run like we want to make, we’re going to need it.”
— MARK SCHMETZER overall and 4-4 in the MAC West last season and projected in a preseason MAC media poll to finish third again, opened with losses of 55-42 to Syracuse in Kalam- azoo and 49-3 at Michigan before romping past Delaware State, a Football Championship Subdivision team, 68-0 and winning last Saturday 34-25 at Georgia State of the Sun Belt Conference.
“Their schedule is weird,” Martin said. “They’ve played two games against two dominant teams and two against smaller teams. They haven’t played any opponent simi- lar to themselves.”
The RedHawks are coming off a 38-23 win at Bowl- ing Green in which they set a season-high with 289 rushing yards. While Martin didn’t minimize the confidence that should come from logging the season’s first win, he cautioned against complacency.
“We got our rushing game going against a team that gives up a lot of yards,” he said. “We still have some questions marks, but at least we ran the ball. The biggest thing was getting over the mental hurdles. We created our own energy. We want to run the ball a lot more. We want to be more balanced.”
Fifth-year senior Alonzo Smith also wouldn’t mind seeing Miami put more emphasis on the running game, especially after he gained 164 yards on 19 carries against the Falcons. The RedHawks ran the ball 52 times, and senior quarterback Gus Ragland attempted only 15 passes.
A bal l -possessing, time-consuming ground game also would help neu- tralize the Western Michigan offense.
“I think we’ll be fine, as long as we come out with an aggressive mindset, like we did last week,” said Smith, the MAC East Offensive Player of the Week. “We’re feeling mostly confident. Establish- ing the run helps the passing game. We know how to win now. We have to do a better job of pushing the pace.”