In general, things are going pretty fine for the Western Michigan Broncos without former head coach P.J. Fleck. Sure, WMU is only 5-4, but it helps to discount the first 2 weeks of obligatory MAC vs P5 football. The Broncos played 2 excellent games in competitive losses to USC and Michigan State, then proceeded to start knocking off mid-major and conference opponents as usual.
But there’s a problem. One mark of an above-average coaching staff is when a team wins almost all of the games it supposed to…preferably without heartache.
Western Michigan was not supposed to have a marathon 7-overtime battle with Buffalo, a team sitting at the bottom of the East division. Fatigued and emotionally exhausted, the Broncos dropped 2 out of their next 3 to beatable MAC opponents. Coach Tim Lester’s team must now gain at least a game on West division-leading Toledo before facing the Rockets in late November.
A match-up with visiting Kent State, however, might be just what the doctor ordered. Despite all, odds-makers are not giving the Golden Flashes much of a chance.
Who: Kent State Golden Flashes at Western Michigan Broncos
When: Wednesday, November 8th, 7 PM EST
Where: Waldo Stadium, Kalamazoo, MI
Lines: Kent State (+22) vs WMU (-22) / O/U Total: 47
Sophomore WMU quarterback Jon Wassink is playing just fine, though he is not much of a running threat, which hurts the Bronco offense on 3rd down. But the squad is also averaging 5.0 yards per carry.
The real issue in Kalamazoo is the defense, which gave up 4 touchdowns to Central Michigan in the 2nd half of a 35-28 loss last weekend. The unit also gave up 28 points in 3 quarters to a weak Idaho offense. They’ve been inconsistent.
But Kent State simply can’t score, not even against also-rans in the MAC. Golden Flash QB George Bollas is having a horrible season, probably one of the worst out of hundreds of D1 starting QBs. He’s a junior, so it’s a wonder the coaches haven’t replaced him yet, though Bollas is already a 2nd choice due to injury.
This is a week for WMU to refocus and play well against a pitiful opponent. They’ve got a 60% to 70% chance to cover at (-22), but only go with 1 unit of your stake unless the spread comes down to (20) points.