2007 Western Michigan Broncos football team
The 2007 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bill Cubit and played their homes game in Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Broncos finished the season 5–7 overall and 3–4 in the Mid-American Conference. The highlight of the season was the 28–19 road victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes, a team that finished fifth in the Big Ten Conference.
Preseason
The 2007 Bronco team returned 17 starters from an 8–5 team that finished 6–2 in the Mid-American Conference and participated in the 2007 International Bowl. While the team lost the bowl game 27–24, Western Michigan was picked to finish first in the MAC West Division and to win the MAC Championship Game by the MAC News Media Association.Watch lists
- Robbie Krutilla, C, Outland Trophy
- Jim Laney, P, Ray Guy Award
- Branden Ledbetter, TE, John Mackey Award
All-MAC preseason teams
- First team
- * London Fryar, CB
- * Robbie Krutilla, C
- * Jamarko Simmons, WR
- Second team
- * Louis Delmas, FS
- * Branden Ledbetter, TE
- * Brandon West, RB
Schedule
Roster
Coaching staff
- Bill Cubit
- Bill Miller - Defensive coordinator
- Tim Daoust - Defensive secondary
- Grant Heard - Wide receivers
- Scott Kavanagh - Quarterbacks
- Peter McCarthy - Defensive line
- Jake Moreland - Tight ends
- Steve Morrison - Linebackers, recruiting coordinator
- Bob Stanley - Offensive line
- Chris Tabor - Running backs, special teams
- Tim Knox - Director of Football Operations
- Matt Ludeman - Defensive Graduate Assistant
- A. J. Ricker - Offensive Graduate Assistant
Game summaries
West Virginia
Jamarko Simmons' 144 receiving yards on 14 catches with two touchdowns were not enough for Western Michigan to upset the #3 West Virginia Mountaineers. West Virginia nearly doubled WMU's offensive production and cruised to a 62–24 victory behind two passing touchdowns by Pat White and four touchdowns by Steve Slaton.| |
Indiana
WMU is 0–3 all-time vs Indiana. The most recent meeting was in 2006 when the Hoosiers won 39–20. All three games have been in Bloomington, Indiana.| |
Missouri
In 1999, Missouri beat the Broncos 48–34. That was the only meeting between the two schools.| |
Central Connecticut State
is the only Division I Football Championship Subdivision team on WMU's schedule. This is the first ever meeting between the two schools.| |
Toledo
This game is the Mid-American Conference conference opener for WMU. Western Michigan defeated Toledo 31–10 in 2006 for the first time since 2000. WMU has not won at the Glass Bowl since 1988. Toledo leads the all-time series 36–25.| |
Akron
After shutting out Akron last season 17–0, WMU leads the all-time series 11–3.| |
Northern Illinois
WMU leads the all-time series against Northern Illinois 20-11, including a 16-14 victory in 2006.| |
Ball State
After losing to WMU 41-27 last season, Ball State went on to finish the season 3-1, with the lone loss being 34-26 against then-#2 ranked University of Michigan. WMU leads the all-time series 19-14. This game is WMU's Homecoming.| |
Eastern Michigan
This game is the first of the 3 games that will determine the 2007 Michigan MAC Trophy winner. Western leads the all-time series 26-14-2 and has not lost in Rynearson Stadium since 1991.| |
Central Michigan
In a nationally televised Tuesday night game, WMU leads the all-time series against CMU 43-32-2 and has not lost at home to Central Michigan since 1993.| |
Iowa
The final non-conference game of the season is the first between WMU and Iowa since WMU won 27-21 in 2000. That was the only meeting between the two schools.| |
Temple
WMU defeated Temple 41-7 last season in a year when Temple finished the season 1-11. WMU has never lost against Temple and leads the series 5-0.| |
Awards
Mid-American Conference Player of the Week
- Offense
- * Mark Bonds, RB, week 5
- * Tim Hiller, QB, week 12
- * Jamarko Simmons, WR, week 1
- Defense
- * Dustin Duclo, LB, week 7
- * Austin Pritchard, LB, week 1
- Special Teams
- * Mike Jones, PK, week 7
- * Jim Laney, P, week 1, week 13
- * Brandon West, KR, RB, week 2, week 6, week 12
Mid-American Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week
- Tim Hiller, QB, week 2, week 6, week 12
Academic All-District
- Anthony Gebhart, S, First Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV
John Mackey Tight End of the Week
- Branden Ledbetter, TE, week 11
Statistics
Team
Offense
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yards | Yds/Att | TD | Yds/Game |
| Mark Bonds | 109 | 492 | 4.5 | 6 | 70.3 |
| Brandon West | 101 | 461 | 4.1 | 3 | 58.6 |
| Glenis Thompson | 24 | 88 | 3.7 | 1 | 12.6 |
| Schneider Julien | 3 | 11 | 3.7 | 0 | 1.6 |
| Herb Martin | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 1.1 |
| Bobby Crawford | 3 | 6 | 2.0 | 0 | 6.0 |
| Thomas Peregrin | 5 | 1 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.3 |
| Jamarko Simmons | 3 | -8 | -2.7 | 0 | -1.1 |
| Drew Burdi | 3 | -11 | -3.7 | 0 | -5.5 |
| Tim Hiller | 30 | -48 | -1.6 | 1 | -6.9 |
Passing
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Yds | Yds/Rec | TD | Yds/G |
| Jamarko Simmons | 60 | 696 | 11.6 | 6 | 99.4 |
| Branden Ledbetter | 27 | 308 | 11.4 | 4 | 44.0 |
| Brandon West | 25 | 213 | 8.5 | 1 | 30.4 |
| Herb Martin | 21 | 251 | 12.0 | 1 | 35.9 |
| Juan Nunez | 10 | 169 | 16.9 | 1 | 24.1 |
| Mark Bonds | 8 | 34 | 4.2 | 0 | 4.9 |
| Schneider Julien | 7 | 49 | 7.0 | 0 | 7.0 |
| Anthony Middleton | 5 | 46 | 9.2 | 1 | 6.6 |
| Keith Schultz | 5 | 34 | 6.8 | 1 | 4.9 |
| Jordan White | 4 | 33 | 8.2 | 0 | 8.2 |
| Jamelle Murray | 3 | 27 | 9.0 | 1 | 6.8 |
| Glenis Thompson | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 1.1 |
| Kelly Martin | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 3.0 |
Defense
Tackles
Interceptions
| Player | Int | Yds | Break Up |
| Anthony Gebhart | 1 | 24 | 2 |
| C.J. Wilson | 1 | 46 | 1 |
| Andy Dorcely | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| E. J. Biggers | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Londen Fryar | 6 | 167 | 24 |
| Nick Varcadipane | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dustin Duclo | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Cory Flom | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Garrett Sosnovich | 0 | 0 | 1 |