2022 Western Michigan Broncos football team

2022 Western Michigan Broncos football
2022 Western Michigan Broncos football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	West Division
Record	5–7 (4–4 MAC)
Head coach	Tim Lester (6th season);
Offensive coordinator	Jeff Thorne (1st season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast
Defensive coordinator	Lou Esposito (6th season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Waldo Stadium
	Seasons ← 2021 2023 →

The 2022 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Broncos played their home games at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and competed in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The team was led by sixth-year head coach Tim Lester.^[1] The Broncos finished the season 5–7 and 4–4 in MAC play. After the season, Lester was fired.^[2]

2022 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Ohio xy	7	–	1	10	–	4
Buffalo	5	–	3	7	–	6
Bowling Green	5	–	3	6	–	7
Miami (OH)	4	–	4	6	–	7
Kent State	4	–	4	5	–	7
Akron	1	–	7	2	–	10
West Division
Toledo xy$	5	–	3	9	–	5
Eastern Michigan x	5	–	3	9	–	4
Western Michigan	4	–	4	5	–	7
Ball State	3	–	5	5	–	7
Central Michigan	3	–	5	4	–	8
Northern Illinois	2	–	6	3	–	9
Championship: Toledo 17, Ohio 7
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:00 p.m.	at No. 15 Michigan State*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	L 13–35	73,928
September 10	2:00 p.m.	at Ball State	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN	ESPN+	W 37–30	12,972
September 17	7:30 p.m.	No. 23 Pittsburgh*	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPNU	L 13–34	22,875
September 24	7:30 p.m.	at San Jose State*	CEFCU Stadium San Jose, CA	CBSSN	L 6–34	17,058
October 1	6:00 p.m.	New Hampshire*	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPN3	W 44–7	20,119
October 8	12:00 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy)	CBSSN	L 23–45	10,876
October 15	3:30 p.m.	Ohio	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	CBSSN	L 14–33	20,320
October 22	3:30 p.m.	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	CBSSN	W 16–10	21,618
November 2	7:00 p.m.	at Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPN2	L 9–13	7,589
November 9	7:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPNU	L 21–24	8,722
November 16	8:00 p.m.	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI (rivalry, Michigan MAC Trophy)	ESPNU	W 12–10	10,097
November 25	12:00 p.m.	Toledo	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPNU	W 20–14	8,645
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[3]^[4]

Game summaries

at No. 15 Michigan State

Week One: Western Michigan at No. 15 Michigan State – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Western Michigan	3	0	10	0	13
No. 15 Michigan State	7	14	0	14	35

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI

Date: September 2, 2022
Game time: 7:04 p.m.
Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C), Sunny
Game attendance: 73,928
Referee: Kole Knueppel
TV announcers (ESPN2): Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst), Paul Carcaterra (sideline)
Sources:^[5]

Game information

First Quarter

(06:31) WMU FG: Palmer Domschke 27-yard field goal
WMU 3–0; 10 plays, 66 yards, 4:57
(04:37) MSU TD: Germie Bernard 44-yard pass from Payton Thorne (Jack Stone kick)
MSU 7–3; 6 plays, 75 yards, 01:54

Second Quarter

(14:55) MSU TD: Daniel Barker 13-yard pass from Payton Thorne (Jack Stone kick)
MSU 14–3; 7 plays 45 yards, 2:21
(12:26) MSU TD: Keon Coleman 41-yard pass from Payton Thorne (Jack Stone kick)
MSU 21–3; 2 plays, 50 yards, 0:44

Third Quarter

(08:20) WMU TD: Sean Tyler 4-yard run (Palmer Doschke kick)
MSU 21–10; 7 plays, 67 yards, 3:43
(00:49) WMU FG: Palmer Domschke 42-yard field goal
MSU 21–13; 10 plays, 48 yards, 4:40

Fourth Quarter

(06:28) MSU TD: Jalen Berger 1-yard run (Jack Stone kick)
MSU 28–13; 8 plays, 91 yards, 3:48
(04:07) MSU TD: Tre Mosley 43-yard pass from Payton Thorne (Jack Stone kick)
MSU 35–13; 1 play, 43 yards, 0:06

Passing

WMU – Jack Salopek: 21/36, 193 yards
MSU – Payton Thorne: 12/24, 233 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT

Rushing

WMU – Sean Taylor: 13 carries, 80 yards, 1 TD
MSU – Jalen Berger: 16 carries, 120 yards, 1 TD

Receiving

WMU – Jehlani Galloway: 4 receptions, 70 yards
MSU – Keon Coleman: 4 receptions, 84 yards, 1 TD

at Ball State

Western Michigan Broncos at Ball State Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Broncos	7	7	7	16	37
Cardinals	10	6	7	7	30

Date: September 10, 2022
Location: Scheumann Stadium
Muncie, IN
Game start: 2:00 p.m. EDT
Elapsed time: 2 hours and 16 minutes
Game attendance: 12,972
Game weather: Sunny, 84 °F (29 °C)
Referee: Billy Williams
TV announcers (ESPN+): Michael Reghi (play-by-play), Ryan Cavanaugh (analyst)

Pregame line	Over/under
WMU –6.5	51.5

Statistics	Western Michigan	Ball State
First downs	27	21
Total yards	437	447
Rushing yards	207	146
Passing yards	230	301
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	34:16	25:44

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Michigan	Passing	Jack Salopek	25/43, 230 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Sean Tyler	15 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Corey Crooms	10 receptions, 102 yards, 1 TD
Ball State	Passing	John Paddock	24/41, 301 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Carson Steele	26 carries, 137 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Amir Abdur-Rahman	7 receptions, 89 yards, 1 TD

No. 23 Pittsburgh

No. 23 Pittsburgh Panthers (1–1) vs Western Michigan Broncos (1–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 Panthers	10	3	7	14	34
Broncos	3	3	7	0	13

at Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI

Date: September 17th
Game time: 7:30 p.m. EST/4:30 p.m. PST
Game weather: Temperature: 80 °F (27 °C) • Wind: SW at 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
Game attendance: 22,875
Referee: Jerry Magallanes
TV announcers (ESPNU): Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst), Dawn Davenport (field reporter)

at San Jose State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	0	6	0	6
Spartans	3	14	7	10	34

New Hampshire

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	7	0	0	7
Broncos	21	7	3	13	44

Eastern Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	14	21	7	3	45
Broncos	0	7	9	7	23

Ohio

Ohio Bobcats (3–3, 1–1) vs. Western Michigan Broncos (2–4, 1–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio	7	13	0	13	33
Western Michigan	7	7	0	0	14

at Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI

Date: Saturday, October 16, 2022
Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
Game weather: sunny, Temperature:49 °F (9 °C)
Game attendance: 20,320
Referee: Matt Packowski
TV announcers (CBSSN): John Sadak, Randy Cross
Pregame line: WMU −2.0 • box score,Ohio notes

Game information

First Quarter

(08:44) OHIO – Bangura, Sieh 1 yd run (Vakos, Nathanial kick) 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:16 (OHIO 7–0)
(04:23) WMU – Salopek, Jack 8 yd run (Domschke, Palmer kick) 8 plays, 64 yards, TOP 04:15 (Tied 7–7)

Second Quarter

(12:59) OHIO – Bangura, Sieh 6 yd run (Vakos, Nathanial kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:24 (OHIO 14–7)
(01:50) OHIO – Vakos, Nathanial 26 yd field goal 9 plays, 52 yards, TOP 03:17 (OHIO 17–7)
(01:05) WMU – Crooms, Corey 74 yd pass from Salopek, Jack (Domschke, Palmer kick) 2 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:45 (Tied 17–14)
(00:06) OHIO – Vakos, Nathanial 55 yd field goal 5 plays, 22 yards, TOP 00:59 (OHIO 20–14)

Third Quarter

No scoring plays

Fourth Quarter

(13:48) OHIO – Vakos, Nathanial 33 yd field goal 4 plays, 1 yards, TOP 00:25 (OHIO 23–14)
(07:24) OHIO – Rourke, Kurtis 1 yd run (Vakos, Nathanial kick) 2 plays, 8 yards, TOP 00:48 (OHIO 30–14)
(03:11) OHIO – Vakos, Nathanial 35 yd field goal 7 plays, 41 yards, TOP 03:32 (OHIO 33–14)

Statistics	OHIO	WMU
First downs	17	17
Total yards	383	333
Rushes/yards	35/119	31/84
Passing yards	264	249
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	22–34–1	17–31–5
Time of possession	33:20	26:40

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ohio	Passing	Kurtis Rourke	22/34, 264 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Sieh Bangura	25 rushes, 77 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Sam Wiglusz	8 receptions, 76 yards
Western Michigan	Passing	Jack Salopek	17/31, 249 yards, 1 TD, 5 INT
	Rushing	Sean Tyler	19 rushes, 84 yards
	Receiving	Corey Crooms	5 receptions, 87 yards, 1 TD

at Miami (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	6	10	0	16
RedHawks	3	0	0	7	10

at Bowling Green

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	0	6	3	9
Falcons	0	6	7	0	13

Northern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	3	7	7	7	24
Broncos	7	7	7	0	21

at Central Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	7	0	0	5	12
Chippewas	7	0	3	0	10

Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	0	7	0	7	14
Broncos	0	10	10	0	20

Players drafted into the NFL

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
6	184	Zaire Barnes	LB	New York Jets

References

^ "Tim Lester". Sports Reference.
^ "Western Michigan fires coach Tim Lester after 5-7 season". ESPN.
^ "2022 Western Michigan Football Schedule".
^ "Western Michigan Broncos Schedule 2022". ESPN.
^ "Football vs Western Michigan on 9/2/2022 - Box Score". Michigan State University Athletics. Retrieved September 8, 2022.

[1] "Tim Lester". Sports Reference.

[2] "Western Michigan fires coach Tim Lester after 5-7 season". ESPN.

[3] "2022 Western Michigan Football Schedule".

[4] "Western Michigan Broncos Schedule 2022". ESPN.

[5] "Football vs Western Michigan on 9/2/2022 - Box Score". Michigan State University Athletics. Retrieved September 8, 2022.

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2022 Western Michigan Broncos football

Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	5–7 (4–4 MAC)
Head coach	Tim Lester (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jeff Thorne (1st season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast
Defensive coordinator	Lou Esposito (6th season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Waldo Stadium
Seasons ← 2021 2023 →