Western Michigan — Mid-American
HC
Lance Taylor · Waldo Stadium · Kalamazoo, MI · 30,200 cap
PPA off / def
0.10 / 0.05
2025
Class rank
#112
class of 2026
Returning PPA
100%
returning production
| 2024 |
OSU W 56–0 | Columbus |
| 2015 |
OSU W 38–12 | Columbus |
2026 schedule
2025 results (10–4)
Statistical comps — 2025 Western Michigan's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (14 in / 13 out)
| Outgoing |
|---|
| Brady Jones | QB | → Oregon State |
| Isaiah Street | EDGE | → Ohio |
| Isaiah Paul | CB | → uncommitted |
| Jason Mitchell | S | → uncommitted |
| Devin Miles | RB | → uncommitted |
| Mark Konecny | QB | → uncommitted |
| Tre' Hartwell | RB | → uncommitted |
| Fitzroy Ledgister | CB | → uncommitted |
| + 5 more |
Origins
Fleck arrived at 32, said Row The Boat until it stopped sounding ridiculous, and went 13-1 in 2016 with a Cotton Bowl berth. It remains the best season any MAC team has had.
Founded 1903 · Western State Normal School, founded to train teachers · first football 1906 · defined by P.J. Fleck
All-time record
All-time
374–360–7
1917–2025
Win %
50.9%
82 seasons played
Winning seasons
38
46% of seasons
By level: ii/iii 0–17 (1917–1947) · FBS 374–343–7 (1959–2025)
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 2016 | 13 | 1 | Mid-American |
| 2025 | 10 | 4 | Mid-American |
| 2000 | 9 | 3 | Mid-American |
| 1988 | 9 | 3 | Mid-American |
| 2008 | 9 | 4 | Mid-American |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1917 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 360 | 64% |
44% | 68 of 136 | 5.1 | 11% |
| 2nd down | 274 | 73% |
45% | 57 of 136 | 5.6 | 10% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 57 | 91% |
77% | — | 5.7 | 11% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 52 | 42% |
29% | — | 4.3 | 8% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 59 | 37% |
15% | — | 4.5 | 12% |
| 4th down | 30 | 53% |
50% | — | 6.5 | 7% |
165 drives · 30% ended in points · 7.2 plays and 37.8 yards per drive · 0.59 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 15 | Miami (OH) |
(13:42) Shotgun #6 J.Buckley rush middle for 67 yards gain to the MIA00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 1… |
67 | 6.30 |
| 15 | Miami (OH) |
(13:25) Shotgun #6 J.Buckley rush left for 64 yards gain to the MIA00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 13:… |
64 | 6.08 |
| CFP | Kennesaw State |
Shotgun #6 J.Buckley rush right for 65 yards gain to the KSU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 14:42, 1ST… |
65 | 5.24 |
| 12 | Ohio |
(14:23) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 B.Lowry pass complete short right to #0 T.Williams caught at… |
71 | 5.20 |
| 4 | Toledo |
Broc Lowry pass complete to Talique Williams for 43 yds to the TOL 5 for a 1ST down |
43 | 4.70 |
| 4 | Toledo |
Broc Lowry pass complete to Talique Williams for 38 yds to the TOL 36 for a 1ST down |
38 | 4.18 |
| 7 | Ball State |
Broc Lowry run for 37 yds for a TD (Palmer Domschke KICK) |
37 | 4.00 |
| 1 | Michigan State |
Broc Lowry pass complete to Baylin Brooks for 42 yds to the MSU 29 for a 1ST down |
42 | 3.82 |