Post by cviller on Aug 28, 2007 8:29:31 GMT -5
By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
August 26, 2007
WESTERN MICHIGAN GAME RELEASE
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Last Wednesday, West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said he would spend the weekend hammering into his team the threat Western Michigan poses when the two teams hook up this Saturday in the 2007 season opener at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Steve Slaton will be running against the nation's sixth-ranked unit against the run last year.
By now they have probably gotten the message.
In just two short years Coach Bill Cubit has constructed one of the better football programs in the Mid-American Conference. The Broncos lead all MAC schools with an 11-5 record in league play since 2005 and are coming off their first bowl appearance since 1988.
With 16 starters returning from an 8-5 team it’s easy to see why Western Michigan was predicted to win the MAC West this year.
“They beat Virginia last year and this is not some team that you can just show up, mess around, and win,” Rodriguez said. “When they see the scores and they read about them it will get our guy’s attention.”
Western Michigan has won 15 games the last two years and lost to Cincinnati 27-24 in the 2007 International Bowl after spotting the Bearcats a 24-0 halftime lead.
Western Michigan had one of the nation’s top run-stopping defenses in 2006 allowing 76.1 yards per game. The Broncos were first in the MAC and 11th in the country in total defense permitting just 275.4 yards per game. Western Michigan finished last season plus-12 in turnover margin and led the conference with 34 takeaways.
The secondary appears to be the strength of the Western Michigan defense this year with an all-junior unit that is unquestionably the best in the MAC. Free safety Louis Delmas has a reputation as a big hitter and missed almost three full games last season due to injury. Strong safety C.J. Wilson is another good one who finished 2006 ranked second on the team with 62 tackles.
The Broncos return three starters up front on the defensive line in Nick Varcadipane, Cory Flom and Zach Davidson.
Western Michigan’s linebacker corps will be without all-everything Ameer Ismail who led the nation with 17 sacks to go with 25 ½ tackles for losses and 90 total tackles. No single player is expected to replace Ismail’s eye-popping production, but Cubit is high on junior middle linebacker Dustin Duclo, who serves as the quarterback of the defense. Duclo made 53 tackles, 6 ½ sacks and 1 ½ tackles for losses as a sophomore.
The Broncos return eight offensive starters on a unit that features six experienced players along an offensive line that has blocked for two straight 1,000-yard rushers. Senior center Robbie Krutilla has started three seasons at center for a group that allowed just 1.31 sacks per game – 14th best in the country – in 2006.
Senior Mark Bonds ran for 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns last year and also caught 26 passes for 164 yards. Bonds is being pushed by Brandon West and Glenis Thompson for the starting job which may force Cubit to go with the hot guy. Thompson ran for 633 yards and three touchdowns in 2006, while Thompson emerged late last season and is a more punishing runner.
Jamarko Simmons returns at wide receiver where he led the Broncos with 61 catches to go along with 668 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Simmons was at his best in big games, catching nine passes for 123 yards against Florida State and making 13 receptions for 172 yards and a touchdown in the International Bowl. Simmons is a big, physical receiver standing 6-foot-2-inches and weighing 231 pounds.
Western Michigan is grooming a legitimate sidekick to Simmons in junior college transfer Spyder Julian. The Foothill (Calif.) Community College transfer is expected to stretch defenses with his game-breaking speed and will test a West Virginia secondary that gave up 300 yards passing in four of its final six games.
The key to Western Michigan’s MAC title hopes will be at quarterback, where 2005 MAC rookie of the year Tim Hiller is expected to be the starter after missing last year with a knee injury.
Stepping into his place was Ryan Cubit – the son of Bill Cubit and a former Rutgers quarterback – who passed for 2,138 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior.
Hiller was nearly as effective in 2005, leading the nation in passing efficiency (178.85) while throwing for 1,334 yards and 20 touchdowns against just three interceptions. It looks like Hiller has held off a stiff challenge from senior Thomas Peregrin and redshirt freshman Drew Burdi for the starting job this fall.
Cubit says Hiller is perfect for his West Coast offense.
“You don’t have to throw it 80 yards in our offense, but you do have to be accurate,” said Cubit. “You have to make good decisions, take what they give you and get the ball in the playmakers’ hands.”
The only other real question for Western Michigan is its kicking game, where senior Mike Jones has been shaky at times in practice. He was 1 for 6 in field goal tries during Western Michigan’s first scrimmage of the fall. Punter Jim Laney ranked in the bottom third of the MAC averaging 38.2 yards per punt.
Western Michigan has one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the MAC, opening the year at No. 3 West Virginia this weekend before playing host to Indiana on Sept. 8, traveling to Missouri on Sept. 15, and facing Iowa on Nov. 17.
If the Broncos can somehow come out of that 3-1 there are those in Kalamazoo who think a spot in the national rankings is not out of the question.
If it happens, Rich Rodriguez hopes it’s later this year. He is confident his football team will be ready come Saturday.
“The opening game you don’t worry about too much because the players will be excited to play,” he said.