2013 Western Michigan Broncos football team

The 2013 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University (WMU) in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach P. J. Fleck[1] and played their home games at Waldo Stadium as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). In 2013, the Broncos finished at 1–11 (1–7 MAC), and last place in the MAC West division.

2013 Western Michigan Broncos football
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record1–11 (1–7 MAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorKirk Ciarrocca (1st season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorEd Pinkham (1st season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumWaldo Stadium
(Capacity: 30,200)
2013 Mid-American Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
Bowling Green x$  7 –1   10 –4  
Buffalo  6 –2   8 –5  
Ohio  4 –4   7 –6  
Akron  4 –4   5 –7  
Kent State  3 –5   4 –8  
UMass  1 –7   1 –11  
Miami (OH)  0 –8   0 –12  
West Division
Northern Illinois x  8 –0   12 –2  
Ball State  7 –1   10 –3  
Toledo  5 –3   7 –5  
Central Michigan  5 –3   6 –6  
Eastern Michigan  1 –7   2 –10  
Western Michigan  1 –7   1 –11  
Championship: Bowling Green 47, Northern Illinois 27
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions

Off-season

WMU was picked to finish fifth in the West division by members of the media.[2]

The Broncos gained national notoriety during the offseason from Fleck, the youngest head coach in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision.[3] Fleck introduced the "Row The Boat" theme, focusing on a group of people working together to reach a common goal.[4] He participated in a "polar plunge" to raise money for Special Olympics[5] and created a Harlem Shake video.[6]

Holly Anderson of Sports Illustrated and Grantland chose WMU as the "MAC team you should root for".[7][8] Deadspin posted an article commenting on a YouTube video[9] WMU produced introducing new traditions that were planned for Broncos home games.[10]

Season

WMU started the season with eight consecutive losses before winning their first game. They fell to Michigan State University and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) member Nicholls State University. Nicholls had won two games the previous two seasons. Both their wins came against National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) member Evangel College.

WMU finished the non-conference portion of the schedule losing to No. 17 Northwestern followed by a 59–3 blowout loss to Iowa. The Broncos then lost their first four MAC games.

Western Michigan defeated Massachusetts 31–30 in week nine of the season after Massachusetts failed to convert a two-point conversion with 22 seconds left in the game that would have given the Minutemen the lead.[11]

The Broncos failed to win consecutive games losing to Eastern Michigan (EMU) 35–32 the following week in overtime. The loss occurred a day after EMU fired head coach Ron English.[12] The loss also eliminated WMU from winning the Michigan MAC Trophy.

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 308:00 pmat Michigan State*
BTNL 13–2671,214[13]
September 77:00 pmNicholls*
ESPN3L 23–2724,163[14]
September 149:00 pmat No. 17 Northwestern*
BTNL 17–3833,128[15]
September 21Noonat Iowa*
BTNL 3–5966,886[16]
September 287:00 pmKent State
  • Waldo Stadium
  • Kalamazoo, MI
ESPN3L 14–3215,503[17]
October 53:00 pmat Toledo
ESPN3L 20–4717,621[18]
October 122:00 pmBuffalodagger
  • Waldo Stadium
  • Kalamazoo, MI
ESPN3L 0–3314,722[19]
October 192:00 pmBall State
  • Waldo Stadium
  • Kalamazoo, MI
ESPN3L 17–3810,274[20]
October 263:00 pmat Massachusetts
ESPN3W 31–3020,571[21]
November 91:00 pmat Eastern Michigan
ESPN3L 32–35 OT2,177[12]
November 16NoonCentral Michigan
ESPN PlusL 22–2722,071[22]
November 267:00 pmat No. 18 Northern Illinois
ESPN2L 14–3317,679[23]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[24]

Awards

Donald Celiscar

Junior defensive back Donald Celiscar was named the MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week for Week 1. He had 10 tackles and two pass breakups in WMU's 26–13 loss to Michigan State.[25]

Corey Davis

Freshman wide receiver Corey Davis was named to the Fred Biletnikoff Award watchlist after the third week of the season.[26] Through five games, Davis has 16 receptions for 335 yards and two touchdowns.[27]

Andrew Haldeman

Sophomore placekicker Andrew Haldeman was named the MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 9. Haldeman made a 36-yard field goal along with four extra points in the Broncos first win of the season, a 31–30 victory over Massachusetts.[28]

J. Schroeder

Sophomore punter J. Schroeder received an honorable mention from the College Football Performance Awards for Week 1. He punted the ball 11 times (third most in the nation for the week) and had the 11th longest punt in the nation for the week.[29] Schroeder was named 1 of 85 candidates for the 2013 Ray Guy Award.[30]

References
  1. Myerberg, Paul (December 18, 2012). "Western Michigan Makes Fleck Youngest Head Coach". USA Today. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  2. "MAC Announces 2013 Football Preseason Poll". Mid-American Conference. July 23, 2013. Archived from the original on August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  3. "Western Michigan hires P.J. Fleck". Associated Press. December 17, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  4. Watson, Graham (May 31, 2013). "Western Michigan coach P. J. Fleck tells emotional experience that led to the saying "Row The Boat"". Yahoo!. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  5. Watson, Graham (February 18, 2013). "Western Michigan coach P. J. Fleck takes the polar plunge for charity". Yahoo!. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  6. Watson, Graham (March 13, 2013). "Western Michigan gives us a Harlem Shake video like we've never seen". Yahoo!. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  7. Anderson, Holly (April 19, 2013). "KALAMAZOO, STAND UP!". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  8. Anderson, Holly (June 11, 2013). "College Football Summer School: Get Yourself a MAC Team". Grantland. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  9. "@WMU_Football Game Day Traditions 101 Version 2.0". WMU Athletics. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  10. Ley, Tom (September 4, 2013). "Western Michigan Coach Demonstrates "New Traditions" In Hilarious Video". Deadspin. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  11. "Western Michigan vs. UMass - Game Recap - October 26, 2013 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  12. "Western Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan - Game Recap - November 9, 2013 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  13. "Michigan State beats Western Michigan 26–13". Associated Press. August 30, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  14. "Nicholls State holds on for 27–23 win over WMU". Associated Press. September 7, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  15. "Treyvon Green, No. 17 Northwestern run past Western Michigan". Associated Press. September 14, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  16. "Hawkeyes roll past Western Michigan 59–3". Associated Press. September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  17. "Kent State Golden Flashes vs. Western Michigan Broncos – Recap – September 28, 2013 – ESPN". Scores.espn.go.com. September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  18. Glass Bowl, TOLEDO, OH (October 5, 2013). "Western Michigan Broncos vs. Toledo Rockets – Recap – October 05, 2013 – ESPN". Scores.espn.go.com. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  19. "Buffalo Bulls vs. Western Michigan Broncos – Recap – October 12, 2013 – ESPN". Scores.espn.go.com. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  20. "Ball State Cardinals vs. Western Michigan Broncos – Recap". Espn.go.com. October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  21. "Western Michigan Broncos vs. Massachusetts Minutemen – Recap –". Scores.espn.go.com. October 26, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  22. "Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan - Box Score - November 16, 2013 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  23. "Western Michigan vs. Northern Illinois - Box Score - November 26, 2013 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  24. "Football – 2013 Schedule/Results". Wmubroncos.com. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  25. "MAC Names Week One Football Players Of The Week". Mid-American Conference. September 2, 2013. Archived from the original on September 3, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
  26. "2013 Biletnikoff Award Watch List « Biletnikoff Award". Biletnikoffaward.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  27. "Corey Davis Bio – WMUBroncos.com—Official Web Site of Western Michigan Athletics". Wmubroncos.com. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  28. "MAC Names Week Nine Football Players of the Week > MAC > News". Mac-sports.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  29. "Christion Jones is CFPA National Performer of the Week". College Football Performance Awards. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  30. "Schroeder Named Ray Guy Award Candidate – WMUBroncos.com—Official Web Site of Western Michigan Athletics". Wmubroncos.com. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
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