2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team

The 2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University (WMU) in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach P. J. Fleck and played their home games at Waldo Stadium as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

2015 Western Michigan Broncos football
MAC West Division co-champion Bahamas Bowl champion
Bahamas Bowl, W 45–31 vs. Middle Tennessee
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	8–5 (6–2 MAC)
Head coach	P. J. Fleck (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Kirk Ciarrocca (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Ed Pinkham (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Waldo Stadium (Capacity: 30,200)
Seasons ← 2014 2016 →

2015 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Bowling Green x$		7	–	1					10	–	4
Ohio		5	–	3					8	–	5
Akron		5	–	3					8	–	5
Buffalo		3	–	5					5	–	7
Kent State		2	–	6					3	–	9
Miami (OH)		2	–	6					3	–	9
UMass		2	–	6					3	–	9
West Division
Northern Illinois xy		6	–	2					8	–	6
Western Michigan x		6	–	2					8	–	5
Toledo x		6	–	2					10	–	2
Central Michigan x		6	–	2					7	–	6
Ball State		2	–	6					3	–	9
Eastern Michigan		0	–	8					1	–	11
Championship: Bowling Green 34, Northern Illinois 14
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	7:00 pm	No. 5 Michigan State*	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPNU	L 24–37	30,885^[1]
September 12	6:00 pm	at Georgia Southern*	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	ESPN3	L 17–43	23,520^[2]
September 19	7:00 pm	Murray State*	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPN3	W 52–20	20,543^[3]
September 26	3:30 pm	at No. 1 Ohio State*	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC/ESPN2^[4]	L 12–38	106,123^[5]
October 10	Noon	Central Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy/Victory Cannon)	ESPN3	W 41–39	20,201^[6]
October 17	Noon	at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ASN^[7]	W 49–14	22,825^[8]
October 24	2:00 pm	Miami (OH)	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPN3^[9]	W 35–13	18,523^[10]
October 29	7:30 pm	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy)	CBSSN^[11]	W 58–28	3,534^[12]
November 5	7:30 pm	Ball State	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	CBSSN^[13]	W 54–7	12,058^[14]
November 11	8:00 pm	Bowling Green	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPN2^[15]	L 27–41	14,436
November 18	8:00 pm	at Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN2^[16]	L 19–27	10,194^[17]
November 27	Noon	at No. 24 Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	CBSSN	W 35–30	16,151
December 24	Noon	vs. Middle Tennessee*	Thomas Robinson Stadium Nassau, Bahamas (Bahamas Bowl)	ESPN	W 45–31	13,123
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule source:^[18]

Game summaries

Ball State

WMU defeated Ball State 54–7 in a mid-week MACtion game nationally televised on CBS Sports Network. In the game, the Broncos gained a school-record 711 yards of total offense.^[19] Western Michigan with a 5–0 in conference games were in first place in the West Division.

Awards

Conference Players of the Week

Four WMU football players have won five conference player of the week awards. Sophomore kickoff returner Darius Phillips has won two, and redshirt freshman running back Jamauri Bogan, sophomore linebacker Robert Spillane and junior quarterback Zach Terrell have each won one.

Jamauri Bogan

Bogan won the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week award for Week 7. He ran the ball nine times for 135 yards and two touchdowns in a 49–14 win over Ohio. In the game, WMU as a team rushed for 430 yards, with 404 of those coming in the second half.^[20]

Darius Phillips

Phillips was named MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 1 and 6. In Week 1, he returned four kickoffs for 185 yards, including a touchdown on a 100-yard kick off return in a loss to No. 5 Michigan State University.^[21] In Week 6. Phillips had two kick returns for 101 yards in WMU's 41–39 victory over rival Central Michigan.^[22]

Robert Spillane

Spillane was named MAC West Defensive Player of the Week for Week 8. Spillane had 9 total tackles and 31⁄2 for loss (including 11⁄2 sacks) in a 35–13 win over Miami (Ohio).^[23]

Zach Terrell

Zach Terrell was named MAC West Offensive Player of the Week for Week 9. He was 17 of 23 passing for 252 yards and ran for a team-high 71 yards in a 58–28 win over Eastern Michigan. He also rushed for one touchdown. The 71 yards rushing were a career-high.^[24]

Coaching staff

The following table lists the team's coaching staff.^[25]

Name	Position	Year at WMU	Alma mater
P. J. Fleck	Head coach	3rd	Northern Illinois (2004)
Kirk Ciarrocca	Offensive coordinator	3rd	Temple (1990)
Ed Pinkham	Defensive coordinator, Defensive backs	3rd	Allegheny (1975)
Brian Callahan	Offensive line	3rd	Eastern Illinois (1992)
Mike Hart	Running backs	2nd	Michigan (2008)
Bill Kenney	Tight ends, Offensive tackles	3rd	Norwich (1982)
Tim McGarigle	Linebackers	4th	Northwestern (2006)
Vinson Reynolds	Defensive line	3rd	Northern Illinois (2004)
Matt Simon	Wide receivers	2nd	Northern Illinois (2004)
Rob Wenger	Special teams, Defensive ends	3rd	Colgate (2008)

References

1. "Michigan St vs Western Michigan Game Summary". ESPN. September 4, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
2. "Georgia Southern vs Western Michigan Game Summary". ESPN. September 12, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
3. "Terrell throws for 4 TDs, W. Michigan tops Murray St., 52-20". ESPN. September 19, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
4. "Week 4 schedule for 2015". mattsarzsports.com.
5. "Cardale Jones improves, gets help from defense in win over Broncos". ESPN. September 26, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
6. "Western Michigan outlasts Central Michigan 41-39". ESPN. October 10, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
7. "Week 7 schedule for 2015". mattsarzsports.com.
8. "Terrell's 4 TDs help Western Michigan beat Ohio 49-14". ESPN. October 17, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
9. "Week 8 schedule for 2015". mattsarzsports.com.
10. "Western Michigan rolls over Miami (Ohio) 35-13". ESPN. October 24, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
11. "Week 9 schedule for 2015". mattsarzsports.com.
12. "Western Michigan scores 21 straight; beats Eastern Michigan". ESPN. October 29, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
13. "Week 10 schedule for 2015". mattsarzsports.com.
14. "Ball State vs. Western Michigan - Game Summary - November 5, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
15. "Week 11 schedule for 2015". mattsarzsports.com.
16. "Week 12 schedule for 2015". mattsarzsports.com.
17. "Western Michigan vs. Northern Illinois - Game Summary - November 18, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
18. "2015 Western Michigan Broncos Football Schedule". FBS Schedules. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
19. "Ball State vs. Western Michigan - Game Recap - November 5, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
20. "MAC Names Week Seven Football Players of the Week". getsomemaction.com.
21. "MAC Announces East and West Division Football Players of the Week". getsomemaction.com.
22. "MAC Names Week Six Football Players of the Week". getsomemaction.com.
23. "MAC Names Week Eight Football Players of the Week". getsomemaction.com.
24. "MAC Names Week Nine Football Players of the Week". getsomemaction.com.
25. . Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.