Western Michigan (4-3, 2-1 MAC) comes into Saturday’s game against EMU after being roughed up by Northern Illinois 51-22 last Saturday. WMU gave up four sacks and allowed six touchdown runs with three of them from NIU running back Jasmin Hopkins. The Broncos look to rebound from this tough loss and hope to win on the road against EMU.
On Offense: The passing offense is the best strength for Western Michigan. WMU leads the MAC in pass offense (1,969) and completion percent (68.1). What makes the Broncos so good in this area is junior quarterback Alex Carder. Carder is the MAC leader in passing yards (1872) and has thrown 16 touchdowns heading into Saturday’s contest.
A good quarterback cannot function without great receivers and that is what the Broncos have. Carder’s favorite target would have to be senior wide receiver Jordan White. White holds the top spot in the MAC for receptions (79), receiving yards (922) and receiving yards per game (137.1). If White is not open, Carder could throw to another senior wide receiver, Robert Arnheim, who is second in team receiving yard (366).
The Eastern Michigan defense will have to look out for Tevin Drake, the team rushing leader (339 yards). But Drake might find it hard to get through an EMU defense that is fifth in the conference and has allowed just five rushing touchdowns all year. With this many options, Western should not have a problem scoring some points.
One weakness for the offense is that Carder does rush his throws or holds onto the ball a bit much when under attack. It was demonstrated at Michigan when Wolverine defensive back Brandon Herron intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown. Carder was also sacked four times against Northern Illinois on Saturday. The offensive line has to give Carder some time to throw in order for him to find his targets.
On Defense: WMU comes in last in the MAC for rushing defense so the EMU running backs should have a field day if the Broncos can’t stop the run. Eastern will have to look out for linebacker Mitch Zajac, the team leader in total tackles (56) and defensive end Freddie Bishop, who leads the team in sacks (4).
On the line for both teams is the Michigan MAC trophy. EMU and WMU enter with 1-0 records after both squads beat Central Michigan. Western Michigan beat CMU 44-14 back on Sept. 17. The last time Eastern won this trophy came in 2008 despite a three way tie with CMU and WMU going 1-1 against each other. Because EMU won the trophy the previous year, the Eagles kept it.
