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2022 Western Michigan Broncos football
2022 Western Michigan Broncos football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	West Division
Record	5–7 (4–4 MAC)
Head coach	Tim Lester (6th season);
Offensive coordinator	Jeff Thorne (1st season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast
Defensive coordinator	Lou Esposito (6th season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Waldo Stadium
	Seasons ← 2021 2023 →

2022 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Ohio xy	7	–	1	10	–	4
Buffalo	5	–	3	7	–	6
Bowling Green	5	–	3	6	–	7
Miami (OH)	4	–	4	6	–	7
Kent State	4	–	4	5	–	7
Akron	1	–	7	2	–	10
West Division
Toledo xy$	5	–	3	9	–	5
Eastern Michigan x	5	–	3	9	–	4
Western Michigan	4	–	4	5	–	7
Ball State	3	–	5	5	–	7
Central Michigan	3	–	5	4	–	8
Northern Illinois	2	–	6	3	–	9
Championship: Toledo 17, Ohio 7
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2022 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Broncos played their home games at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and competed in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The team was led by sixth-year head coach Tim Lester.^[1] The Broncos finished the season 5–7 and 4–4 in MAC play. After the season, Lester was fired.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:00 p.m.	at No. 15 Michigan State*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	L 13–35	73,928
September 10	2:00 p.m.	at Ball State	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN	ESPN+	W 37–30	12,972
September 17	7:30 p.m.	No. 23 Pittsburgh*	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPNU	L 13–34	22,875
September 24	7:30 p.m.	at San Jose State*	CEFCU Stadium San Jose, CA	CBSSN	L 6–34	17,058
October 1	6:00 p.m.	New Hampshire*	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPN3	W 44–7	20,119
October 8	12:00 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy)	CBSSN	L 23–45	10,876
October 15	3:30 p.m.	Ohio	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	CBSSN	L 14–33	20,320
October 22	3:30 p.m.	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	CBSSN	W 16–10	21,618
November 2	7:00 p.m.	at Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPN2	L 9–13	7,589
November 9	7:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPNU	L 21–24	8,722
November 16	8:00 p.m.	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI (rivalry, Michigan MAC Trophy)	ESPNU	W 12–10	10,097
November 25	12:00 p.m.	Toledo	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPNU	W 20–14	8,645
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[3]^[4]

Game summaries

at No. 15 Michigan State

Week One: Western Michigan at No. 15 Michigan State – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Western Michigan	3	0	10	0	13
No. 15 Michigan State	7	14	0	14	35

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI

Date: September 2, 2022
Game time: 7:04 p.m.
Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C), Sunny
Game attendance: 73,928
Referee: Kole Knueppel
TV announcers (ESPN2): Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst), Paul Carcaterra (sideline)
Sources:^[5]

Game information

First Quarter

(06:31) WMU FG: Palmer Domschke 27-yard field goal
WMU 3–0; 10 plays, 66 yards, 4:57
(04:37) MSU TD: Germie Bernard 44-yard pass from Payton Thorne (Jack Stone kick)
MSU 7–3; 6 plays, 75 yards, 01:54

Second Quarter

(14:55) MSU TD: Daniel Barker 13-yard pass from Payton Thorne (Jack Stone kick)
MSU 14–3; 7 plays 45 yards, 2:21
(12:26) MSU TD: Keon Coleman 41-yard pass from Payton Thorne (Jack Stone kick)
MSU 21–3; 2 plays, 50 yards, 0:44

Third Quarter

(08:20) WMU TD: Sean Tyler 4-yard run (Palmer Doschke kick)
MSU 21–10; 7 plays, 67 yards, 3:43
(00:49) WMU FG: Palmer Domschke 42-yard field goal
MSU 21–13; 10 plays, 48 yards, 4:40

Fourth Quarter

(06:28) MSU TD: Jalen Berger 1-yard run (Jack Stone kick)
MSU 28–13; 8 plays, 91 yards, 3:48
(04:07) MSU TD: Tre Mosley 43-yard pass from Payton Thorne (Jack Stone kick)
MSU 35–13; 1 play, 43 yards, 0:06

Passing

WMU – Jack Salopek: 21/36, 193 yards
MSU – Payton Thorne: 12/24, 233 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT

Rushing

WMU – Sean Taylor: 13 carries, 80 yards, 1 TD
MSU – Jalen Berger: 16 carries, 120 yards, 1 TD

Receiving

WMU – Jehlani Galloway: 4 receptions, 70 yards
MSU – Keon Coleman: 4 receptions, 84 yards, 1 TD

at Ball State

Western Michigan Broncos at Ball State Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Broncos	7	7	7	16	37
Cardinals	10	6	7	7	30

Date: September 10, 2022
Location: Scheumann Stadium
Muncie, IN
Game start: 2:00 p.m. EDT
Elapsed time: 2 hours and 16 minutes
Game attendance: 12,972
Game weather: Sunny, 84 °F (29 °C)
Referee: Billy Williams
TV announcers (ESPN+): Michael Reghi (play-by-play), Ryan Cavanaugh (analyst)

Pregame line	Over/under
WMU –6.5	51.5

Statistics	Western Michigan	Ball State
First downs	27	21
Total yards	437	447
Rushing yards	207	146
Passing yards	230	301
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	34:16	25:44

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Michigan	Passing	Jack Salopek	25/43, 230 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Sean Tyler	15 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Corey Crooms	10 receptions, 102 yards, 1 TD
Ball State	Passing	John Paddock	24/41, 301 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Carson Steele	26 carries, 137 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Amir Abdur-Rahman	7 receptions, 89 yards, 1 TD

No. 23 Pittsburgh

No. 23 Pittsburgh Panthers (1–1) vs Western Michigan Broncos (1–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 Panthers	10	3	7	14	34
Broncos	3	3	7	0	13

at Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI

Date: September 17th
Game time: 7:30 p.m. EST/4:30 p.m. PST
Game weather: Temperature: 80 °F (27 °C) • Wind: SW at 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
Game attendance: 22,875
Referee: Jerry Magallanes
TV announcers (ESPNU): Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst), Dawn Davenport (field reporter)

at San Jose State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	0	6	0	6
Spartans	3	14	7	10	34

New Hampshire

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	7	0	0	7
Broncos	21	7	3	13	44

Eastern Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	14	21	7	3	45
Broncos	0	7	9	7	23

Ohio

Ohio Bobcats (3–3, 1–1) vs. Western Michigan Broncos (2–4, 1–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio	7	13	0	13	33
Western Michigan	7	7	0	0	14

at Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI

Date: Saturday, October 16, 2022
Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
Game weather: sunny, Temperature:49 °F (9 °C)
Game attendance: 20,320
Referee: Matt Packowski
TV announcers (CBSSN): John Sadak, Randy Cross
Pregame line: WMU −2.0 • box score,Ohio notes

Game information

First Quarter

(08:44) OHIO – Bangura, Sieh 1 yd run (Vakos, Nathanial kick) 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:16 (OHIO 7–0)
(04:23) WMU – Salopek, Jack 8 yd run (Domschke, Palmer kick) 8 plays, 64 yards, TOP 04:15 (Tied 7–7)

Second Quarter

(12:59) OHIO – Bangura, Sieh 6 yd run (Vakos, Nathanial kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:24 (OHIO 14–7)
(01:50) OHIO – Vakos, Nathanial 26 yd field goal 9 plays, 52 yards, TOP 03:17 (OHIO 17–7)
(01:05) WMU – Crooms, Corey 74 yd pass from Salopek, Jack (Domschke, Palmer kick) 2 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:45 (Tied 17–14)
(00:06) OHIO – Vakos, Nathanial 55 yd field goal 5 plays, 22 yards, TOP 00:59 (OHIO 20–14)

Third Quarter

No scoring plays

Fourth Quarter

(13:48) OHIO – Vakos, Nathanial 33 yd field goal 4 plays, 1 yards, TOP 00:25 (OHIO 23–14)
(07:24) OHIO – Rourke, Kurtis 1 yd run (Vakos, Nathanial kick) 2 plays, 8 yards, TOP 00:48 (OHIO 30–14)
(03:11) OHIO – Vakos, Nathanial 35 yd field goal 7 plays, 41 yards, TOP 03:32 (OHIO 33–14)

Statistics	OHIO	WMU
First downs	17	17
Total yards	383	333
Rushes/yards	35/119	31/84
Passing yards	264	249
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	22–34–1	17–31–5
Time of possession	33:20	26:40

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ohio	Passing	Kurtis Rourke	22/34, 264 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Sieh Bangura	25 rushes, 77 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Sam Wiglusz	8 receptions, 76 yards
Western Michigan	Passing	Jack Salopek	17/31, 249 yards, 1 TD, 5 INT
	Rushing	Sean Tyler	19 rushes, 84 yards
	Receiving	Corey Crooms	5 receptions, 87 yards, 1 TD

at Miami (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	6	10	0	16
RedHawks	3	0	0	7	10

at Bowling Green

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	0	6	3	9
Falcons	0	6	7	0	13

Northern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	3	7	7	7	24
Broncos	7	7	7	0	21

at Central Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	7	0	0	5	12
Chippewas	7	0	3	0	10

Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	0	7	0	7	14
Broncos	0	10	10	0	20

Players drafted into the NFL

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
6	184	Zaire Barnes	LB	New York Jets

References

^ "Tim Lester". Sports Reference.
^ "Western Michigan fires coach Tim Lester after 5-7 season". ESPN.
^ "2022 Western Michigan Football Schedule".
^ "Western Michigan Broncos Schedule 2022". ESPN.
^ "Football vs Western Michigan on 9/2/2022 - Box Score". Michigan State University Athletics. Retrieved September 8, 2022.

[1] "Tim Lester". Sports Reference.

[2] "Western Michigan fires coach Tim Lester after 5-7 season". ESPN.

[3] "2022 Western Michigan Football Schedule".

[4] "Western Michigan Broncos Schedule 2022". ESPN.

[5] "Football vs Western Michigan on 9/2/2022 - Box Score". Michigan State University Athletics. Retrieved September 8, 2022.

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