Western Michigan
6th MAC6-6
Notre Dame
2nd IA-INDEPENDENTS7-5
Western Michigan @ Notre Dame preview
Notre Dame Stadium
The last time Notre Dame and Western Michigan played, Irish legend George Gipp was in the lineup. It was 1920 and Notre Dame beat WMU 41-0. The two teams haven’t met since then, a span of 90 years. On Saturday, Notre Dame, 3-3 under new coach Brian Kelly, faces the 2-3 Broncos in South Bend.
Western Michigan has an overall 36-30 in Bill Cubit six year reign as head coach. Its' two wins this year have come against Nicholls State (49-14) and last Saturday against Ball State (45-16). In the Ball State game, WMU forced five turnovers and scored on both a pick six and fake field goal for a 14-0 lead before the game was a minute old. The Broncos have averaged 274 yards per game passing this season. Their nemesis defensively has been the running game. WMU has surrendered an average of 168 yards on the ground per game.
Sophomore quarterback Alex Carder leads the Broncos' offense with 1,290 yards and 10 touchdowns in five games. He’s completed 125 of 208 passes (60.1 percent). Jordan White is the leading receiver with 37 receptions and an average of 14.5 yards per catch. The Broncos have a limited rushing attack and their leading rusher, Aaron Winchester, is only averaging 2.8 yards per carry.
The Irish have now won two straight games and evened their record at 3-3. Quarterback Dayne Crist is the leader in total offense and passing yards, having thrown for 1,600 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wide receivers Theo Riddick and Michael Floyd along with tight end Kyle Rudolph have combined for 100 receptions on the season. The Irish will now be without Rudolph, an All-American candidate, who faces season-ending surgery on his hamstring. Kicker David Ruffer has been perfect to date, hitting 11 straight field goals and 15 extra points. Going into the WMU game, Ruffer has made an Irish-record 16 straight field goals.
Notre Dame’s defense has been operating under a new 3-4 scheme. Sophomore linebacker Manti T’eo leads the Irish defense with 69 total tackles. After giving up over 500 yards in total offense to Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson last month, the Notre Dame defense has improved and dropped its per game average to 398 yards.
The Irish, in their history, are undefeated against the Mid-American Conference. They now have a chance to win three straight and move over .500. But the Broncos, a prohibitive underdog, have a chance to be the first MAC team to ever defeat Notre Dame.
Western Michigan has an overall 36-30 in Bill Cubit six year reign as head coach. Its' two wins this year have come against Nicholls State (49-14) and last Saturday against Ball State (45-16). In the Ball State game, WMU forced five turnovers and scored on both a pick six and fake field goal for a 14-0 lead before the game was a minute old. The Broncos have averaged 274 yards per game passing this season. Their nemesis defensively has been the running game. WMU has surrendered an average of 168 yards on the ground per game.
Sophomore quarterback Alex Carder leads the Broncos' offense with 1,290 yards and 10 touchdowns in five games. He’s completed 125 of 208 passes (60.1 percent). Jordan White is the leading receiver with 37 receptions and an average of 14.5 yards per catch. The Broncos have a limited rushing attack and their leading rusher, Aaron Winchester, is only averaging 2.8 yards per carry.
The Irish have now won two straight games and evened their record at 3-3. Quarterback Dayne Crist is the leader in total offense and passing yards, having thrown for 1,600 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wide receivers Theo Riddick and Michael Floyd along with tight end Kyle Rudolph have combined for 100 receptions on the season. The Irish will now be without Rudolph, an All-American candidate, who faces season-ending surgery on his hamstring. Kicker David Ruffer has been perfect to date, hitting 11 straight field goals and 15 extra points. Going into the WMU game, Ruffer has made an Irish-record 16 straight field goals.
Notre Dame’s defense has been operating under a new 3-4 scheme. Sophomore linebacker Manti T’eo leads the Irish defense with 69 total tackles. After giving up over 500 yards in total offense to Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson last month, the Notre Dame defense has improved and dropped its per game average to 398 yards.
The Irish, in their history, are undefeated against the Mid-American Conference. They now have a chance to win three straight and move over .500. But the Broncos, a prohibitive underdog, have a chance to be the first MAC team to ever defeat Notre Dame.