The Broncos rank among the national leaders in scoring (35.6 ppg) and passing (328.8 ypg).
Western Michigan has lost each of its previous four bowl appearances, most recently in 2008 to Rice in the Texas Bowl.
The Broncos are led by All-American receiver Jordan White, who leads the nation with 127 receptions for 1,646 yards. The senior has 16 touchdown catches, including nine over the last four games while averaging 163.5 yards; with 3,922 career receiving yards, White is 110 shy of becoming the MAC’s all-time leader.
QB Alex Carder will be back throwing to White after missing the Broncos’ 68-19 victory over Akron in their regular season finale with a separated shoulder. Despite missing that game, Carder ranked among the top 20 quarterbacks nationally in yards (3,434), touchdowns (28) and completion percentage (67.2).
Western ranked second-to-last in the MAC in total defense giving up 434.1 yards per game, tackle Drew Nowak was named the league’s defensive player of the year after recording 20 tackles for loss.
Purdue
The Boilermakers totaled 80 points in the final three contests, converting 52.7 percent of their third downs, after scoring 70 in the previous four while making 27.5 percent on third down.
Defensively, the Boilermakers boast one of the best interior defenders in the nation in Kawann Short. The junior ranked 13th nationally with 17 tackles for loss and was tied for fourth in the Big Ten with 6 1/2 sacks.
Purdue did give up 26.4 points per game to rank near the bottom of the Big Ten.
The Boilermakers, 8-7 in bowl games, are making their first postseason appearance since beating Central Michigan 51-48 in the 2007 Motor City Bowl at Ford Field.
Western lost at Michigan and Illinois this season and have dropped six straight to Big Ten opponents since a 23-17 win over the Illini at Ford Field on Nov. 8, 2008; Purdue and Western Michigan will match up for the third time ever; the Boilermakers won 28-24 at home in the most recent meeting in 2002.
Nick’s Pick: Purdue 41 – Western 37
Comment: Expect an offensive showdown in Detroit was the Broncos can score points; unfortunately they also give up a ton. Western can win this game but they have yet to win a bowl game in their long football history.
Nick’s Picks went 7-0 last week and now stand at 77-22 on the season…
Eastern Michigan (6-5, 4-3 MAC) at Northern Illinois (8-3, 6-1 MAC)
Friday, November 25, 2011 • 11:00 am ET • DeKalb, Ill. • Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium (24,000); ESPNU; Series: Northern Illinois leads 25-14-2 Nick’s Pick: NIU 38 – Eastern 27
Comment: EMU coach Ron English is the hands down favorite to win the MAC Coach of the Year honors…two years removed from an 0-12 season the Eagles have a shot at a 7-5 record if they can win in DeKalb. NIU needs to win to play in the MACC and they have been playing the best football over the past month in the league so expect them to win on Friday.
Kent State (5-6, 4-3 MAC) at Temple (7-4, 4-3 MAC)
Friday, November 25, 2011 • Noon ET • Philadelphia, Pa. • Lincoln Financial Stadium (68,532); Streamed live via ww.mac-sports.com; Series: Temple leads 3-2 Nick’s Pick: Temple 27 – Kent State 17
Comment: Two of the better defenses the MAC have to offer will be on display at “the Linc” but expect more offense than advertised. KSU is averaging 26-points per game over their past four outings, all wins; while Temple has put up 42 points against Army and 38 against Maryland this year.
Nick’s Picks went 5-1 last week and now stand at 70-22 on the season…
Ball State (6-4, 4-2 MAC) at Northern Illinois (7-3, 5-1 MAC)
Tuesday, November 15, 2011 • 8:00 pm ET • DeKalb, Ill. • Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium (24,000); ESPNU Series: Ball State leads 20-16-2 Nick’s Pick: NIU 45 – Ball State 27
Comment: The Huskies are determined to win their first MAC title since 1982 and are playing terrific football. Ball State, like Eastern Michigan, is the surprise of the league. Don’t be stunned if this game goes down to the wire, the Cardinals have playmakers on both sides of the ball.
Ohio (7-3, 4-2 MAC) at Bowling Green (4-6, 2-4 MAC)
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 • 8:00 pm ET • Bowling Green, Ohio • Doyt L. Perry Stadium (24,000); ESPN; Series: Bowling Green leads 36-24-2 Nick’s Pick: Ohio 27 – BGSU 16
Comment: The Bobcats have not won the MAC since 1968, they like NIU are eyeing up a MAC title for the first time in several decades.
Northern Illinois (6-3, 4-1 MAC) at Bowling Green (4-5, 2-3 MAC)
Northern Illinois QB Chandler Harnish.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011 • 8:00 pm ET • Bowling Green, Ohio • Doyt L. Perry Stadium (24,000) ESPN2; Series: Bowling Green leads 10-6
Nick’s Pick: NIU 45 – BGSU 35
Comment: Will this be an encore performance for the Huskies as they return to NW Ohio for the second consecutive Tuesday? When the Huskie offense gets humming like they did last week at Toledo they are unstoppable within the MAC. Husky QB Chandler Harnish is just a winner.
Western Michigan (5-4, 3-2 MAC) at Toledo (5-4, 4-1 MAC)
Tuesday, November 8, 2011 • 8:00 pm ET • Toledo, Ohio • Glass Bowl (26,248) ESPNU; Series: Toledo leads 37-28
Nick’s Pick: Toledo 44 – Western 40
Comment: How will the Rockets respond to yet another let down in a big game? Going back to last season’s Little Caesars/Motor City Bowl, UT has floundered four games in the past ten months they should have won. Western is the league’s true Jeckell & Hyde team so who knows which Bronco team will get off the bus at the Glass Bowl. We can expect a lot of points for certain.
Nick’s Picks went 4-1 last week and now stand at 65-20 SU on the season…the rest of the previews for Week 11 and notes from last week’s games after the jump.
Miami QB Zac Dysert completed 80 percent of his passes (20-for-25), throwing for 313 yards and a record-tying five touchdowns in a convincing 41-13 victory over Buffalo; Dysert now has 7,166 career passing yards, ranking second behind only RedHawk legend Ben Roethlisberger (10,829).
Western Michigan WR Jordan White became the Broncos career receptions leader in a 45-35 win over Ball State with nine catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns; White holds the record with 261 career receptions and is over 1,000 yards for the season (1,164), making him only the third Bronco receiver to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in program history (Greg Jennings, Steve Neal).
Bowling Green WR Kamar Jorden finished with 12 catches for 203 yards and one touchdown in the Falcons’ 27-15 loss at Kent State. Jorden had five catches that were at least 20 yards.
Central Michigan RB Anthony Garland ran for a career-high 141 yards on 19 carries in the Chippewas’ 23-22 win at Akron; his 58-yard run in the final minute of the first half was Central Michigan’s second longest run of the season.
Akron WR Marquelo Suel posted a season-high 11 catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns in the Zips’ 23-22 loss to Central Michigan. Eight of his receptions and both scores came during Akron’s fourth-quarter comeback. Read the rest of this entry →
