Last year was the worst campaign for the Western Michigan Broncos since 2013. Can the team bounce back under new head coach Lance Taylor in 2023, or are there even tougher times to come for the kids from Kalamazoo? Our Western Michigan season predictions holds the answers.
Western Michigan Season Predictions: Predicting the Game-By-Game Results
Using groupthink, College Football Network analysts have painstakingly gone through every game for every team in the MAC and across the country.
Find Every MAC Season Prediction per team: Ball State | Central Michigan | Eastern Michigan | Northern Illinois | Toledo | Western Michigan | Akron | Bowling Green | Buffalo | Kent State | Miami (OH) | Ohio
Picking these games straight up with a projected score using the rosters as up-to-date as the last spring practice, the Western Michigan season predictions set a low level of expectation for Broncos fans.
Week 1 – Western Michigan vs. Saint Francis (PA): Win, 36-11
f you can’t schedule a win to open the season, when can you? Western Michigan hasn’t lost to non-FBS opposition since they fell to Nicholls State in 2013, and although Saint Francis was one of the best in the Northeast Conference last fall, the Broncos shouldn’t fall here. Saint Francis losing both Makai Jackson and Elijah Sarratt to the transfer portal also helps the WMU cause.
Week 2 – Western Michigan @ Syracuse: Loss, 15-33
After galloping over the first hurdle of their 2023 college football schedule, the Broncos pull up short at fence two with a Power Five opponent proving too strong. Syracuse won both previous matchups between the two teams, and even though they lost the spark plug of their offense to the NFL Draft, LeQuint Allen is more than capable of shouldering the load for the Orange.
MORE: MAC QB Rankings 2023
Week 3 – Western Michigan @ Iowa: Loss, 7-20
Western Michigan had one of the best defenses in the MAC last season but struggled offensively. You could say that Iowa was the Western Michigan of the Big Ten, with one of the nation’s most impressive defenses being thwarted by an anaemic offense. The Hawkeyes added Cade McNamara from the transfer portal as a QB upgrade, and he should be the difference here.
Week 4 – Western Michigan @ Toledo: Loss, 19-31
Western Michigan kicks off their MAC campaign with arguably the hardest assignment possible—a road trip to reigning champions Toledo. Expected to challenge for the title once more, the Rockets’ offensive continuity and talent should ensure that they flip the script on a season-ending defeat to the Broncos from last fall. WMU hasn’t won in Toledo since 2015.
Week 5 – Western Michigan vs. Ball State: Win, 22-20
With the addition of Marquez Cooper to replace Carson Steele, we’re expecting the Ball State offense to run through the ground game this fall. That plays nicely into a Broncos defense that was one of the best against the run in 2022. Western Michigan won in Muncie last fall, and they extend their head-to-head advantage to 28-22 with their first MAC win of 2023.
Week 6 – Western Michigan @ Mississippi State: Loss, 12-34
Fair play to Western Michigan, three of their four out-of-conference opponents come from Power Five conferences. A trip to Starkville pits the Broncos against a Mississippi State team that should feature a more balanced offense under Zach Arnett and has the talent on both sides of the ball to withstand anything Western Michigan might throw at them.
Week 7 – Western Michigan vs. Miami (OH): Win, 29-24
The Broncos are on an eight-game win streak against Miami (OH) and always seem to be able to find the points to dispatch their MAC East opponent, regardless of how the RedHawks play. Kicker Palmer Domschke helped Western Michigan over the line in the corresponding fixture last fall, and he returns to action for the Broncos this season.
Week 8 – Western Michigan @ Ohio: Loss, 21-32
MAC schedules don’t get much harder than having to take road trips to Toledo and Ohio, and that’s exactly what the Broncos must do in 2023. Our season predictions have the Bobcats returning to the MAC Championship Game, and they comfortably dispatch Western Michigan in Week 8. In Sieh Bangura and Kurtis Rourke, they have two of the best players in the MAC.
MORE: Ohio Bobcats Coaching Staff 2023
Week 9 – Western Michigan @ Eastern Michigan: Loss, 30-33
Western Michigan added Hayden Wolff and Keshawn King to try to bolster the worst scoring offense in the MAC from last year, and in Week 9, those additions start clicking to deliver their highest-scoring performance of the Broncos’ 2023 campaign. Sadly, it’s not enough to prevent an Eastern Michigan team led by Samson Evans from winning the Michigan MAC Trophy.
Week 11 – Western Michigan vs. Central Michigan: Win, 23-22
Central Michigan travels to Kalamazoo looking to replicate their 12-point win from 2021. Sadly for the Chippewas, our season predictions forecast a narrow defeat similar to their snowy encounter last fall. Western Michigan’s defense and improved offense prove marginally too potent for Jim McElwain’s team.
Week 12 – Western Michigan @ Northern Illinois: Loss, 25-22
Northern Illinois’ road win over Western Michigan was one of a thimble full of victories for the Huskies last fall. With improvements on defense, a genuine quarterback battle between the injury-recovered Rocky Lombardi and Ethan Hampton, and one of the MAC’s top running backs in Antario Brown, the Huskies should outrun the Broncos to record a win.
Week 13 – Western Michigan vs. Bowling Green: Loss, 16-22
Western Michigan rounds out their season by hosting Bowling Green, a team that might possess the best one-two punch at wide receiver in the MAC. The Broncos came out on the wrong side of a close game last fall, and our season predictions see them lose by a touchdown in their season finale.
It’s a 4-8 season for Western Michigan with three MAC wins, falling short of last season both overall and in the conference.
