2022 Western Michigan Broncos football team

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]

2022 Western Michigan Broncos football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	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	Conf.							Overall
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

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

See also: 2022 Michigan State Spartans football team

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

Team	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)

See also: 2022 Ball State Cardinals football team

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

See also: 2022 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

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

See also: 2022 San Jose State Spartans football team

New Hampshire

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

See also: 2022 New Hampshire Wildcats football team

Eastern Michigan

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

See also: 2022 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team

Ohio

See also: 2022 Ohio Bobcats football team

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

See also: 2022 Miami RedHawks football team

at Bowling Green

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

See also: 2022 Bowling Green Falcons football team

Northern Illinois

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

See also: 2022 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

at Central Michigan

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

See also: 2022 Central Michigan Chippewas football team

Toledo

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

See also: 2022 Toledo Rockets football team

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2023 NFL draft

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