The Broncos Present An Intriguing Week One Matchup For The Wolverines

It's officially game week for the Michigan Wolverines as they prepare for the season opener against Western Michigan on Saturday.

It's officially game week for the Michigan Wolverines as they turn their attention to the season opener against Western Michigan on Saturday. This will be the seventh meeting all time between the Wolverines and the Broncos, with Michigan currently holding a 7-0 advantage.

Though you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone putting Michigan on upset alert this weekend, the Broncos do present an interesting week one matchup for the Wolverines - particularly with a scoring offense that finished within the top ten of college football and averaged 41.7 points per game in 2020

The Western Michigan offense is led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Kaleb Eleby, who started all six games for the Broncos during the 2020 season and finished the year with 1,699 yards, 18 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions through the air. The Broncos also welcome back junior running back La'Darius Jefferson, who led the team in rushing with 624 yards and 5 touchdowns on 112 attempts during the 2020 season.

While I don't expect Western Michigan to light up the scoreboard at Michigan Stadium this weekend, I do expect the Bronco offense to test the new-look Michigan defense early and often. 

Defensively, the Broncos are led by senior safety Bricen Garner, who finished the 2020 season as the third leading tackler on the team with 27 solo and 18 assisted.  Unfortunately, the Broncos also lost two of their top three tacklers from a defensive unit that surrendered 34.2 points per game during the 2020 season - good for No. 94 in the country.

Here are some other noteworthy items to keep in mind as Michigan prepares for Saturday's matchup against Western Michigan in the Big House. 

• Conference: MAC (West Division)
• Coach: Tim Lester (5th season)
• 2020 Record: 4-2 (33rd of 128) (Schedule & Results)
• Points For: 250
• PPG: 41.7 (10th of 128)
• Points Against: 205
• Opp PPG: 34.2 (94th of 128)
• SRS: 10.39 (22nd of 128)
• SOS: 5.72 (25th of 128

Michigan vs Western Michigan

• All-Time Record: Michigan 7, Western Michigan 0
• First Meeting: 1917 - Michigan 17, Western Michigan 13
• Last Meeting: 2018 - Michigan 49, Western Michigan 3