The 2009 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

in the 2009 NCAA football season. The WMU football team was coached by

Bill Cubit William John Cubit (; born October 14, 1953) is an American football coach and former player. Cubit was the head football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, first on an interim basis in the 2015 season and then promoted t ...

and played their home games in

Waldo Stadium Waldo Stadium is a stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It is primarily used for football, and has been the home of Western Michigan University Broncos football in rudimentary form since 1914, and as a complete stadium since 1939. It currently has ...

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

. WMU finished the season 5–7, defeating fellow

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

(MAC) members Buffalo,

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and Toledo,

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

team and losing to rival

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan cor ...

, Kent State,

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by t ...

, Ball State,

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

members

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. Senior

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Brandon West set NCAA and MAC records for career

all-purpose yards All-purpose yards or all-purpose yardage is a gridiron football statistical measure. It is virtually the same as the statistic that some football leagues refer to as combined net yards. In the game of football, progress is measured by advancing t ...

and career kick

return yards Return yards is a gridiron football statistical measure that takes several forms. In American and Canadian football, progress is measured by advancing the football towards the opposing team's goal line. Progress can be made during play by the o ...

during the week-four game against Hofstra. West passed

running back

Travis Prentice Travis Jason Prentice (born October 27, 1976) is a former American football running back who played collegiately at Miami of Ohio. Prentice held the NCAA Division I-A record for career rushing touchdowns until it was broken by Wisconsin's Mont ...

for all-purpose yards (6,111) and

's Trumaine Riley for kick return yards (2,541). West also currently holds the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

record for active career record holder for all-purpose yards, kick return yards and kick returns.

2008 summary

Western Michigan finished the 2008 season 9–4 overall and 6–2 in the Mid-American Conference. WMU finished tied for second in the West Division, defeating

member

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

member

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

in the non-conference portion of the schedule. WMU participated in the

Texas Bowl The Texas Bowl is an annual postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game first held in 2006 in Houston, Texas. Each edition of the bowl has been played at NRG Stadium, previously known as Reliant Stadium. The bowl replaced ...

, losing to

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

38–14. Over the course of the season, the Broncos received votes in both the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

and the USA Today Coaches' Poll.

Schedule

Game summaries

Michigan

Michigan, 13 point favorites, scored 14 points in the first quarter and 17 in the second to lead 31–0 at halftime. WMU scored in the fourth quarter on a 73-yard touchdown pass from Tim Hiller to Juan Nunez to avoid the shutout. WMU outpassed Michigan 263 yards to 197, but only gained 38 yards on the ground. Hiller finished the game 22 of 38 for 259 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. WMU turned the ball over three times on the day, leading to seven Michigan points. On defense, linebacker Austin Pritchard led the team with 13 tackles and a forced fumble. Recap

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Indiana

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Miami

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Hofstra

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Northern Illinois

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Toledo

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Central Michigan

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Buffalo

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Kent State

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Michigan State

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Eastern Michigan

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Ball State

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Awards

Mid-American Conference Player of the Week

* Jamail Berry, S ** Week 3 (Defense) – Recovered a fumble for a touchdown, one interception and a blocked PAT in 48–26 win over Miami. On the game's first play from scrimmage, Berry recovered a fumble and returned it 24 yards for the opening score. He recorded his first career interception on Miami's third possession. Berry blocked the PAT attempt in the third quarter. ** Week 11 (Defense) – Five tackles, career-high two interceptions and one recovered fumble in a 35–14 win at Eastern Michigan. * Austin Pritchard, LB ** Week 2 (Defense) – Blocked fourth quarter field goal, game-high 12 tackles. ** Week 4 (Defense) – Recorded ten tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack in 24–10 win over Hofstra. * Brandon West, RB / KR ** Week 6 (Offense) – Rushed for 153 yards and three touchdowns. Also threw for a touchdown pass in a 58–26 win vs. Toledo. West finished the game with 236 all-purpose yards. ** Week 8 (Special teams) – Gained 108 return yards, 282 all-purpose yards and two rushing touchdowns in 34–31 overtime win over Buffalo. ** Week 10 (Special teams) – Recorded 142 kick return yards and 262 all-purpose yards in a 49–14 loss against Michigan State. During the game, West set the NCAA Division I FBS record for kick return yards in a career. West broke the record of 2,945 return yards set by Jessie Henderson of SMU. ** Week 11 (Special teams) – Two kick returns for 43 yards and 183 all-purpose yards to set the NCAA Division I FBS record for career all-purpose yards in 35–14 win at Eastern Michigan.

Finalists

* Tim Hiller, QB –

Wuerffel Trophy The Wuerffel Trophy is an award given annually to the college football player "who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement." The trophy, designed by W. Stanley Proctor and named in honor of former Univers ...

Watch lists

* Ben Armer, P –

Ray Guy Award The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding punter as adjudged by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, an All-American for Southern Mississippi and an All-Pro in the National Foo ...

Tim Hiller Tim Hiller (born December 13, 1986) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Western Michigan. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2010. After his playing days, Hiller worked as ...

, QB –

Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Co ...

Lowe's Senior CLASS Award The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 NCAA Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete ...

Manning Award The Manning Award has been presented annually since the 2004 football season to the collegiate American football quarterback as judged by the Sugar Bowl Committee to be the best in the United States. It is the only quarterback award that incl ...

Walter Camp Award The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information directo ...

* Austin Pritchard, LB –

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lombar ...

* Brandon West, RB –

Doak Walker Award Since 1990 the Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. It is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football League ...

Coaching staff

– Head coach * Steve Morrison – Defensive coordinator, linebackers * Ryan Cubit – Quarterbacks * Tim Daoust – Defensive secondary *

Mike Grant Michael Grant (November 27, 1873 – August 20, 1955) was a Canadian ice hockey player. He played nine seasons of senior amateur hockey between 1894 and 1902 for the Montreal Victorias and Montreal Shamrocks. Grant was a member of the Victori ...

– Wide receivers * Rick Kravitz – Safeties * Peter McCarthy – Defensive line * Jake Moreland – Tight ends * Mike Sabock – Running backs, special teams * Bob Stanley – Offensive line * Tim Knox – Director of football operations * Brent Bassham – Defensive graduate assistant * Matt Ludeman – Offensive graduate assistant

References

{{Western Michigan Broncos football navbox

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

Western Michigan Broncos football seasons

Western Michigan Broncos football The Western Michigan Broncos football program represents Western Michigan University in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Western Michigan has competed in football since 1906, when they played th ...