# 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. The Broncos finished the season 5–7 and 4–4 in MAC play. After the season, Lester was fired.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 15 Michigan State* | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ESPN2 | L 13–35 | 73,928 |
| September 10 | 2:00 p.m. | at Ball State | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN+ | W 37–30 | 12,972 |
| September 17 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 23 Pittsburgh* | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI | ESPNU | L 13–34 | 22,875 |
| September 24 | 7:30 p.m. | at San Jose State* | CEFCU StadiumSan Jose, CA | CBSSN | L 6–34 | 17,058 |
| October 1 | 6:00 p.m. | New Hampshire* | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI | ESPN3 | W 44–7 | 20,119 |
| October 8 | 12:00 p.m. | Eastern Michigan | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy) | CBSSN | L 23–45 | 10,876 |
| October 15 | 3:30 p.m. | Ohio | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI | CBSSN | L 14–33 | 20,320 |
| October 22 | 3:30 p.m. | at Miami (OH) | Yager StadiumOxford, OH | CBSSN | W 16–10 | 21,618 |
| November 2 | 7:00 p.m. | at Bowling Green | Doyt Perry StadiumBowling Green, OH | ESPN2 | L 9–13 | 7,589 |
| November 9 | 7:00 p.m. | Northern Illinois | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI | ESPNU | L 21–24 | 8,722 |
| November 16 | 8:00 p.m. | at Central Michigan | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI (rivalry, Michigan MAC Trophy) | ESPNU | W 12–10 | 10,097 |
| November 25 | 12:00 p.m. | Toledo | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI | ESPNU | W 20–14 | 8,645 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at No. 15 Michigan State

| 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:
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

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Broncos | 7 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 37 |
| Cardinals | 10 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 30 |
| 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 |
| Western Michigan | Rushing | Sean Tyler | 15 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD |
| Western Michigan | Receiving | Corey Crooms | 10 receptions, 102 yards, 1 TD |
| Ball State | Passing | John Paddock | 24/41, 301 yards, 2 TD |
| Ball State | Rushing | Carson Steele | 26 carries, 137 yards, 1 TD |
| Ball State | Receiving | Amir Abdur-Rahman | 7 receptions, 89 yards, 1 TD |

### No. 23 Pittsburgh

| 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 |

### New Hampshire

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

### Eastern Michigan

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

### Ohio

| 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
| 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 |
| Ohio | Rushing | Sieh Bangura | 25 rushes, 77 yards, 2 TD |
| Ohio | Receiving | Sam Wiglusz | 8 receptions, 76 yards |
| Western Michigan | Passing | Jack Salopek | 17/31, 249 yards, 1 TD, 5 INT |
| Western Michigan | Rushing | Sean Tyler | 19 rushes, 84 yards |
| Western Michigan | 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 |

### at Bowling Green

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

### Northern Illinois

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

### at Central Michigan

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

### Toledo

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

## Players drafted into the NFL

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