Western Michigan Broncos 2009 College Football Predictions, College Football Picks & College Football Odds: There is no shame in losing on the road to Nebraska, Central Michigan and Ball State, but the 2008 season could have been a very special one in Kalamazoo. Instead, the Broncos ended up getting annihilated by Rice in the Texas Bowl and wondering about what could have been. And now the defense pretty much has to start from scratch. Odds makers at Sportsbook.com have college football predictions on the Western Michigan Broncos 50-1 odds to win the BSC 2010 National Championship.
The offense should be very good. Quarterback Tim Hiller led the Mid-American Conference’s best passing attack by throwing for 3,725 yards and 36 touchdowns. The problem is his best two receivers are now gone. Jamarko Simmons and Schneider Julien accounted for 1,988 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Tight end Branden Ledbetter added 464 yards and six scores and now he is gone too. Juan Nunez should be a fine top target, but the Broncos will have to find a few more to go along with Nunez. In the meantime, WMU can rely on the ground game. Brandon West rushed for over 1,000 yards and made 11 total trips to the end zone. With an experienced line returning, the offense should be dynamic, and maybe even a little more balanced, during the 2009 campaign.
The unit ranked 12 th in the conference in pass defense. Now those four are gone and it is hard to believe the unit will be better with Mario Armstrong, Doug Wiggins, Andy Dorcely and David Lewis than they were with four experienced seniors. The rest of the defense is not quite so hurt by departures, but there are still holes to fill. Linebacker Austin Pritchard is ready to emerge as the leader of the defense, but it is the play of the front four that will determine how successful the defense is this year.
Ben Armer averaged 40.6 yards per punt last season, and John Potter made 11-of-16 placement tries, including a 45-yarder. West and Winchester are excellent kick return men, but the Broncos must find somebody to return punts.
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