What to know as Boise State heads to ‘undefeated’ Western Michigan this weekend

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Depending on who you ask, maybe Boise State football will take on an undefeated team this weekend as it travels to Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan.

The record book lists Western Michigan as 2-1, with a 13-12 loss to Michigan in Week 1. That loss has drawn ire across the college football world.

Leading 12-7 late in the game, Western Michigan appeared to have batted down a Michigan Hail Mary as time expired — however, the officiating crew deemed that there was still 1 second remaining on the clock because a Western Michigan player touched the ball after stepping out of bounds. That gave Michigan one final chance to win, and the Wolverines struck as quarterback Bryce Underwood found a receiver for a 47-yard, game-winning touchdown.

The NCAA admitted adding the extra second was an error, and Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson was in complete agreement during his press conference on Monday.

“They’re an undefeated football team. Period. End of story,” Danielson said. “… You watch that game, they absolutely beat Michigan at Michigan. And that’s not hype, that is what happened.”

Boise State and Western Michigan — both are the Broncos — are engaged in the race for the Group of Six conferences’ single automatic qualifying spot into the College Football Playoff. Whichever team wins this weekend will take a major step toward that goal.

Here’s what else to know about Western Michigan ahead of Boise State’s final nonconference game.

Defending champions with returning talent

Western Michigan went 10-4 and won its first Mid-American Conference title since 2016 last year, and it has returned most of its talent in 2026. Sixteen starters across the offense and defense return from last year’s squad, including quarterback Broc Lowry, running back Jalen Buckley and four offensive linemen.

Since the season-opening loss to Michigan, Western Michigan has handily defeated FCS school Monmouth, 49-14, and topped American Athletic Conference team Rice, 28-21, this past weekend.

“Being able to keep their team together in this age of the portal, where they had a group of guys that said: ‘We’re coming back. We want this season to be the most special season we’ve had.’ That’s awesome, man,” Danielson said. “I tip my hat to Coach (Lance) Taylor, tip my hat to his players, tip my hat to their staff.”

Taylor represents one of the many branches that’s continually sprouting from the Nick Saban coaching tree, having worked under the legendary coach at Alabama as a graduate assistant from 2007 to 2008.

An offense similar to Boise State

Just like how both teams playing on Saturday afternoon are called the Broncos, both teams also rely heavily on their run game. Boise State ranks 15th out of 138 teams in the nation for rushing yards per game, averaging 225 across three games. Western Michigan ranks 44th, averaging 174.5 per game.

Western Michigan’s offense is led by Buckley, a redshirt senior running back who has 207 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the season. Lowry is just behind him with 114 rushing yards to partner his 417 yards in the air.

However, Western Michigan’s reliance on the run game may work in Boise State’s favor. Not only does the Broncos’ defense practice against an elite run game every day, but the pass defense ranks 136th in the nation.

“They have a running back that’s exceptional. I think they have a quarterback that can really run,” Boise State defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said Monday. “Their O-line’s experienced; I think it’s a really good football team. I don’t know what’s a better matchup right now. I just know we’ve got to get better. We’ve got a lot of stuff to work on.”

A stingy defense led by linebackers Danielson doubled down on Western Michigan’s “win” over Michigan later in his press conference, saying that Saturday’s opponent held “one of the top offenses around to six points.”

Western Michigan has allowed 17 points per game and ranks 25th in the nation; removing Michigan’s last-second touchdown would vault Western Michigan to 17th. Although Western Michigan hasn’t been elite at getting to the quarterback and getting tackles before the line of scrimmage, three linebackers — Domanick Moon, Dillon Moore and Justyce Betts — lead the team in tackling.

Danielson also mentioned senior nickel Joshua Franklin as the best player on Western Michigan’s defense. Franklin has 10 tackles, a pass breakup and a forced fumble through three games.

“They’ll bring pressures. They get in and out of different personnel groupings. They’ll match a lot of times,” Danielson said. “Their two safeties have played a lot of football, great communicators. They play really well in space.”

Boise State at Western Michigan

When: 1:30 p.m. Mountain Time, Saturday
Where: Waldo Stadium (30,200, Turf)
TV: ESPN2
Radio: KBOI 670 AM and KBOI 93.1 FM/Sirius XM Ch. 84 (Bob Behler, Michael Callahan)
Records: Boise State 2-1, 0-0; Western Michigan 2-1, 0-0 Series: First meeting between the two teams
Vegas line: Boise State by 7.5 points
Weather: High of 71, low of 44, humidity 57%, partly sunny, 5% chance of rain.