THE GAME ? Western Michigan will face a ranked opponent for the 20th time in program history when the Broncos take on Ball State at Scheumann Stadium at 7 p.m., on Tuesday, Nov. 25. It will be the 35th meeting between teams and the 17th at the Cardinals' home stadium.
WMU is still in contention for its first MAC West crown since 2000 but needs a win and help from Eastern Michigan against Central Michigan to earn a berth in the 2008 MAC Championship game. A win over the Cardinals and a CMU win on Nov. 28 gives the Broncos a share of the division title.
TELEVISION ? Tuesday night's game will be televised nationwide on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD. Todd Harris (play-by-play) and Ray Bentley (analysis) will have the call of the game. ESPN2 is located on channel 34 on Charter Cable in Kalamazoo, while ESPN2 HD is on channel 772.
RADIO ? This and all Western Michigan football games will be broadcast live on the Bronco Radio Network and its new flagship station, WZUU - 92.5 FM. Robin Hook (play-by-play), calling WMU football games in his 25th season, and Monty Porter (analysis) will have the call as they have together for the past 10 seasons. Coach Cubit will be LIVE on the Flagship station of the Bronco Radio Network (WZUU - 92.5 FM) this Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. on the “Press Box “ Show with Bob Brink.
WEB SITE ? WMU home football games (not televised by the ESPN family of networks) can be seen live via the official athletics web site (www.wmubroncos.com) by subscribing to Bronco Insider, which can be found on the home page of the site. You are able to listen to each Bronco football game on the Internet by signing up with Yahoo Sports through the link at the bottom of the home page. Live Stats are available for FREE for all Bronco home games by clicking the link atop the home football page.
SERIES IN BRIEF ? The Broncos lead the all-time series against Ball State, 19-15-0, but trail at Schuemann Stadium, 7-9-0. Home field has not been to either team's advantage during the last three meetings as the Cardinals defeated WMU in 2005 (in the longest game in MAC history - five overtimes) and again last season. The Broncos defeated BSU in Muncie, 41-27, in 2006.
THE COACHES ? Bill Cubit (Delaware, 1975) begins his fourth season as the head coach of Western Michigan. He is 29-18 overall (.617), 16-5 at Waldo Stadium (.762), at Western Michigan and led the Broncos to their first bowl game since 1988 following the 2006 season. Cubit has led WMU to road wins over BCS conference teams such as Virginia and Iowa during his tenure and is coming off a win over Illinois at Ford Field. His teams have outscored those opponents, 68-46.
Brady Hoke (Ball State, 1982) is in his sixth season at the helm of the Ball State football program and has a 33-37 record heading into the regular season finale. Hoke took BSU to the International Bowl at the end of the 2007 season and has led the Cardinals to their first-ever 11-0 start. BSU is one of three non-BCS teams left undefeated and one of five in all of Division I-FBS football.
UP NEXT ? This game will determine if WMU needs to pay very close attention to the EMU vs. CMU game on Nov. 28. The Broncos still have a shot at the MAC Championship Game and will wait to here their bowl fate at the conclusion of the season.
