Our side
MoneylineWMU to win
ours 13%
Projected score
32–13
WMU – CMU
2026-10-17 · kickoff TBD
Kelly/Shorts Stadium · Mount Pleasant, MI
MAC game
Early season
The books
No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.
Series
Central Michigan lead
32–27–1
· 60 meetings since 1962
2025 unit ranks —
last completed season, from games actually played
Run game
even
23 ranks apart
Western Michigan Broncos #105 rush offense
Central Michigan Chippewas #82 run defense
Pass game
edge Central Michigan Chippewas
164 ranks
Western Michigan Broncos #235 pass offense
Central Michigan Chippewas #71 pass defense
Run game
edge Western Michigan Broncos
107 ranks
Central Michigan Chippewas #154 rush offense
Western Michigan Broncos #47 run defense
Pass game
even
39 ranks apart
Central Michigan Chippewas #12 pass offense
Western Michigan Broncos #51 pass defense
Western Michigan Broncos
Run-heavy · 69% run
Ball-control
Dual-threat QB · 72 rush ypg
Central Michigan Chippewas
Run-heavy · 68% run
Ball-control
Lance Taylor · 20-19 · defense-minded
Matt Drinkall · 7-6
Ranked by team-unit strength
(rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265
D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the
2025 season.
The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above
Who carried each team in 2025
Western Michigan Broncos
DL
Austin Alexander
6 tkl
#111 DL
K
Dieter Kelly
4 FG · 7 XP · 19 pts
#29 K
DB
Joey Pope
9 tkl · 3 PD
#232 DB
LB
Domanick Moon
13 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 1.5 TFL
#166 LB
Central Michigan Chippewas
DB
Darrell Bryant Jr.
13 tkl · 1 PD · 1 INT
#158 DB
DL
Hunter Zirkle
5 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 1.0 TFL
#183 DL
DL
Korver Demma
7 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 1.5 TFL
#219 DL
LB
Mayson Hitchens
15 tkl
#178 LB
Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their
position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no
2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for
these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.
Power breakdown
Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).
Where the number comes from
Western Michigan offense vs Central Michigan defense-1.7 pts
Central Michigan offense vs Western Michigan defense-22.0 pts
An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have
played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.