30 Games in 30 Days: #19 Western Michigan at Michigan State

Western Michigan	@ Michigan State

When: November 7th
Where: East Lansing Michigan

All Time Series: Michigan State 5-0

Date	WMU	State
August 30, 2003	21	26
September 6, 1997	10	42
September 27, 1986	10	45
September 28, 1985	3	7
September 27, 1980	7	33

It was hard to pick between the game opener at Michigan or this game, one one hand I expect the Bronco's to beat the wolverines and a week one win over a Big-10 teams would be a nice kick off to the season but on the other hand a win over Michigan State could be the marque moment for the 2009 Bronco's.

This is a low risk high reward game for Western Michigan, by this point WMU has the potential to be 7-1 or 6-2, a win over Michigan State could start netting votes in some of the top 25 polls. A loss, on the other hand, does not hurt their chances at the MAC or at an at large should they not win the division. WMU has a recent habit of beating big ten teams late in the year Iowa (2007) and Illinois (2008) were both kept out of Bowl contention by a late season defeat.

In short, while right now the game against MU looks more important (because its winnable) if the season plays out even close to how they should for the Bronco's a win here will be the one fans are talking about during the off season. Of course if the Broncos should falter early in the season this game could be the most meaningless of the year.

Western Michigan has never beaten the Spartans losing by an average of twenty points and beating them will be a tall order for Western Michigan. While the Spartans personnel losses include key personnel (Javon Ringer) they are few in number. Ringer was the Spartan offense last season but on the ground Michigan State still only managed 130 yards a game, with improved depth this year the Spartans don't expect the running game to fall off. The defensive strength of the Spartans is at linebacker so losses on the defensive line are not going to diminish that units performance.

So far I have not found any mention of TV coverage, MAC crossover games this late in the season are not going to get seeding over the big name conference match ups. The two schools are a little over two hours apart so it should be easy for Bronco's fans to make the trip for this game.

#30 Temple at Navy

#29 Morgan State at Akron

#28 Miami at Kent

#27 Toledo at Ball State

#26 Army at Eastern Michigan

#25 Ohio at Buffalo

#24 Ball State at WMU

#23 Eastern Michigan at Michigan

#22 Bowling Green at Miami

#21 NIU at CMU

#20 Akron at Buffalo