Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2020 Notre Dame Football Preview
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124 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY PATRICK ENGEL P .J. Fleck isn't rowing the boat in Kalama- zoo anymore, but his erstwhile program is still navigating the Mid-American Confer- ence waters without too much trouble. Western Michigan's three seasons under Fleck's successor, Tim Lester, have pro- duced three .500-or-better records and two bowl games. Last year, the Broncos went 7-6 and reached the First Responder Bowl, where they lost to Western Kentucky. Through one lens, it was another stable year for a program that seems to have recov- ered from a two-year dip in 2012-13 when it went 5-19. In another view, though, last season was a bit of a disappointment. WMU had a three-year starting quarter- back, Jon Wassink. The Broncos had the MAC Offensive Player of the Year in running back LeVante Bellamy and MAC Defensive Player of the Year in edge defender Treshaun Hay- ward. They had five first-team all-league play- ers and 11 all-conference picks. They returned the most production of any team in the country from 2018, per Bill Connelly's SP+ metric. There was depth and skill. A 7-5 finish in a year the MAC lacked an elite team and a second straight bowl loss seem to tally less than the sum of the parts. Now, WMU is tasked with replacing Wassink and Bellamy. The latter led the country with 23 rushing touchdowns. "Bellamy was pretty much a home run threat any time he touched the ball," said Patrick Nothaft, beat writer for The Kalama- zoo Gazette. There are legitimate replacements waiting, though. Sean Tyler was Bellamy's backup as a true freshman and is poised to inherit the role after running for 390 yards and five touchdowns in 2019. "He could be in for the biggest breakout season of any player," Nothaft said. "It's a matter of how he adjusts to a feature back role instead of being a guy who comes in when the starter is winded." Redshirt sophomore Kaleb Eleby will re- place Wassink, and he owns some experience after starting five games in 2018. He came to WMU as a decorated recruit who held Power Five offers from Illinois and Iowa State. While he will need to prove he can match Wassink's steadiness, he has upside to take the Broncos' passing offense to a level above where his steady-but-unflashy predecessor had it. "Eleby has a way stronger arm. That was pretty apparent," Nothaft said. "You could tell the ball just flew different out of his hand. They think he's going to be a special guy, and I don't think it's all hype." Six of the 11 defensive starters are back, led by Hayward, a senior, and classmate defensive end Ali Fayad. The commonly floated idea of a confer- ence-only season is a scary one for the MAC because its members rely on guarantees for revenue. Western Michigan will earn $1.175 million for playing Notre Dame. It becomes an even more important source of revenue after athletics director Kathy Beauregard said the athletic budget is being reduced by 20 percent. "Getting this payday is going to be criti- cal," Nothaft said. ✦ WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS GAME 3 • SEPT. 19 • NOTRE DAME STADIUM X-FACTOR: Skyy Moore was Western Michigan's leading receiver as a true freshman and had three 100-yard receiving games. PHOTO COURTESY WESTERN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS 2020 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2019 Result Sept. 4 Colgate — Sept. 11 at Cincinnati — Sept. 19 at Notre Dame — Sept. 26 Syracuse L, 52-33 Oct. 3 at Ball State W, 35-31 Oct. 10 Toledo L, 31-24 Oct. 17 vs. Central Michigan* W, 31-15 Oct. 24 at Kent State — Oct. 31 Eastern Michigan L, 34-27 Nov. 10 Northern Illinois L, 17-14 Nov. 21 at Akron — Nov. 27 Buffalo — * at Ford Field in Detroit QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Notre Dame leads 3-0 Last Meeting: Notre Dame 44, Western Michigan 20 (Oct. 16, 2010 in South Bend) Head Coach: Tim Lester, 20-18 at Western Michi- gan and overall (4th season) 2019 Record: 7-6 overall, 5-3 MAC West (2nd) Returning Starters: 12 (6 offense, 6 defense) Prediction: Notre Dame 51, Western Michigan 9 RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: RB Sean Tyler (390 yards, 5 TD) Passing: QB Griffin Alstott (31 yards, 1 TD) Receiving: WR Skyy Moore (802 yards, 3 TD) Tackles: LB Treshaun Hayward (142, 10.5 TFL) Sacks: DE Ali Fayad (6.5, 15.0 TFL) Passes Broken Up: CB Patrick Lupro (7, 3 INT) Reasons For Optimism • Upside at quarterback • Returners on defense • Offensive line continuity Quarterback Kaleb Eleby was given a 5.7 grade by Rivals (equating to a "high" three star) and is one of Lester's biggest recruiting wins. He now has the restraints off and a chance to show why. He will be protected by a line that returns four starters and could be comprised of five seniors. Reasons For Concern • Missing RB LeVante Bellamy • Underachieved in 2019 • Difficult schedule Western Michigan's 11 Football Bowl Subdivi- sion opponents went 72-68 last year and were 72-56 when taking out 0-12 Akron. The Broncos play at Notre Dame, at Cincinnati and host Syra- cuse in their non-conference schedule. They'll be underdogs in all three of those games.