The Western Michigan Broncos are staring down a pretty large ten-point disadvantage in the spread for Saturday's matchup. They will look to defend their home turf on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Panthers at 7:30 p.m. ET. If the contest is anything like the Broncos' 44-41 win from their previous meeting in September of last year, the scorekeeper will be kept real busy.
WMU was able to grind out a solid victory over the Ball State Cardinals last week, winning 37-30. WMU's RB La'Darius Jefferson looked sharp as he punched in three rushing touchdowns. Jefferson's performance made up for a slower game against the Michigan State Spartans two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Pitt fought the good fight in their overtime game against the Tennessee Volunteers last week but wound up with a less-than-desirable result, falling 34-27. A silver lining for Pitt was the play of RB Israel Abanikanda, who rushed for one TD and 154 yards on 25 carries. That touchdown -- a 76-yard rush in the first quarter -- was one of the highlights of the contest.
Western Michigan's victory lifted them to 1-1 while Pittsburgh's defeat dropped them down to 1-1. We'll see if WMU's success rolls on or if the Panthers are able to steal their positive momentum.