The Broncos have already taken one real punch. Boise State came to Kalamazoo and won 32-7, and that is the only loss in Western's last 5. Since then they've won close and won big. A 20-17 grind at Buffalo was followed by the Kent State blowout. Neither team is ranked, and neither needs to be for this one to matter in the MAC race.
Monmouth49-14
Both teams have availability questions. Western Michigan has been without kicker P. Domschke, who is out with an undisclosed injury and has no timetable. Dieter Kelly made a 31-yarder against Kent State, so the Broncos have someone kicking. In Central's case, tight end J. Allen is out and fullback R. VanWetzinga IV is listed questionable with a knee injury. Losing both would thin out the blocking up front for a team that hasn't scored much in its losses.
Weather could matter too. The early forecast for Mount Pleasant is 42 degrees, cloudy, with wind around 16 mph. It's a week out and will change, but cold air and that kind of wind hurt the deep ball Western used to open the Kent State game, and they make every Broncos kick a bigger question. Central gets a home crowd and a team that's tough to beat in its own building. Western gets the hotter offense. It probably comes down to whether the Chippewas who scored 41 on Akron show up, or the ones who managed 14 at Ohio.