Good luck stopping Western Michigan’s rushing attack.
The Broncos have a luxury that a lot of teams don’t have in today’s era of college football — three running backs who have the potential to be a starter.
Junior Jaden Nixon, sophomore Jalen Buckley, and senior Zahir Abdus-Salaam each tallied 100-plus carries this season and each eclipsed 500 yards. The threat of all three kept defenses off-balance and helped WMU rank first in the MAC in scoring offense (29.4 points per game).
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WMU had four different players lead the team in rushing during a game this season. Nixon was the leading rusher in six of those games, Buckley paced the team in four of them, and Abdus-Salem was the leader in one game.
Nixon transferred to WMU from Oklahoma State, and that addition ended up being invaluable because of an injury to Buckley, who rushed for 1,003 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023 when he was voted the MAC Freshman of the Year. Buckley missed three games with an injury early this season, and Nixon filled in nicely, rushing for 354 yards and three touchdowns in those contests.
This year’s version of the balanced WMU rushing attack was much different than last year’s when a majority of the carries were given to Buckley.
There have been no announcements from any of the two returning backs (Nixon and Buckley) about entering the transfer portal, and each of them are anticipated to play in Saturday’s Salute to Veterans Bowl against South Alabama. College football betting odds have South Alabama as a 7.5-point favorite.
Of course, much of the success and the production in the run game can be attributed to WMU’s great offensive line. The Broncos had two first-team All-MAC selections in guard Jacob Gideon and center Addison West. The duo was also tabbed HERO Sports All-Americans.
There have not been any announcements made about any of the linemen opting out of the bowl game. Gideon and West are also likely on the radar of plenty of NFL scouts.
The Broncos will be going up against what has been one of the better run defenses in the Sun Belt this season. South Alabama finished the regular season allowing an average of 144.6 rushing yards per contest, which is second-best in the league.
Given the quality of rush defenses the Broncos have gone up against in the MAC, however, I like them to continue to find success on the ground in this game. The 144.6 rushing YPG allowed by the Jaguars would rank fifth in the MAC, and the Broncos have played two of the top five rushing defenses in the league.
We saw WMU face a Sun Belt school already this season when it visited Marshall in Week 5. The Broncos held a fourth quarter lead, but the Thundering Herd prevailed for the 27-20 victory following a fourth quarter touchdown and a turnover on downs by the Broncos on their final possession of the game. WMU rushed for 243 yards in that contest, including 146 yards and a touchdown from Nixon.
I think the ground game will be the key for the Broncos in this bowl game and could be the key for them heading into next season with Buckley and Nixon set to return right now.
