For most of the day, it was truly a Black Friday for potential Group of Five teams across the country.
No. 19 Boise State was upset by Air Force while No. 20 Houston was more consumed with Tom Herman coaching speculation than with beating Memphis.
No. 21 Western Michigan paid no attention to those losses however and made a convincing case they were the best Group of Five team in the country by dispatching Toledo 55-35 and securing the MAC West title in record-setting fashion.
Wide receiver Corey Davis finished with eight catches for 81 yards and a touchdown to set a new FBS mark for career receiving yardage in the process. The mark was previously held by Nevada’s Trevor Insley at 5,005 yards but Davis will have plenty of time to put more distance between second place with the MAC title game and a bowl still left on Western Michigan’s schedule.
Broncos quarterback Zach Terrell had an ever efficient night, throwing for 196 yards and three touchdowns. As solid as he was however, he took a backseat to the rest of his backfield as Jamauri Bogan rushed for 198 yards and a touchdown while Jarvion Franklin had a relatively quiet night but did find the end zone twice.
Toledo’s normally potent offense was limited most of the night despite finishing with decent numbers by the final whistle. Signal-caller Logan Woodside had three touchdown passes and two picks on just 229 yards while terrific tailback Kareem Hunt rushed for 200 yards and found the end zone once.
The result concludes a terrific 9-3 debut season for first-year Rockets coach Jason Candle, even if the team couldn’t overcome their division rival on Friday. As for his opposite number P.J. Fleck, all eyes are on Western Michigan as they head into the MAC title game undefeated next week against Ohio.
With losses around the country, only No. 25 Navy represents a challenge to the Broncos for capturing that elusive Group of Five bid and a trip to the Cotton Bowl. Both need to win their conferences to actually end up with the bid but judging by the way the Broncos looked on Friday night, chances are high they’ll be sitting there undefeated entering the final set of rankings.