Western Michigan takes on BYU in this year’s Potato Bowl.
The college football bowl season is now in full swing. This Friday the Western Michigan Broncos face the BYU Cougars in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. This matchup pits a Bronco team looking for their first bowl win since 2015 against a Cougar team looking to finish a bounce-back season strong.
After finishing last year 6-6 and left on the outside looking in despite being bowl eligible, Western Michigan and second-year head coach Tim Lester were looking for a redemption year. After losing their first two games to Syracuse and Michigan, the Broncos won their next six, reaching bowl eligibility. However, the last quarter of the season was a difficult stretch. The team lost three of their last four to finish 7-5.
One reason for Western Michigan’s late struggles is an injury to quarterback Jon Wassink. The junior went down against Toledo and has missed the last three games. He may also possibly miss this game. Freshman Kaleb Eleby has stepped in but has struggled, only throwing four touchdowns to two interceptions.
Fortunately, Eleby has a solid running game to rely on led by junior running back LeVante Bellamy. Bellamy has rushed for 1,172 yards on 190 carries with six touchdowns. Eleby and the Broncos’ most reliable target all season has been receiver Jayden Reed who has 797 yards on 56 catches with eight touchdowns.
BYU won just four games last year in Kalani Sitake’s second season. This year the Cougars have bounced back. Things did not look promising early on as BYU sat at 4-5 after nine games. However, the team rallied to beat New Mexico State and UMass to clinch bowl eligibility before losing to Utah in the finale.
Tanner Mangum started the season at quarterback, but was ultimately benched in favor of freshman Zach Wilson. Wilson won three games as a starter and has thrown for 1,261 this year with eight touchdowns to three interceptions. He also has two rushing touchdowns.
Running backs Lopini Katoa and Squally Canada have shared the load this season. Both combine for 835 yards and 13 touchdowns, providing the Cougars with a solid backfield duo. Matt Bushman and Talon Shumway are the best weapons in the passing game. Shumway leads the team in receiving touchdowns with three while Bushman has the most yards with 459.
This year’s Potato Bowl will be nationally televised on ESPN and can be streamed on Watch ESPN.
How to watch and bet Western Michigan-BYU
Date: Friday, Dec. 21
Start time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Boise, ID
Stadium: Albertson’s Stadium
Spread: BYU -12.5
TV info: ESPN
Stream: Watch ESPN
Prediction: BYU wins but does not cover the spread.