Jason Candle, one of the league’s longest-tenured coaches, will coach against the third Western Michigan head coach of his tenure on Saturday afternoon, as Lance Taylor will take the opposite sideline. In his first full season Candle coached against PJ Fleck’s 2016 Bronco squad, then outlasted the Tim Lester Era, and now faces Taylor in his first season in Kalamazoo. Overall, Candle and the Rockets are 4-3 against the Broncos and are heavy favorites at home to open conference play.
Western Michigan is reviewing the film of a beatdown at Iowa last week. A game that was 14-10 in Iowa’s favor got away from the Broncos in the third and fourth quarters.