They were led by first-year head coach Tim Lester and played their home games at Waldo Stadium as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.

[6] Western Michigan was picked to finish second in the MAC West Division by members of the league's media.

The only bright spot for the Broncos was Phillips who forced a fumble and returned it 67 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter to cut the Spartans lead to 14–7.

The Broncos trailed 14–6 at the half and 28–19 as the third quarter ended as they looked like they were headed for their third consecutive defeat to open the season.

However, John Wassink ran for two scores in the fourth quarter and the Broncos added a field goal to pull out the win 37–28.

In the third OT, Buffalo turned the ball over with a fumble, but WMU missed a 29 yard field goal that would have won the game.

In the seventh and final OT, Buffalo had to settled for a field goal and WMU won the game with a Jarvion Franklin 12 yard touchdown run.

In a game that was postponed a day due to heavy flooding in Waldo Stadium, WMU lost to Akron 14–13.

WMU had the ball with 45 seconds left in the game and drove to the Akron 39 yard line, but could not attempt a 56-yard field goal before time expired.

[21] The game was originally scheduled to be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network (CBSSN), but due to the postponement, was not televised.

However, the Eagles tied it up early in the fourth quarter and moved in to field goal range as the clock was running out.

In overtime, WMU was forced to settle for a field goal and the Bronco defense prevented the Eagles from scoring a touchdown.

Jarvion Franklin's second touchdown of the game gave the WMU a 28–14 lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.

However, the Chippewas roared back, scoring touchdowns on three of their next four possessions to pull out the 35–28 win and earn the Cannon Trophy.

[23] As Western Michigan returned home to take on Kent State, the Bronco defense took control of the game.

Jarvion Franklin rushed for 191 yards including a 72-yard touchdown run to give the Broncos the lead for good as the first quarter ended.

[25][26] In the final regular season game, the Broncos traveled to Toledo as the Rockets looked to clinch a trip to the MAC Championship.

A Tyron Arnett 26-yard touchdown pass from Reece Goddard narrowed the lead to 24–10 with four minutes left in the third, but the Broncos could not score again as Toledo clinched the MAC West division with a 37–10 win.