The Davis Rankings

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T-77 Western Michigan

Mid-AmericanFollow Western Michigan@WMU_Football@wmu_footballFollow the Mid-American@MACSports

3-1 in Mid-American play, T-2nd in the Mid-American

Down 49 spots (#28 to T-77) after a road loss at #36 Toledo (38-45) in a one-score game. A coin flip: Western Michigan entered with 70.6 TDR points to Toledo's 69.7. Now 5-3, snapped a 3-game winning streak. TDR score -21.1: win/loss record -4.9, road-win bonus -0.8.

No awards yet this season. A sticker lands on the helmet each time this team earns one.

2026 season recap (through week 8)

Western Michigan (Mid-American) is ranked T-77, tied with Colorado State in The Davis Rankings after week 8 of 2026, with a record of 5-3 and a score of 49.5 out of 100. That is down 49 from week 7. That puts it in the Do We Need to Talk? tier (ranks 76-100). Its strongest factor is road-win bonus (66.7 out of 100). Its weakest is recent results (0.0 out of 100).

The highest-ranked opponent beaten so far came in week 5, 20-17 over #52 Buffalo on the road. The defeat that hurts the score most is the week 1 loss, 13-12 to T-81 Michigan on the road.

On the road it is 3-2. The average margin is +6.2 points per game, with a biggest win of 35 points. 5 of 8 games were decided by a touchdown or less.

Western Michigan is not ranked in the AP, Coaches, or CFP polls this week, while the Davis Rankings has it 77th.

Next up is #137 Bowling Green in week 9, at home. The toughest game left on the schedule by current rank is week 13 against #44 Miami (OH). 0 of the 4 games left are against teams currently in the top 25.

Schedule

WeekOpponentResult
1Michigan (away)L 12-13
2Monmouth (home)W 49-14
3Rice (away)W 28-21
4Boise State (home)L 7-32
5Buffalo (away, conference game)W 20-17
6Kent State (home, conference game)W 38-7
7Central Michigan (away, conference game)W 21-14
8Toledo (away, conference game)L 38-45

Upcoming games

WeekOpponentDate
9Bowling Green (home, conference game) (CBSSN)
11Akron (away, conference game)
12Eastern Michigan (home, conference game)
13Miami (OH) (home, conference game)Tue Nov 24, time TBD

Ranking history 2026

Now #77, Do We Need to Talk? (week 8). Best #28 (week 7). Lowest #98 (week 4). Higher on the chart is a better rank. The shaded bands are rank tiers, with each tier's sticker at its left.

Week 8 TDR #77 (49.5, 5-3) Do We Need to Talk?

Feeling Good (ranks 26-50)Character Building (ranks 51-75)Do We Need to Talk? (ranks 76-100)#25#50#75#10012345678WkDo We Need to Talk? (ranks 76-100)#77
Week by week
WeekTDRScoreRecordTier
1#9611.00-1-
2#6950.51-1-
3#4566.72-1Feeling Good
4#9838.92-2Do We Need to Talk?
5#5362.03-2Character Building
6#3866.84-2Feeling Good
7#2870.65-2Feeling Good
8#7749.55-3Do We Need to Talk?

Score breakdown

Each factor is scored 0–100, then weighted into the composite score. Full methodology & weights

FactorScore (0-100)
win/loss record62.5
recent results0.0
road-win bonus66.7
opponent record at game time53.6
opponent record today54.8

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