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FACTS & STATS: Site: Waldo Stadium (30,200) -- Kalamazoo, Michigan. Television: ESPN Game Plan, ESPN3.com. Home Record: CMU 1-0, WMU 1-0. Away Record: CMU 0-1, WMU 0-1. Neutral Record: CMU 0-0, WMU 0-0. Conference Record: CMU 0-0, WMU 0-0. Series Record: Western Michigan leads, 43-37-2.

GAME NOTES: Mid-American Conference play will begin this Saturday as two instate rivals collide at Waldo Stadium when the Western Michigan Broncos host the Central Michigan Chippewas.

Central Michigan has dominated the Broncos over the past few seasons, winning five consecutive meetings. Despite the recent run by the Chippewas, Western Michigan still owns a 43-37-2 edge in the all-time series.

The Chippewas were the class of the Mid-American Conference for a better part of the past decade, but last year the team took a step back with a meager 2-6 ledger in conference action. That may have carried over into 2011, as CMU looks like it lacks consistency. The team opened the season at home against South Carolina State, posting a 21-6 victory. That was followed a 27-13 setback to Kentucky.

The Broncos put forth a better showing in league play a year ago when compared to CMU, tallying a 5-3 ledger. This year's squad opened the season with a 34-10 loss to Michigan on the road, but rebounded nicely with a 38-7 decision over Nicholls State this past weekend. After the Broncos take on Central Michigan, they will step back out of league action to battle Illinois and Connecticut on the road.

There is a youth movement at Central Michigan and that usually means there will be some growing pains throughout a season. So far, consistency has been an issue on offense, where the team is averaging just 17.0 ppg.

Coach Dan Enos was looking for Ryan Radcliff to learn from last year's mistakes, but so far the quarterback has been erratic and comes into this game with three touchdowns against four interceptions. Radcliff, who has completed just 52.5 percent of his passes on the year, tossed two of those picks in the loss to Kentucky.

A reason for Radcliff's struggles could be a ground game that has provided very little relief. Through two games the Chippewas are producing just 88.0 ypg on a weak 2.6 yards per attempt. Zurlon Tipton has been the best back in the stable, racking up 115 yards. However, Tipton is dealing with a foot issue and will likely not be on the field this Saturday, leaving the bulk of the work to Tim Phillips.

The CMU defense has played better, but this unit has also been vulnerable at times. Central Michigan found success against South Carolina State, but when pitted against a Kentucky team, the defense seemed overmatched at times.

The Chippewas did hold the Wildcats to just 114 yards passing, and in two games the defense has limited the opposition to just 96.0 ypg through the air.

CMU brought the pressure in the loss to Kentucky, racking up three sacks. John Williams corralled 1.5 sacks for CMU, but it was Mike Petrucci who led the way for the Chippewas with 12 tackles.

While the pass defense has been solid, the same cannot be said of the run defense. In the loss to Kentucky, the Chippewas were gashed for 230 yards and two touchdowns.

The Broncos looked much better offensively in their last game compared to their opener. However, that is to be expected when a team goes from playing Michigan to playing Nicholls State.

Western Michigan was limited to less than 300 total yards in the loss to the Wolverines, but this past weekend was a different story for coach Bill Cubit's squad.

In the win, the Broncos racked up 213 rushing yards and the majority of the damage was caused by Tevin Drake and Brian Fields. Drake led the way with 86 yards, while Fields helped out with 54 yards and found the end zone twice. Drake came into this season with a lot of promise and so far he is living up to the hype. He could be even more dangerous if the passing attack would kick into gear.

The lack of success from quarterback Alex Carder has to be puzzling for coach Cubit, especially after he finished last year with over 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns. Reaching those marks again might be unrealistic though. The signal caller threw for 143 yards and two touchdowns against Nicholls State, but he was also intercepted once.

Just like the offense, coach Cubit's defensive group was much better against Nicholls State. After allowing 34 points in only three quarters against Michigan, the Broncos limited Nicholls State to only seven points.

Having to figure out how to stop Michigan's Denard Robinson is a nightmare for any coach, so gameplanning for Nicholls State was probably much easier. The unit played much better at every level, beginning with the front line that put adequate pressure on the quarterback, leading to three sacks and two interceptions.

Coach Cubit has an issue with his defense in terms of stopping the run. Through three quarters against Michigan the Broncos were gashed for 190 yards, and then against Nicholls State the defense surrendered 125 more yards. Struggling against Michigan is understandable, but the effort against Nicholls State could point to a problem.

The weakness for the Broncos has been their inability to stop the run, but fortunately for them the Chippewas have struggled in that area. Western Michigan will only go as far as Carder will take the team and he will need to play better to get the win this weekend.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Western Michigan 26, Central Michigan 23