CSNbbs

Quote:Teams loaded with freshmen and sophomores typically struggle, and many thought Western Michigan would repeat its 1-11 season. Instead, the race to maturity paid off in a Potato Bowl bid.

"There is a lot of excitement," said true freshman linebacker Robert Spillane, the first commit in Western Michigan's class of 2014. "You can just tell that it's going to be a special group with all the young players that we have."

Quote:"I've always wanted to take a program, start completely over, and build it the way I wanted to build it," said Fleck, whose contract extension was announced Thursday in Boise. "… My whole life story is an underdog and I've always wanted to take an underdog program and make it something that it's never been."