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KALAMAZOO -- Tim Hiller threw for 347 yards and four touchdowns and Brandon West accounted for three total touchdowns and rushed for 107 yards as Western Michigan defeated Ohio, 41-20, on Homecoming for the program's 500th victory in front of 20,133 at Waldo Stadium.

Hiller finished with 24 completions in 34 attempts and also added a career-high 51 rushing yards on the afternoon. Senior wide receiver Jamarko Simmons led the Broncos (5-1, 3-0 MAC) with eight completions for 87 yards and one score, while sophomore wide receiver Juan Nunez added six catches for a season-high 81 yards. Besides his rushing, West added four receptions for a season-high 72 yards and career-high two scores.

The defense was led by Austin Pritchard, Louis Delmas and Mario Armstrong with eight tackles each. The Broncos were in the backfield all day with 5.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss. Cody Cielenski led the way with 2.5 sacks and Justin Braska added 1.5 tackles for loss.

Ohio (1-5, 0-2 MAC) won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. The Bobcats marched to the WMU 37-yard line, but the drive was thwarted by sophomore linebacker Harrison Porter's first career interception that was returned 31 yards to the Ohio 37. A 15-yard penalty on Ohio during the return set the Broncos up at the Ohio 22 for their opening offensive possession.

The Broncos got a six-yard completion by Simmons to open the drive, but then two incompletions set freshman John Potter up for a career-long 34-yard field goal and the early lead, 3-0, with 9:51 remaining in the opening quarter.

Donte Harden ran 42 yards on Ohio's first second possession play to reach the WMU 27. The Broncos stepped up and held Harden to no gain and two yards on the next two carries and then Pritchard sacked Boo Jackson on third down to force a 43-yard field goal that Barrett Way missed wide left with seven minutes remaining.

The Broncos drove to the Ohio 22 after a 23-yard completion to Branden Ledbetter that moved him into third all-time at WMU in receiving yards by a tight end. On the next play, however, Hiller made an errant toss on an option play to the left and Ohio recovered to take over at their 21.

Penalties on the first two plays from scrimmage pushed Ohio back to their 11-yard line for a first and 20. The Broncos forced an incompletion on first down and then on second down pressure up the middle by Cielenski forced Jackson to turn into defensive end Zach Davidson for a safety with 2:50 remaining in the quarter and a 5-0 Bronco advantage.

After stalled drives by both teams, the Broncos took over at their 16 with 13:22 remaining in the first half. Hiller completed third down passes of 13 and 35 yards to Nunez to keep the possible scoring drive alive, but Potter missed a 39-yard field goal wide left to keep the score at 5-0 with 10:13 remaining in the second quarter.

Ohio drove to midfield on the ensuing possession, but back-to-back sacks by Cielenski and Justin Braska on second and third down forced the Bobcats to punt. The Broncos set up shop at their 20 with 4:50 to go in the quarter.

The Broncos opened the drive with a 13-yard completion by Simmons, but Ohio defensive end Jameson Hartke jumped up and intercepted Hiller at the line of scrimmage on the next play and returned it to the WMU three-yard line. WMU stopped Ohio on the first two plays, but Jackson found tight end Andrew Mooney in the left corner for a four-yard score with 2:39 remaining to give Ohio the lead, 7-5.

A three-and-out by the Broncos on the next possession set up a 14-yard punt by Ben Armer, but an offsides penalty on the Bobcats gave the Broncos a first down. Hiller took over from there and drove the Broncos down the field. He completed passes of 14 yards to Simmons and 25 yards to Nunez and then looked for Schneider Julien. The Bobcats committed pass interference to set up the Broncos at the 18-yard line. Hiller threw an incompletion on the first down play under heavy pressure by the Bobcats, but the play was inexplicably ruled a fumble for a 15-yard loss. The play was challenged and overturned to an incompletion and the Broncos capitalized on the next play. Hiller connected with West for a screen to the left and West got behind three offensive linemen to go 18 yards for a touchdown. A missed extra point gave WMU a four-point lead, 11-7, going into the locker room.

Both teams punted on their first second half possessions, but then Julien breathed new life into the Bronco offense on their second drive. His 34-yard catch-and-run, featuring multiple jukes, spins and missed Ohio tackles, brought WMU to the Ohio 46-yard line. Julien then had a key block on third-and-nine to help Simmons earn an extra 10 yards on his 21-yard reception to the Ohio 24. The drive stalled from there and then Potter converted on a new career-long 39-yard field goal with 4:03 remaining and untraditionally it was 14-7 Broncos on the scoreboard.

The ensuing kickoff saw freshman Josh Price force a fumble and senior E.J. Biggers recovered to give WMU the ball back on the Ohio 27. On third-and seven, Hiller scrambled for a first down to put the ball in the red zone at the Ohio 16. Hiller used his arm on the next play as he found Simmons in the right corner of the endzone on the corner route for a touchdown. The four-play, 27-yard drive put the Broncos up 14, 21-7, with 2:36 to go in the third.

On the Broncos' first possession of the fourth quarter, Hiller converted a third-and-two with a career-long 39-yard run. Two plays later, Hiller found West in the right flat on the screen. Sophomore right guard Nick Clemens blocked the nearest Bobcat defender and West raced up the right sideline for his second touchdown reception of the day, a new career high. The 92-yard scoring drive in only five plays took just 2:05 off the clock to give WMU a three-touchdown advantage, 27-7, with 12:44 to play.

On Ohio's next drive, senior safety C.J. Wilson intercepted Jackson, but then fumbled the ball to give Ohio new life at the Western Michigan 20. The Bobcats drove the ball inside the five-yard line, but the Broncos got three consecutive stops to force fourth down. Ohio went for it and Jackson found tight end David Carter for the two-yard touchdown. The Broncos regained momentum seconds later as Biggers blocked his first career kick on the extra point to make it 27-13 WMU with 7:01 to play.

The Broncos responded on their next drive as Hiller led the Broncos on a five-play drive that culminated in a career-long 32-yard touchdown reception by junior tight end Matt Stevens that pushed the lead back to three touchdowns, 34-13, with 4:39 left in the contest.

The Bobcats wouldn't go away as Jackson connected with Harden for a screen pass touchdown for 41 yards up the Bronco sideline with 3:48 to play, 34-20.

Biggers recovered the ensuing onside kick by the Bobcats and three plays later, West raced up the middle for a 26-yard touchdown run, his third touchdown of the day, to give WMU a 41-20 lead with 2:25 remaining.

The Broncos racked up 503 yards of total oofense with 156 yards on the ground and 347 through the air, while holding Ohio to 356 yards of total offense and three turnovers.

Western Michigan goes back on the road next weekend to play at Buffalo for the first time since 2002. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in a game that will be televised on Time Warner Cable.