WMU at Kent State Game Stats
WMU at Kent State Post-Game Notes
WMU at Kent State Post-Game Quotes
KENT, Ohio - Despite forcing three turnovers, Western Michigan football could not overcome career days by Kent State's quarterback and top receiver, falling to Kent State, 26-14. The loss was the first against the Golden Flashes since 1988 and the first against a team from the Mid-American Conference East Division since Oct. 6, 2007.
The seventh second-half comeback under head coach Bill Cubit fell short at Dix Stadium as Western Michigan managed 14 points against a Kent State defense that had four sacks to bring its league-leading total to 30. The Broncos two touchdowns were the direct result of a pair of interceptions courtesy of WMU's defense.
On its second drive of the game, KSU advanced to the Broncos' 13-yard line before Mitch Zajac corralled the first interception of his career after the pass deflected off the intended receiver. Zajac's 26-yard return set up Hiller and company on WMU's 31-yard line.
The Broncos moved the ball 69 yards in 11 plays for their 10th scoring drive of 10 or more plays. Tim Hiller, who finished with 255 yards and two more passing TDs, found Ansel Ponder just inside the goal line for the 92nd passing TD of his career and the third for Ponder in the last two games. The score against this KSU defense was the first in nine quarters as the Golden Flashes had not allowed an offensive score since the Bowling Green loss on Oct. 10.
Hiller ended the first half with 119 yards and the scoring strike on 15-for-24 (62.5 percent) passing. Trey Smith had matched his career high with four catches for 41 yards and Brandon West had 22 yards on the ground. The total was good enough to propel him into third place on WMU's career rushing list past Shawn Faulkner (1980-83). Only Jerome Persell (4,190) and Robert Sanford (4,219) lie ahead of the Brunswick, Ga., native.
Damond Smith registered his first career interception on a jumped route in the fourth quarter. Hiller used just 1:38 off the game clock to march 29 yards, finding Robert Arnheim (his 93rd career passing TD) in the back of the end zone with a bullet to bring the Broncos within a score, 14-20 with 8:31 left in regulation. It was the first receiving TD since Sept. 12 at Indiana and third of his career. He led all Bronco receivers with seven grabs for 78 yards.
Kent State almost as quickly, scoring the game's final touchdown on a seven-play, 72-yard drive to go ahead, 26-14 with just over five minutes remaining. WMU tried to continue the comeback, driving to Kent State's 33-yard line but a bobbled reception ended up in the hands of the Flashes' Luke Batton and KSU sealed the game with a nine-play drive that burned out the rest of the time on the clock.
After winning and deferring the opening coin toss, as the Broncos have done four times already this year, Kent State moved the ball 73 yards on 14 plays to open the game's scoring with a 24-yard Freddie Cortez. A stalled Western Michigan drive gave the Flashes the ball back deep in their own territory but a 44-yard completion from Spencer Keith to Jameson Konz on third down moved the ball into Bronco territory.
The Golden Flashes scored on three of its five first half drives (KSU downed the ball to end the half on its fifth drive), scoring a second field goal off the foot of Cortez with 8:17 remaining in the second quarter and Keith hit Tyshon Goode from 35-yards out for KSU's lone TD of the first half. Goode finished the half with a career best 141 yards receiving and finished the game with 198 yards on 11 catches. Keith also had a career high with 373 yards on 24-of-34 passing.
Despite being out-gained 287-137, Western Michigan trailed by only six points heading into the break. The first half came to an end with neither team incurring a penalty and lasted just one hour, nine minutes.
Justin Braska filled up the defensive stat sheet with six tackles (five solo), 2.5 tackles for loss and the Broncos' lone sack of the game. He also had a pass break up, batting the ball down at the line of scrimmage and had a QB hurry. Vernon Stewart had his second forced fumble of the year and first career fumble recovery, all on the same play.
Western Michigan closes out its non-conference slate with Michigan State in East Lansing, on Nov. 7. The Broncos, who are 2-0 against Big Ten teams in the month of November under Cubit, will kick it off at 12 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
