KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan football team rolled up over 600 yards of offense and 45 points, as the Broncos defeated the Ball State Cardinals, 45-35, at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo on Saturday. With the win, the Broncos improve to 5-4 overall, 3-2 in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play.
The two teams combined for 1,165 total offensive yards, a new Western Michigan record, which ranks fifth all-time in MAC history. WMU's former combined total offensive yards record came against Eastern Michigan in 1998 (1,160).
Senior receiver Jordan White recorded nine receptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns, becoming Western Michigan football's career leader in receptions with 261 catches. The clinching catch came on the Broncos' final drive of the game, which culminated in a 40-yard field goal from John Potter with 1:55 remaining. That kick made it 45-35 and gave the Broncos the necessary breathing room to hold off the Cardinals.
In addition to White's numbers, Chleb Ravenell had nine catches for 157 yards, and Robert Arnheim finished with eight catches for 104 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Alex Carder finished 29-of-41 for 404 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. It is the third 400-yard passing game of Carder's career.
Potter's kick in the waning minutes made it a two-score game, but the win wasn't assured until the final seconds. Ball State drove down the field in a hurry-up offense and had 1st-and-goal from the WMU four-yard line. Ball State was whistled for a personal foul, pushing the Cardinals back to the 19-yard line. On 4th-and-Goal from the WMU five-yard line, Cardinals quarterback Kyle Wenning was stopped short of the goal line by Drew Nowak with 32 seconds remaining to preserve the victory.
The Broncos posted what would end up being the winning touchdown with 6:44 remaining in the third quarter. Leading the Cardinals 35-28, the Broncos went to work offensively on their second drive of the half, with Carder carving out big chunks of yardage through the air to Arnheim and Eric Monette.
Carder would eventually connect with Monette on a crossing route to the BSU four-yard line, and one play later Carder would score on a four-yard quarterback draw to give the Broncos a 42-28 lead. Wenning would throw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jack Tomlinson with 5:50 remaining in the fourth quarter to cut the WMU lead to 42-35 before Potter added the insurance field goal.
The first half featured offensive fireworks from both teams, with the Broncos and Cardinals combining for 49 points in the second quarter alone. Of the seven touchdown drives in the quarter, only one took longer than three minutes, and three took less than one minute. By halftime the teams had combined for 687 total yards of offense, including 389 yards for the Broncos.
The Broncos trailed 14-7 at the 13:52 mark of the second quarter after Ball State's Barrington Scott scored from the WMU 1, the Cardinals' second rushing score of the half. Carder would reach the BSU 4 on an option run to set up 1st-and-goal. Two plays later, Carder hit Robert Arnheim in the end zone to cap the seven-play, 32-yard touchdown drive, tying the score at 14-14.
After the Broncos successfully forced a three-and-out on the next BSU possession, Carder completed a lateral to Arnheim, who looked downfield and connected with White running deep. White slowed up to get under the pass but was still able to elude two Cardinals defenders en route to a 61-yard touchdown, his second score of the game, and giving the Broncos a 21-14 lead. On the very next Cardinals drive, Johnnie Simon intercepted a Keith Wenning pass at the BSU 30, racing down the sidelines before being pushed out of bounds at the BSU 11. On 3rd-and-3 from the BSU 4, Tevin Drake ran a stretch play to the right, dancing through defenders to the goal line to give the Broncos a 28-14 lead.
The Broncos would eventually build that lead to 21 points as Drake scored again, this time bouncing off left tackle at the BSU 20 and racing to the left pylon for his second touchdown of the game and fourth of the season. Drake finished the game with a team-high 88 yards on 16 carries for a 5.3 yards per carry average.
The Broncos started their first possession of the game in a five-receiver set, spreading the Cardinals out and running a no-huddle look. Facing 4th-and-2 from midfield, running back Antoin Scriven cut through the middle of the line for a three-yard gain and a first down. On 2nd-and-5 from the Ball State 40, Carder hit White on a shallow crossing route; White reversed direction and cut back to the right side of the field, racing past Cardinals defenders for his eighth receiving touchdown of the season. Potter's kick gave the Broncos a 7-0 lead.
Simon and Aaron Winchester finished the game as the tackles leaders for the Broncos with 10 stops apiece. Nowak finished with nine tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one quarterback hurry, and one pass deflection.
Western Michigan has 10 days before its next game at MAC West leader Toledo on national television at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
