Box Score KALAMAZOO, Mich.  – Western Michigan scored three defensive touchdowns to become bowl eligible for a program record fourth straight year in a 48-20 victory over Kent State on Wednesday night inside Waldo Stadium.

WMU forced four turnovers on the night scoring 21 points off those turnovers with two interception returns and a fumble recovery. Overall the Broncos had 11 tackles for loss and three sacks.

Senior linebacker Robert Spillane corralled his third career interception and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown on Kent State's first series of the game to score the first defensive touchdown of the night.

Fellow senior Darius Phillips recorded his fifth career interception return for a touchdown late in the second quarter to tie the FBS record, returning it 43 yards. Phillips now has 12 runbacks for touchdowns and is the FBS record holder. This season, Phillips has four runbacks in the form of two kick returns, an interception and a fumble recovery.

The Broncos became bowl eligible for a program record fourth straight season and improve its overall record to 6-3 and 4-2 in the MAC. WMU has made a bowl appearance in three straight seasons and earned the program's first bowl victory in 2014 with a 45-31 win over Middle Tennessee State in the Popeye's Bahamas Bowl.

Western Michigan will hit the road for its final two games of the regular season against MAC West rivals Northern Illinois on Nov.15 and Toledo on Nov.24.
Offensively WMU outgained Kent State, 389 to 281 with 292 yards coming on the ground for the Broncos. Senior running back Jarvion Franklin recorded 22 carriers for 191 yards and one touchdown against the Golden Flashes. It's the fifth straight game Franklin has went over 100 yards. His touchdown went for a career-long 72 yards.

Franklin now has 5,370 career all-purpose yards, ranking him second all-time at WMU, passing last year's 2017 NFL Draft No. 5 overall pick Corey Davis. For the second straight season and third time in his career, the Tinley Park, Ill., native has eclipsed the 1,000-yard season rushing mark.

It was a quick start for the Brown and Gold, rattling off 14 points in the first five minutes of play. On the first drive of the game the Broncos marched 92 yards in 12 plays with freshman quarterback Reece Goddard capturing a one-yard touchdown run for his first career touchdown.  

Kent State rallied back in the first with 14 unanswered points before Franklin scored on the 72-yard touchdown run at the end of the first quarter to give WMU a 21-14 lead. The 35 combined points in the quarter was the most by two MAC schools this season.

The defense shined for the Broncos in the second quarter, holding Kent State to zero first-downs as WMU extended its lead to 31-14 at halftime.

From the start of the second quarter to midway through the fourth quarter the Bronco defense forced eight straight three-and-outs and forced two fumbles while scoring 34 unanswered points. Kent State ended the scoring drought with a 58-yard touchdown run with 3:19 left in the game.

Along with Franklin and Goddard, redshirt freshman walk-on Ra'Sean Davie recorded a rushing touchdown scampering 46 yards for his first career touchdown. Davie's touchdown marks the fifth running back to score for the Broncos this season.

Freshman A.J. Thomas had the Broncos' third defensive touchdown, picking up a fourth down fumble off a botched punt and running it 23 yards into the end zone for his first career score.

Defensively, senior Caleb Bailey had one sack and three tackles for loss. Spillane had five tackles, 2.5 for loss.

Western Michigan honored its senior class prior to the game. The 2017 class is the winningest in school history, currently with 35 wins over the last four years.