KALAMAZOO, Mich. – For a program-record sixth straight season, the Western Michigan football team is bowl eligible after a dramatic 35-31 victory over Ball State on Tuesday night inside Waldo Stadium.
With the win, the Broncos improve their overall record to 6-4 and 4-2 in Mid-American Conference play. Tuesday's victory also marks the third time since 2000 that WMU has captured an undefeated home season (2008, 2016).
The Broncos were guided by a stellar performance on the ground from senior running back
LeVante Bellamy,
who finished with 157 yards and three touchdowns on 31 attempts. It was Bellamy's fourth-straight game with more than 100 yards rushing and seventh 100-yard performance this season.
With three scores on the ground, Bellamy moved into sole possession of second place on WMU's single-season rushing touchdowns list with 20. The senior is just four behind school record-holder
Jarvion Franklin with 24 ground TDs in 2014. For his career, Bellamy has the fourth most rushing touchdowns in school history with 33.
For just the fourth time in school history, a quarterback ran for more than 100 yards as senior
Jon Wassink rushed for 131 yards and one touchdown on six attempts. Wassink averaged 21.8 yards per carry including a career-long 60-yard rush just five plays into the game.
For the contest, Western Michigan recorded 382 yards on the ground with 288 of those yards coming from Bellamy and Wassink. Through the air, Wassink was 13-of-24 for 124 yards and found six different receivers. Leading the way was fellow senior
Keith Mixon Jr., with six receptions for 23 yards.
Defensively, WMU was led by junior
Treshaun Hayward with nine tackles (five solo). Behind Hayward was junior
A.J. Thomas with seven tackles (four solo) followed by senior
Justin Tranquill with six (three solo). Redshirt freshman
Andre Carter and junior
Kailien Guillory each recorded a sack on the night while junior
Ali Fayad posted a team-high two quarterback hurries.
Western Michigan will play its final two regular season games on the road beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at Ohio. Kickoff against the Bobcats will be at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2. WMU ends the regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at Northern Illinois.
To begin the game, the Broncos embarked on an eight play, 81-yard drive in just under three minutes that was capped off by a one-yard rushing touchdown from Bellamy to give WMU a 7-0 lead. Ball State answered back nine plays later, rushing it in from five yards out to tie the game at 7-7 after one quarter of play.
Early in the second quarter the Brown & Gold regained the lead thanks to a 46-yard rushing touchdown from Wassink. On third down, Wassink faked a wide receiver screen and bolted 46 yards to give WMU a touchdown advantage early in the second.
The Cardinals cut the WMU lead down to four after connecting on a 44-yard field goal midway through the second before the Broncos extended its lead four plays later. Going 82 yards in just under two minutes, Mixon Jr., ran it in from 44 yards out on a reverse to give WMU a 21-10 lead heading into the locker room.
Coming out of halftime Ball State got the scoring started quickly, returning the opening kick of the second half 100 yards to slim WMU's lead down to 21-17. After the return, both offenses stalled as the two teams combined for just 147 yards in the third quarter.
At the start of the fourth, the Cardinals grabbed their first lead of the game at 24-21 after embarking on a 13-play, 80-yard drive that took 6:11 off the clock. WMU countered with its own 13-play drive, nine of which came on the ground, that resulted in a 16-yard rushing touchdown from Bellamy.
With 3:24 remaining, Ball State regained its lead on a four-yard rushing touchdown from running back Walter Fletcher. All six plays for the Cardinals on the scoring drive came on the ground.
Trailing 31-28, Western Michigan drove the ball down the field and capped off a seven play, 62-yard drive with a nine-yard rushing touchdown from Bellamy to propel the Broncos back in front, 35-31. The game-winning drive featured a heavy rushing attack from Bellamy who carried the ball four times for 29 yards.
#LetsRide
