Western Michigan University Athletics

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Western Michigan football team fell to Ball State, 30-27, in its season finale on Saturday at Schuemann Stadium.
 
With the game tied at 27-27, the Cardinals got the ball at the WMU 46 after a Bronco punt. BSU drove down to the five yard-line and Jack Knight kicked the game-winning 22-yard field goal with 29 seconds remaining.
 
Western Michigan reached into its bag of tricks with several laterals on the final play of the game but a penalties negated the play.
 
WMU outgained BSU 491-352 on the day but went 3-for-6 in the red zone with a missed field goal, a fumble and a turnover on downs. Junior running back La'Darius Jefferson had a game-high 159 yards rushing on 25 carries with a touchdown. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Kaleb Eleby threw for 273 yards on 24-for-37 passing with two touchdowns and one interception. Senior wide receiver D'Wayne Eskridge led the Broncos with nine receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore Skyy Moore had eight receptions for 105 yards.
 
Roy McRee had a career-high nine tackles and a tackle for loss to lead the Broncos, while Ali Fayad finished with four tackles and a sack.
 
Western Michigan had a 27-13 lead heading into the third quarter but Ball State scored 17 unanswered.
 
The Broncos scored on the opening drive of the game with Thiago Kapps connecting on a 35-yard field goal to cap off a 10-play 57-yard drive.
 
WMU stopped the Cardinals on their opening drive and took the ball down to the Ball State four-yard line. An errant snap went over Eleby's head and was recovered by BSU's Jimmy Daw and returned to the Bronco 40-yard line. BSU quarterback Drew Plitt completed two passes to move down to the WMU seven before Tye Evans rushed it in for the touchdown, giving Ball State a 6-3 lead after a missed extra point.  
 
The Broncos once again drove down the field deep into Ball State territory but saw the drive end when Jefferson was stopped on a fourth-and-two shy of the first down. WMU tied up the game after Kapps connected on a career-long 50-yard field goal, finishing off an eight-play, 35-yard drive with 10:13 left in the second quarter.
 
Western Michigan pushed ahead, 13-6, on a four-play 71-yard scoring driving. Jefferson rushed for 12 yards on the opening play of the drive and the play was extended after a targeting penalty moved it down to the BSU 40. After rushes by Jefferson and Eleby, the quarterback found Eskridge for a 24-yard touchdown pass. It was Eskridge's eight touchdown reception on the season.
 
The Cardinals responded with an 11-play, 73-yard scoring drive that was capped off by a 32-yard pass from Plitt to Justin Hall for a touchdown, tying the game at 13-13.
 
The Broncos retook the lead before the end of the first half. Eleby drove the team down the field 80 yards on 12 plays, finding Jaylen Hall in the endzone from five yards out for the touchdown pass with 23 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
 
With a 20-13 lead, the Broncos stopped the Cardinals in their opening drive of the second half. WMU took over on their own 33 and drove down the field on the back of Jefferson, who finished off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Jefferson rushed five times for 38 yards on the drive, pushing him over the 100-yard mark for the third time this season.
 
Down 27-13, the Cardinals' Chris Agyemang picked off Eleby with 14 seconds left to go in the third quarter at the WMU 44. BSU took over and scored five plays later, just 1:44 into the fourth quarter, on a pass from Plitt to Yo'Heinz Tyler from 13 yards. Knight missed the extra point for the second time on the day, cutting the lead to 27-19.
 
After the Broncos went four-and-out a short WMU punt gave the Cardinals the ball on their own 45-yard line. ON the first play of the ensuing drive Plitt connected with Hall from 55 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 27-25. Plitt then found Tyler in the endzone for the two-point conversion to tie it up.
 
Western Michigan had a chance to pull ahead but Kapps missed a 29-yard field goal wide right with 5:28 left to go in the game. WMU was able to force BSU to punt but stalled on the ensuing drive and a short punt gave Ball State the ball at the WMU 46 for the game-winning drive.