KALAMAZOO, Mich. – It was Senior Night at Waldo Stadium on Tuesday, as the Western Michigan football team piled up over 500 yards of offense and used a last-minute touchdown to emerge victorious over Akron, 45-40, in a Mid-American Conference classic. Prior to the game, the Broncos honored their 17 seniors.
Down 40-38 and facing a third-and-20 on its own 27 with just over a minute to go,
Kaleb Eleby connected with
Jaylen Hall for a 20-yard gain to keep the Western Michigan drive going. Two plays later, Eleby threw a strike to
Corey Crooms for a 45-yard touchdown to put the Broncos on top, 45-40, with one minute remaining.
The Zips moved the ball into Western Michigan territory in the final seconds, but a last-second heave toward the end zone fell incomplete to seal the victory for WMU.
Sean Tyler finished with 147 yards on the ground on 16 attempts, two catches for 25 yards and a touchdown, and had a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He is the only Bronco to score a touchdown three different ways in a single game in at least the last 25 years.
Eleby was 12-for-20 with 217 passing yards and three scores including a rushing touchdown.
La'Darius Jefferson totaled 19 carries for 99 yards, while
Jaxson Kincaide finished with six carries for 70 yards and a touchdown.
Akron scored on the game's opening drive to grab an early 7-0 lead. WMU responded with a touchdown drive of its own, as the Broncos took the ball 79 yards in 10 plays, with
Jaxson Kincaide racing in from 27 yards out to even the score at 7-7.
Early in the second quarter,
Nick Mihalic gave the Broncos the lead with a short field goal, and WMU then stretched its edge to 17-7 on a two-yard
Sean Tyler touchdown run with 3:05 remaining in the first half.
The Zips returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards to briefly cut the margin to 17-14, but Eleby found Tyler for a four-yard score in the final minute of the half to send Western Michigan into the halftime locker room with a 24-14 lead.
After an Akron field goal brought the visitors within seven, 24-17, Tyler ran the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a score to extend WMU's advantage to 31-17. An Akron score late in the third made it 31-24, but a one-yard run from Eleby restored Western Michigan's 14-point cushion.
With WMU leading 38-24, Akron ripped off 13 points in a matter of seven seconds to trim the gap down to one, 38-37, with 9:37 remaining. The score remained the same until the Zips kicked a go-ahead 39-yard field goal with 2:22 left to play.
Looking ahead, Western Michigan travels to Ypsilanti next Tuesday, Nov. 16 for a tough road matchup at Eastern Michigan. Game time is either 7:30 or 8 p.m. on either ESPN2, ESPNU, or ESPN+.
