KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan football team held San Jose State to 119 total yards of total offense, forced three turnovers, and recorded eight sacks en route to a 23-3 victory on Saturday afternoon at Waldo Stadium.
The eight sacks were a season high, and the most since the Broncos recorded eight on Oct. 1, 2016 (49-10 win at Central Michigan).
Ralph Holley led the way with two and a half sacks, while
Ali Fayad picked up two sacks and forced a fumble.
Ryan Selig registered five tackles, one and a half sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery.
Offensively,
Kaleb Eleby connected on 17-of-28 passing for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Skyy Moore led WMU in receiving, catching nine passes for 95 yards.
Sean Tyler paced the Broncos' ground attack with 69 yards and 12 carries, while
La'Darius Jefferson added 52 yards on 12 carries and scored a touchdown for the seventh consecutive game.
After San Jose State (2-2) picked up a field goal on its first drive of the game, Western Michigan responded with an eight-play 75-yard drive, with Eleby hitting
Jaylen Hall from 22 yards out to put the Broncos up, 6-3, with 6:18 remaining in the first quarter.
On the Spartans' ensuing possession, Selig intercepted a pass to set the WMU offense up in SJSU territory. The Broncos capitalized on the turnover, as Jefferson rumbled into the endzone from one yard out to stretch the lead to 13-3 in the final minute of the opening quarter.
The Spartans drove into WMU territory in the early stages of the second quarter, but Fayad came up with a sack and forced a fumble, which was recovered by
Corvin Moment to halt SJSU's progress. Facing fourth down from the San Jose State 37-yard line on the Broncos' next drive, Eleby connected with
Corey Crooms for a touchdown to stretch Western Michigan's advantage to 20-3 with 6:52 remaining in the first half. The score stayed the same heading into halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter on both sides, Western Michigan's defense turned opportunistic once again early in the fourth quarter, as Selig hopped on an errant snap to set up the Broncos at the SJSU 13-yard line. The Broncos converted the fumble into points once again, as Parker Simpson banged home a 30-yard field goal to extend WMU's edge to 23-3.
Western Michigan begins Mid-American Conference play next Saturday, Oct. 2, as it travels to Buffalo for a noon kickoff against the Bulls.
