EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Western Michigan football team opened the 2022 season with a hard-fought loss at No. 15/14 Michigan State at Spartan Stadium on Friday night.
Down 21-3 at the half, WMU (0-1) battled back to score twice in the third quarter to cut the lead to 21-13. After being held scoreless in the third, MSU responded with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the game.
Redshirt-freshman quarterback
Jack Salopek completed 21 passes for 193 yards and rushed for 36 yards in his first collegiate start. Junior running back
Sean Tyler led the Broncos on the ground with 68 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown, while
Corey Crooms had five receptions for 41 yards. Redshirt freshman tight end
Blake Bosma had five catches for 35 yards, and Boston College transfer
Jehlani Galloway had a team-best 70 yards receiving. Linebacker
Ryan Selig had a team-best nine tackles, while defensive end
Andre Carter had seven tackles and a half sack.
The Broncos held the Spartans to two three-and-outs to open the game before driving 66 yards in 10 plays for a 27-yard field goal by true freshman
Palmer Domschke.
The Spartans responded with three straight touchdowns to take a 21-3 lead into the half.
MSU was driving in WMU territory early in the third quarter. Jalen Berger ran the ball up the middle for a six-yard gain but
Braden Fiske punched the ball out of his hands while he was on top of the pile and
Aaron Wofford recovered it to give the Broncos the ball at their own 33. Tyler completed a fourth-down conversion with a three-yard run on fourth and one to get WMU up to its 45. On the next play the talented running back snapped off a 45-yard run down to the MSU four. On the next play he punched it in to cut the lead to 21-10.
Western Michigan's defense came up big with a stop on third and 11 from the WMU 27 to force a field goal attempt. Jack Stone pushed it wide-left from 44 yards out to give the ball back to the Broncos. Salopek hit
A.J. Abbott and Galloway over the middle for big gains to move the Broncos down to the MSU 15. He then connected with Crooms for a touchdown but it was called back on a penalty. The Broncos took another penalty and a sack to move them back to the MSU 25 but Domschke connected on a 42-yard field goal to cut the lead to 21-13.
WMU forced MSU to punt to open the fourth quarter and drove to midfield before a drive stalled. The Spartans drove down the field for a 91-yard drive to push the lead to 28-13 before adding a late touchdown.
Western Michigan heads on the road to open up Mid-American Conference play next Saturday at Ball State at 2 p.m. The game can be watched live on ESPN+ and listed to live on the Bronco Radio Network.
