MUNCIE, Ind. – The Western Michigan football team erased a 4-point deficit in the fourth quarter to down Ball State 45-42, on the road on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Broncos (2-3, 1-0 MAC) racked up 461 yards and forced two key turnovers in the fourth quarter to open Mid-American Conference play with the victory. Quarterback Hayden Wolff went 26-for-29 for 264 yards and three touchdown passes, while Jaden Nixon became the first Bronco since LaVante Bellamy (2019) to rush for 100 yards in three straight games after totaling 124 on 14 carries and three touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Anthony Sambucci had a career-high nine receptions to go with 74 yards and a touchdown.
 
Donald Willis led WMU with nine tackles, while Tate Hallock had seven tackles, a tackle for loss, a pass break up and an interception.
 
After Luka Zurak connected on a 39-yard field goal to cut Ball State's lead to 35-31, the Broncos entered the fourth quarter trailing. Ball State had the ball on second down with six yards to go to open the final 15 minutes. A two-yard run by Braedon Sloan move the ball to the BSU 30. On the next play, WMU defensive lineman deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage and safety Tate Hallock came up with the interception to give the Broncos the ball at the Cardinal 32. The interception was WMU's first of the season.
 
Nixon ran the ball for two yards and Wolff connected with Sambucci for a gain of seven to set up a third an one from the BSU 23. Wolff handed it off to Nixon and the Oklahoma State transfer found the middle clogged. He bounced out to the left, breaking a tackle and running it 23 yards into the endzone for his third touchdown of the day. After Zurka nailed the extra point, WMU took the lead back, 38-35.
 
A holding penalty derailed Ball State's next drive, forcing the Cardinals to punt from their 18. WMU started on its 35 but was quickly into BSU territory after Wolff found Sambucci over the middle for a 22-yard gain to the Cardinal 43. The Broncos pushed deeper into Ball State territory after Wolff connected with an open Kenneth Womack on third and six for a gain of 18. A defensive holding call, a short pass to Blake Bosma, and a run by Jalen Buckley got WMU down to the one-yard line. Wolff faked the run and roll out to the right, finding Sambucci open in the back of the endzone to put the Broncos up 46-35.
 
Western Michigan got the ball back on the next drive as a pass by Kadin Semonza was intercepted by Aaron Wofford on the WMU 28. The Broncos ran the ball and forced Ball State to use all of its timeouts before having to punt with 3:17 to play.
 
The Cardinals moved down the field on a combination of passes by Semonza and defensive penalties on the Broncos. Semonza passed it to Cam Pickett on a short slant and Pickett split WMU's defense, running into the enzone for the 27-yard score, cutting the lead to just three with 1:20 to play.
 
Ball State attempted the on-side kick but it was recovered and downed by Sambucci to seal the win.
 
Western Michigan had jumped out to an early 14-0 lead after Nixon scored on a 21-yard run on the team's first drive of the game. WMU's defense then pounced on a fumble deep in BSU territory, with Wolff connecting with Bosma for the 10-yard score with 7:46 left in the first quarter.
 
The Cardinals responded with a 97-yard kickoff return by Malcom Gillie and then a 21-yard touchdown pass by Semonza to Ty Robinson.
 
Still in the first quarter, Nixon took it 57 yards to the house for his second touchdown of the day to give the Broncos a 21-14 lead. Pickett tied it up for the Cardinals at 9:54 in the second quarter on a four-yard reverse.
 
WMU opened the second half with a scoring drive, capped off by a 43-yard touchdown pass from Wolff to Malique Dieudonne. Dieudonne's first career touchdown put the Broncos ahead 28-27.
 
The Cardinals responded with a quick scoring drive of their own, with Sloan throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Christan Abney on a trick play to tie it up at 28-28.
 
After a fumble by Nixon was recovered by the Cardinals in WMU territory, Ball State drove down into the redzone and Semonza threw it to Drew Hughes from the two-yard line to give BSU its lone lead of the game, 35-28.
 
After a bye week and two straight road games, Western Michigan returns home to host Akron on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are on-sale at www.wmubroncos.com/tickets.