KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan football team scored 14 unanswered points to come from behind and defeat Toledo, 14-13, in dramatic fashion at Stafford-Smith Field at Waldo Stadium on Saturday.
WMU (1-3, 1-0 MAC) had turned it over on downs on the Toledo 16 with 2:10 to play, trailing 13-6. The Bronco defense forced a three-and-out thanks to a stuffed run and a tackle for loss. Western Michigan got the ball back with 1:40 to play and one timeout. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Broc Lowry threw three incomplete passes and faced with a fourth-and-10 found Tailique Williams wide open a the Toledo 25 and he ran it down to the 5-yard line. Lowry rushed it up the middle for three yards and the Rockets called a timeout with 58 seconds to play. On the next play, Lowry ran it into the endzone for his second rushing touchdown of the game and his fourth of the season. WMU head coach Lance Taylor opted to go for the two-point conversion and Lowry faked a hand-off to the left and ran into the right-side of the endzone to give WMU its lone lead of the game, 14-13.
The Broncos then stopped the Rockets on four-straight plays to force the turnover on downs and ran the clock out for the victory.
Lowry finished with a career-high 16 completions and 201 yards passing, while rushing for 50 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start. Williams' had a game-high 112 yards on four receptions.
Western Michigan's defense held the MAC's top offense to just 14 points and 280 yards of total offense, with redshirt sophomore safety Joey Pope and true freshman John Peters both picking off UT quarterback Tucker Gleason. Cornerback Josh Franklin, Tate Hallock and James Camden all had seven tackles. Franklin had 2.0 tackles for loss and his first career sack. Defensive end Kershawn Fisher had 0.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries, while Nadame Tucker had a career-high five quarterback hurries to go with three tackles and a tackle for loss.
Toledo had the ball in the red zone three times in the game, coming away with just two field goals and a turnover (the interception by Peters).
The Rockets were the first on the board with 22 seconds left in the second quarter. A fumbled Bronco punt led to UT getting the ball on the WMU 12 with 1:00 left to play. The Western Michigan defense held strong and Toledo was forced to settle for a 30-yard field goal make it 3-0 heading into the second half.
Toledo started the third quarter with the ball and on the second play from scrimmage, Chip Trayanum ran it 63 yards into the endzone to push the lead to 10-0 with 14:28 to play in the third.
UT forced a fumble on the WMU 25 and got the ball with 10:20 left in the third. The Rockets drove down to the WMU 9 but on third and five, Tucker forced Gleason to rush a pass and it was incomplete. Dylan Cunanan came on and connected on his second field goal of the night, this time from 27 yards.
Later on after Western Michigan forced a three-and-out with 4:35 to play in the third and got the ball back on its 10. Lowry opened the drive with a 24-yard pass to Williams and then a flip pass to Christian Leary for a gain of 15 up to the WMU 35. After a short run, Lowry went deep over the middle to Williams and he was interfered with, pushing the ball down to the Toledo 36. Lowry then found Bosma over the middle for a 24-yard gain and again for five yards down to the UT 7. Jalen Buckley ran it up the middle for a yard before Lowry scrambled for a six-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 13-6 after a missed extra point.
The Broncos are back in action at home against FCS power Rhode Island on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are on-sale at www.wmubroncos.com/tickets.
