The playbook for Western Michigan University's football team is about to get larger and larger.

That's because redshirt sophomore quarterback Broc Lowry has shown he can handle more plays, especially when the game is on the line.

If Saturday's game against Rhode Island (3-0), ranked sixth nationally in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), at Stafford-Smith Field at Waldo Stadium, comes down to a close contest at the end, well, the Broncos (1-3) can always fall back to last Saturday.

Been there…done that.

With 1:40 left in the game and WMU down, 13-6, to Mid-American Conference preseason No. 1 Toledo, Lowry drove the Broncos from Toledo's 48-yard line to score a touchdown and two-point conversion with 52 second remaining to secure the 14-13 victory.

It wasn't exactly a great start to the winning drive, though. Lowry threw three incomplete passes before finding wide receiver Tailique Williams open in the middle of the field and the talented graduate student took the ball down to the 5-yard line. After a short gain, Lowry ran the ball in for a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 52 seconds left.

The defense did the rest, not allowing Toledo to get a first down on its final drive of the game.

''I saw our team have a calmness and quiet confidence and the ability to reset and refocus,'' WMU head coach Lance Taylor said. ''There was no panic, they never flinched and that's something I haven't seen and something we work hard on as coaches from our strength team, from our coaching staff, everyone in weight lifting, and how we condition which helped us build that mental toughness.

''They have a refuse to lose mentality. No matter what happened, they believed we were going to win that game.''

WMU offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Walt Bell has seen that kind of mentality from Lowry for three years. Bell and Lowry were at Indiana University for one year before both came to WMU prior to the 2024 season.

''Broc is a tough guy, and it's not a fake tough, but in tough situations, he's going to be OK,'' Bell said. ''As long as there is time left, he'll be in the fight.''

The fight at the end was something kind-of new for the redshirt sophomore quarterback in his first start of the season.

''I might have had something like that in high school, but never anything as successful as that drive,'' Lowry said. ''We did situational stuff in the summer and the and in fall camp, but I don't know if it worked as successful as that.''

The winning drive didn't start out looking too good. He underthrew Williams on first down, underthrew Aveion Chenault on second down and missed a receiver in the middle on third down.

''Every play is important and you try not to make the moment too big,'' Lowry said. ''On the fourth-down pass, we executed and that's all I could ask for.''

Williams was the first option for Lowry, especially when the receiver broke free across the middle at the 25-yard line. Williams ran down to the 5-yard line, giving Lowry a chance to do one of the things he does best…run the ball.

''On fourth down, Broc made a phenomenal throw,'' Taylor said. ''You have to have great protection, then Broc has to make the right read and a good throw.

''The receiver has to make a great catch, and the run after the catch was huge because it got us down there. The catch and run by Tailique to make it first and goal allowed us the ability to run the ball and not panic. It allowed us to get to some of our best plays, our core plays, and be able to run the ball.''

Running the ball is something Lowry does well. He leads WMU in rushing with 175 yards on 41 carries. He's hit 36 of 69 passes for 445 yards and one touchdown. Lowry and junior Brady Jones were in a tough battle for the starting job and Lowry wasn't named the starter until the Toledo game.

''Broc has tools which we have to sharpen,'' Bell said. ''He has things he does well, and as long as we keep him in those situations, he has a chance to be a good player for us.

''Against Rhode Island, we have to continue to make small evolutions into the system which fits him and fits our offensive line. Each week we'll make small evolutions because you can't make wholesale changes in a week.''

Lowry has shown what kind of game he has in practice. In the final full scrimmage in August, he chose to go 'live', meaning he could be tackled by the defense, just as if he was a running back or receiver.

''Mentally, it's less stressful because I can run the ball if I need to,'' he said.

He needed to at the end, and it worked out perfectly.

''Where that drive really helps us is when you get into those games, a critical situation or face adversity at the end, it does give you confidence because you've done it before,'' Taylor said. ''There is tangible evidence.

''We did this against Toledo and we won the game, even when everything looked like we weren't going to win. We kept believing and that's where those plays are really critical because you can rely on them and remember what you did. I do believe you have to prepare well to play well in the next game.''

Been there…done that.