Western Michigan (8-4, 7-1 MAC) secured the Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular-season title and punched their ticket to the conference championship game with a decisive victory over rival Eastern Michigan (4-8, 3-5 MAC) at Rynearson Stadium.
The Turning Point: After Eastern Michigan took an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter, Western Michigan’s defense took over. The Broncos forced four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumbles) and capitalized on them ruthlessly, scoring 31 unanswered points to put the game out of reach.
Late Rally: Trailing 31-7 in the fourth quarter, EMU managed two late touchdowns to narrow the gap, but the deficit was too large to overcome.
Key Player Stats
Broc Lowry (WMU QB): Led the offense with his legs, rushing for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns, while adding 100 yards through the air.
Dontae McMillan (EMU RB): Despite the loss, McMillan had a historic Senior Night. He became one of the few players to record over 100 rushing yards (111) and 100 receiving yards (126) in a single game, scoring two total touchdowns.
Noah Kim (EMU QB): Threw for a game-high 327 yards and 2 touchdowns but was plagued by mistakes, throwing 3 interceptions that fueled WMU’s scoring run.
With this win, Western Michigan clinches a spot in the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit on December 6. They will await the results of this weekend’s games to find out who their opponent will be.