Western Michigan tailback Jalen Buckley ripped touchdown runs of 67 and 64 yards, and the Broncos leaned on a punishing ground game and suffocating defense to beat the RedHawks 23-13 in the MAC title game.
The loss dropped Miami to 7-6 and denied the program a second conference crown in three seasons. Western Michigan moved to 9-4 and claimed its first conference title since 2016.
“Western Michigan deserved to win — credit to them,” Miami coach Chuck Martin said. “Two stingy defenses, and they got the chunk plays. They got two chunk runs, and that’s the difference in the game.”
Buckley finished with 193 yards on 19 carries as Western Michigan rolled up 286 rushing yards and 397 yards of total offense. The Broncos held the ball for more than 35 minutes and never trailed after the opening quarter.
Miami actually answered Buckley’s first touchdown.
After Buckley burst straight up the middle for a 67-yard score on WMU’s third snap of the game, Miami came right back with a 75-yard drive. Jordan Brunson capped it with a 1-yard touchdown run at the 11:40 mark of the first quarter, but the extra point was blocked, and the RedHawks still trailed 7-6.
Miami never got closer.
Western Michigan’s Palmer Domschke hit field goals of 27, 31 and 50 yards as the Broncos methodically built a 16-6 halftime lead.
Miami nearly produced the game’s biggest defensive swing in the first quarter. With Western Michigan driving again, defensive end Adam Trick returned a fumble 80 yards — only to have replay overturn the call and rule quarterback Broc Lowry down before the ball came out. The Broncos settled for a field goal and a 10-6 lead.
“That’s kind of how it went — we played really hard defensively against a really physical offense, but they got the two big plays and we didn’t,” Martin said. “We got a couple early, then we couldn’t generate any big plays the rest of the game.”
Buckley’s second knockout run came early in the third quarter, and it felt every bit like a dagger.
Leading 16-6 and backed up at its own 35, Western Michigan saw the redshirt junior hit a crease off left tackle and sprint 64 yards to the end zone at 13:16 of the third. That pushed the Broncos’ lead to 23-6 and forced Miami to chase the game with a passing attack that never found a consistent rhythm.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Western Michigan’s front, led by disruptive edge rusher and MAC Defensive Player of the Year Nadame Tucker, harassed Miami quarterbacks all afternoon. Tucker finished with 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 of the Broncos’ four sacks as the RedHawks managed just 73 rushing yards on 31 attempts and 272 total yards on 69 plays.
Miami also lost the quarterback who had ignited its late-season surge.
Redshirt freshman Thomas Gotkowski, the third-stringer who came off the bench to rescue the RedHawks’ season in November, took a shot in the second quarter and was limited the rest of the way. He went 7-of-17 for 92 yards and added 9 rushing yards before giving way to backup Henry Hesson in the second half.
“He got dinged in the second quarter,” Martin said of Gotkowski. “He’s such a tough kid he probably stayed out there a little longer than he should, but that’s what tough quarterbacks do. Today wasn’t his day. It wasn’t our day on offense. But he’s a huge part of how we got to Detroit, and it’s a great learning experience for him.”
Hesson came on to throw for 107 yards and Miami’s lone second-half touchdown — a 6-yard toss to Cole Weaver with 6:43 remaining that cut the deficit to 23-13. Weaver finished with three catches for 65 yards, including a 36-yarder on the scoring drive.
RedHawks redshirt junior receiver Kam Perry hauled in seven passes for 101 yards.
Miami had two more chances after Weaver’s touchdown, but Western Michigan’s defense slammed the door. Tucker’s sack on fourth down at the Broncos’ 34 ended one drive, and Miami turned it over on downs deep in its own territory as the clock wound inside the final minute.
Safety Eli Blakey piled up a game-high 15 tackles, including a sack and tackle for loss. Linebacker Jackson Kuwatch added 14 stops, and linebacker Brock Uihlein finished with 11.
“I was just blessed to be in this position,” Blakey said. “We were physical and we kept coming, but there’s a couple plays I wish I had back today.”
Fellow defensive back Silas Walters, who finished with eight tackles, said the loss can’t erase what the unit built over the past three months.
“We’ve just been growing throughout the year,” Walters said. “We had young guys on both sides of the ball, and it was up to me and Eli to be leaders, communicate and bring everybody along. We kind of saw our potential in that Wisconsin game early — being physical and aggressive — and I’m super proud of how we stayed the course, one play at a time, every week.”
The defeat capped one of the most volatile seasons of Martin’s Miami tenure. The RedHawks opened 0-3, including a heartbreaking 41-38 loss at UNLV, then rattled off five straight wins and surged to a 4-0 MAC start.
They stumbled again with losses to Ohio and Toledo — all while original starting quarterback Dequan Finn left the program midseason. Gotkowski emerged to spark wins over Buffalo and Ball State that pushed them back to Detroit.
Miami became the first MAC program since Northern Illinois (2010-15) to reach three straight conference championship games and is now 4-4 all-time in MAC title contests.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“Really proud of my guys,” Martin said. “We took this thing maybe a little further than I thought we would at different points this year. A few weeks ago, Detroit was kind of the last thing on my mind, and then we regrouped, had a great road win at Buffalo, came back and got Ball State and got here.
“This is the highlight of the year — being in this game. It stinks when you don’t win it, and we’ve been on both sides of it. But this group kept coming, kept coming. Maybe a couple more plays on offense, a couple more on defense and we find a way to win this one too.”
Miami will now await its bowl destination, looking for an eighth bowl win and a sixth straight postseason appearance under Martin. For Walters, Blakey and the rest of a veteran secondary, the next step will have to wait — but the standard, they said, is set.
“We’ve come such a long way,” Walters said. “I had a lot to work on when I got here as a freshman. Just to be in this position, to go to three straight MAC championships, it’s a blessing. The plays are going to come and go, but the brotherhood we’ve built — that’s what I’ll remember.”
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