In Miami (OH), Western Michigan gets MAC title foe and shot at redemption
The Broncos are set to compete for a conference title in Detroit on Saturday, and also get a shot at getting back the Redhawks for their lone MAC loss.
If Western Michigan could get any quarter of football back and replay it from this season, it might be the fourth quarter from the Broncos’ lone conference loss, at Miami (OH) on Oct. 25.
Entering the frame leading, 17-9, Western Michigan got outscored 17-0 in the fourth quarter and suffered its lone loss in conference play, 26-17. The following Monday, head coach Lance Taylor said that he felt like the Broncos got outside of themselves and what works — and had worked in that game.
“I think as we looked at the film, we didn't play the same way in the fourth quarter or coach the way we had previously in the game,” Taylor said. “And, the why — we have to find that out. And I think whether it's worried about the scoreboard or trying to win, I think our focus was elsewhere because things we had done earlier in the game, same call versus the same look, we didn't do in the fourth quarter.”
Now, Western Michigan (8-4, 7-1 MAC) gets a shot at redemption against Miami (OH) (7-5, 6-2) on Saturday at noon in the MAC title game at Ford Field in Detroit. And in the more than month since both these teams last played, a lot has changed, and for the Redhawks, especially.
Along with the inevitable development arc of both teams, Miami (OH) quarterback Dequan Finn left the team on Nov. 14, apparently to focus on preparations for the NFL. That left Miami (OH) in a quarterback lurch that resolved itself as redshirt freshman Thomas Gotkowski emerged to refire the Redhawks offense, beating out Henry Hesson to take on the role.
Finn left the team after losses to Ohio and Toledo in back-to-back weeks following Miami (OH)’s win over Western Michigan, and Gotkowski has led the Redhawks to a 2-0 mark in the final two games.
Gotkowski has completed 25-of-47 pass attempts for 411 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions while bringing a rushing threat as Finn did. Gotkowski has 18 carries for 90 net yards and a touchdown in his two games since Finn left the team.
And while the change in quarterback for Miami (OH) will alter how the Broncos get after it defensively, Chris O’Leary’s group has been a stalwart defense all season. And not playing against Finn, an experienced and capable MAC quarterback, is still probably a win.
Finn went for 312 total yards and two touchdowns in the win over Western Michigan in October.
But the real thing that can go different for Western Michigan this time around is the late game offense and execution.
For one, Taylor has said repeatedly in recent weeks that the WMU offensive line has really started to coalesce into a high-level unit. The massive rushing performances the past two weeks are decent evidence of this.
And moreover, as Taylor alluded, the Broncos turtled a bit in the loss to Miami (OH) to let the lead slip.
After Toledo scored a touchdown to make the score 17-15, in WMU’s favor, with around 10 minutes to go, the Broncos followed that up with a punt after a fumble put them behind the sticks. Miami (OH) took the lead on another touchdown, and WMU’s drive while trailing 23-17 ended in a fumble that the Broncos didn’t manage to recover.
Miami ran three plays to follow, gained five yards and kicked what would be an icing field goal.
On WMU’s final desperation drive, the Broncos turned it over on downs. Quarterback Broc Lowry took a sack on the first play of the drive and the Western Michigan offense, already needing two scores, petered out after 37 yards.
“And that's what happens when you take your eyes off, your focus off of what's important and your job and doing it with detail,” Taylor said the following Monday. “You score 0 points, they score 17, especially against a really good football team.”
Since that day, though, the Broncos haven’t lost again, winning a pair of key games against Central Michigan and Ohio at home before finishing the season with a pair of road wins to lock up a MAC title game bid.
When Miami (OH) beat Ball State on Saturday, it set up a rematch. It’s a second chance that the Broncos didn’t know they would get, and surely won’t make waste of.
“Losing and failure always hurts,” Taylor said. “But, learning the lesson and improving is what's important.”
