Michigan Steals One from Western Michigan on the Final Play
Four field goals. That was Western Michigan's entire offense, and with 35 seconds left it was winning.
Dieter Kelly kicked from 52 and 45 yards in the first half and from 39 and 33 in the fourth quarter, and his last one made it 12-7 Broncos. Michigan had scored once all day, a 1-yard run by Bryce Underwood in the first quarter, and trailed after Kelly's third kick put Western Michigan ahead 9-7 at 10:25 of the fourth. Michigan had not scored in the second or third quarter and did not score again until the clock read 0:00.
Then Underwood threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to JJ Buchanan on the last play, and Michigan won 13-12. The lead changed twice (Michigan, then Western Michigan at 9-7, then Michigan again on the last play), and the second change came with the clock at zero.
The box score says Michigan should not have been in it. The Wolverines lost two fumbles and threw an interception, three giveaways against none for Western Michigan, and they gained 276 yards (170 passing, 106 rushing) against 222 for the Broncos, who ran the ball 45 times for 133. Michigan sacked the quarterback twice. Flip just one of those giveaways and this probably goes the other way.
Michigan is 1-0, Western Michigan is 0-1, and the Broncos are going to be thinking about those last 35 seconds for a while. Buchanan's 126 yards and Underwood's 23.5 points were what people got for staying to the end. Kelly's four kicks went 52, 45, 39 and 33 yards, which is a respectable afternoon for a kicker and a rough one for everybody else on the Broncos' side of the ball.