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Football Broncos beat Toledo 55-35 to claim MAC West championship

Photo of WMU football player Corey Davis.
Davis' record-breaking catch (Photo credit: WMU Intercollegiate Athletics)

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—The No. 14 (AP) ranked Western Michigan University football Broncos defeated Toledo 55-35 tonight at Waldo Stadium to become the Mid-American Conference West Division champions for the first time since 2000. The Broncos are now 12-0 and 8-0 in the MAC.

A crowd of 24,191 gathered to cheer the Broncos to their first perfect regular season since 1941, setting a new season attendance record of 143,025.

Game highlights

Senior wide receiver Corey Davis broke the Football Bowl Subdivision all-time career receiving record with 5,068 yards. He also became the first player in history with more than 5,000 yards, 300 receptions and 50 touchdowns. He holds the MAC record with 317 career receptions, and had the highest number of touchdown catches in the FBS this season with 17.

Senior quarterback Zach Terrell completed 19 of 25 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns. With 11,657 career passing yards, he holds the WMU program record.

With his 40th career rushing touchdown, junior running back Jarvion Franklin broke the WMU program record.

A season of firsts

The 2016 season brought about many firsts in the WMU football program. Among them were the following standouts.

  • Following an Oct. 1 win over arch-rival Central Michigan University, WMU was ranked in the USA Today Amway Coaches Poll for the first time in program history. Days later, WMU made its debut in the AP Top 25. The University would also go on to make its first appearance in the College Football Playoff rankings.
  • After a Nov. 1 win over Ball State, the Broncos improved to 9-0 and 5-0 in the MAC, surpassing the best start in program history.
  • A Nov. 8 win over Kent State marked the first 10-win season in the program's 108-year history.
  • ESPN College GameDay made a first-time stop in Kalamazoo Nov. 19 to do a pregame broadcast from the campus of WMU—just the second MAC school ever to be featured on College GameDay.

The WMU football Broncos are now ranked No. 14 in the AP Top 25, No. 18 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 21 in the CFP rankings. They are one of just two undefeated teams left in the Division I FBS. The other is No. 1-ranked Alabama (11-0).

Join the excitement

WMU, 2016 MAC Championship, Dec. 2, 7 p.m.

(Graphic courtesy of WMU Intercollegiate Athletics)

The next stop for WMU is Detroit for the 2016 Marathon MAC Championship game. The Broncos will face East Division winner Ohio (8-4, 6-2 MAC) at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, at Ford Field. Tickets start at $15 and are available through the WMU Ticket Office at (888) 4-WMU-TIX or wmubroncos.com/tickets

Bus and tailgate packages are also available to students and the general public.

For final game and individual stats, videos and interviews, visit wmubroncos.com.

For more news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.