Western Michigan wins fourth straight, 24-17 over Buffalo
Skyy Moore loses his helmet on 12-yard TD catch
Skyy Moore hauls in a 12-yard touchdown and loses his helmet in the process.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- — Kaleb Eleby threw a pair of touchdown passes to Skyy Moore and Western Michigan won its fourth straight game, defeating Buffalo 24-17 on Saturday in a Mid-American Conference opener.
Eleby hit a streaking Moore with a 64-yard strike to give the Broncos (4-1, 1-0) the lead with 9 1/2 minutes remaining. After Buffalo went three-and-out for the fourth straight possession, the Broncos burned almost six minutes off the clock before La'Darius Jefferson scored from a yard out.
Kyle Vantrease's 1-yard keeper cut the lead to seven with 1:17 remaining but WMU recovered an onside kick.
After WMU's Parker Sampson had missed two field goal attempts, punter Nick Mihalic kicked a 26-yard field goal to tie it at 10 earlier in the fourth quarter.
Eleby found Moore in the right corner of the end zone for a 12-yard score and a 7-0 lead in the opening quarter before Buffalo tied it less than 30 seconds later on Ron Cook's 55-yard sprint up the middle. The Bulls (2-3, 0-1) had the lead with Alex McNulty's 37-yard field goal in the third.
The game featured the MAC's top two receivers in Buffalo's Quian Williams and WMU's Corey Crooms but it was Moore piling up a career-high 163 yards on 11 catches. Williams finished with 119 yards on six catches.
Eleby was 21-of-33 passing for 279 yards as WMU outgained Buffalo 457-282. Jefferson rushed for 96 yards on 23 carries.
Zaire Barnes forced a fumble by recording the first sack against Buffalo this season but Western Michigan failed to score off the turnover.
Western Michigan's Tim Lester returned to coach in a game for the first time since Sept. 18 after testing positive for COVID-19 with a breakthrough infection.
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Game Information
2023 Mid-American Conference Standings
Team | CONF | OVR |
---|---|---|
Miami (OH) | 7-1 | 11-3 |
Ohio | 6-2 | 10-3 |
Bowling Green | 5-3 | 7-6 |
Buffalo | 3-5 | 3-9 |
Akron | 1-7 | 2-10 |
Kent State | 0-8 | 1-11 |
Team | CONF | OVR |
---|---|---|
Toledo | 8-0 | 11-3 |
Northern Illinois | 5-3 | 7-6 |
Eastern Michigan | 4-4 | 6-7 |
Western Michigan | 3-5 | 4-8 |
Ball State | 3-5 | 4-8 |
Central Michigan | 3-5 | 5-7 |