WMU wraps up MAC title, likely Cotton Bowl bid

Detroit — Over there, in the corner, was Corey Davis with an oar as his baton, directing the Western Michigan marching band in the playing of the fight song.

Over there, at midfield, was Justin Tranquill, dancing like nobody was watching.

Over there, in the tunnel, was Robert Spillane, clutching the final game ball like it was a carton of eggs.

And over there, and there, and there, was P.J. Fleck, hugging everyone in sight — before going crowd-surfing in a delirious Broncos locker room.

Western Michigan is the undisputed and unforgettable champion of the Mid-American Conference for the first time since 1988, when Fleck was 8 years old, and the second time since 1966, following a thrilling and tension-filled 29-23 victory over Ohio before a record and raucous crowd Friday night at Ford Field.

The victory caps a 13-0 season for the Broncos, who seem certain their next stop — after a certain hero's welcome in Kalamazoo, that is — is Arlington, Texas, for the Jan. 2 Cotton Bowl.

"It's historic," Fleck said, clutching a celebratory cork. "I don't care what league you're in. My son's baseball team didn't go undefeated, they were pretty good. If you go undefeated in sports, it's very special, no matter what.

"To go undefeated, it takes a ton of resolve, resilience, energy, commitment, it's very special, no matter what.

"We did our job."

Spillane, a junior defender from Chicago who once committed to Fleck and WMU just weeks removed from WMU's 1-11 season, to the disbelief and disgust of his mother, made a game-saving interception with 51 seconds remaining to send the Broncos sidelines and large fan base into a frenzy.

It was the third turnover forced by WMU, whose turnover margin now stands at plus-19, No. 2 in the nation behind near-certain national-playoff participant Washington.

For a team on a storybook journey this season, it was only fitting it was Spillane to make the big play in the end. It was Spillane, after all, who stripped the ball from Northwestern, about ready to score, to earn the season-opening victory. Without that, WMU wouldn't be in this position.

"There's no better feeling than our seniors leaving with a 13-0," Spillane said in the Ford Field tunnel, cradling the game ball that he says he'll be framing soon.

"They started this program. They built this foundation. They stuck to the process the whole way, and look what happens when you stick to the process.

"I don't think anyone on the team still understands how big this actually is.

"We still got one more game. That's gonna be awesome."

Ohio (8-5), a little-thought-of opponent — at least by the media — leading into this game, proved a worthy foe, and showed off its suffocating defense, picking off WMU senior quarterback Zach Terrell twice — when he had thrown just one interception all season, to 30 touchdowns, coming into the game.

Both picks came in the second half, and both led to Ohio points, a touchdown and a field goal, to make it a ballgame after the Broncos opened up a 23-7 lead at halftime.

WMU likes to say, "The Ball is the Program," and the program's most-historic season was in jeopardy because the Broncos didn't take care of the ball for a change.

"The guys did a great job of picking (me) up," said Terrell, whom Fleck later referred to as the best player on the team — and that's saying something, seeing as Davis, the star senior receiver, is heading toward a high selection in April's NFL draft.

"We kept our oars in the water, that's what this team's all about. People might think it's cliche and not real, but that's just how we operate. Give a lot of credit to the guys picking me up."

Terrell still finished with strong numbers, at 19-for-31 yards for 290 yards and two touchdowns — both coming in the second quarter after WMU, which started out run-heavy only to stall and have to settle for field goals, transitioned to the passing game.

Terrell found Davis for a 70-yard score to make it 16-7. That was the 50th time those two have connected for a touchdown in their careers, one behind the national record for a tandem.

That was a big response, coming on the first play after Ohio — switching from freshman quarterback Quinton Maxwell to senior Greg Windham, who had been nursing an ankle injury — scored its first touchdown.

A little more than seven minutes later, just before the end of the half — after Fleck had burned his final timeout with Ohio about to punt from deep in its territory — Terrell marched down again, and hit senior Carrington Thompson for an 8-yard touchdown with 36 seconds left in the second quarter.

"Both sides made plays," said Ohio coach Frank Solich, now 0-3 in MAC championship games. "Congratulations, certainly, to Western Michigan, a very, very good football team."

Solich was worried about the second half coming into this game, because Western, with its depth, tends to wear down opponents, but Ohio actually came roaring back.

By the end of the third quarter, Ohio had cut its deficit to 26-20, thanks to two touchdown passes from Windham, a 5-yarder to senior Jordan Reid — his second score of the game — and a 31-yarder to sophomore Papi White.

Windham finished 14-for-30 for 214 yards and the three touchdowns, while White had two catches for 98 yards, including a 67-yarder on Windham's first throw of the game.

A 37-yard field goal by Ohio freshman Louie Zervos, who missed an extra point earlier, made it 26-23 with 7:14 left.

But Terrell, despite the uncharacteristic early mistakes, steadily responded with an 11-play drive that began with two key passes, and featured the hard running of sophomore Jamauri Bogan. It ate up nearly 6 minutes and ended with a 34-yard field goal from freshman Butch Hampton, his MAC-record fifth field goal of the game. Hampton, in the first half, hit from 42, 27 and 21, and early in the second, hit from 33.

Ohio got the ball back with 1:24 left, and Windham completed his first three passes for first downs to get inside Western Michigan territory in a hurry.

"I will say, I don't know if I was breathing during that," Fleck said. "But we had a conversation on the headset and I told Ed (Pinkham, defensive coordinator) ... 'I believe in you, we're going to get this thing, and they did.' It's only fitting that Robert Spillane strips the ball at Northwestern to make us 1-0.

"And Robert Spillane ends the story, ends the book of the regular season with a pick. Only fitting."

With that, Fleck closed an imaginary book at the MAC media dais.

Davis, the FBS's all-time leading receiver, added 144 yards to his resume on eight catches. Bogan, coming off a 200-yard game against Toledo last week, rushed for 86 yards on 26 carries, many key ones late.

WMU added three turnovers, including two in the first quarter to again set the tone — a fumble recovery by junior Andre Turner on Ohio's first drive, and a fumble recovery by freshman Giovanni Ricci on a WMU kickoff. That led to three points.

Then, several fascinating hours of football later, Spillane secured turnover No. 3 — and, of course, history.

"I can't. I can't," Davis said, the game's offensive MVP, when asked to put all this into words. "We've come so far.

"It's crazy, mind-blowing, honestly, just to look back and see how far we've come. I would've never thought we'd be an undefeated team.

"A lot of blood, sweat and tears, and it paid off."

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter.com: @tonypaul19