Western Michigan Broncos beat Miami Redhawks 23-13 behind Jalen Buckley's MVP outing in 2025 MAC Championship Game
- Chas Post
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 15 hours ago
The Western Michigan Broncos defeated the Miami Redhawks 23-13 in the 2025 MAC Championship Game at Ford Field on Saturday, securing the second conference title in school history and first since 2016! Western Michigan running back Jalen Buckley took home MVP honors after finishing with a season-high 193 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Buckley quickly got the scoring started with a 67-yard touchdown on the opening drive to give the Broncos a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the first quarter. Miami immediately answered though as running back Jordan Brunson scored a touchdown from one yard out, which was set up by wide receiver Kam Perry's unreal one-handed catch earlier in the drive.
Western Michigan eventually extended the advantage to 16-6 at halftime as kicker Palmer Domschke drilled three consecutive field goals including a season-long 50-yard kick in the final minute of the opening half. The Broncos held an edge in total yards (247-123) and time of possession (20:51-9:09) on the way to taking a double-digit lead into the locker room.
Buckley's impressive performance continued into the second half, finding the end zone from 64 yards out to help give the Broncos a commanding 23-6 lead. Western Michigan stepped up on defense as well as linebacker James Camden forced and recovered a fumble, and defensive end Nadame Tucker sealed the win with six total tackles and 2.5 sacks.
The Broncos came into this season with the goal of returning to Detroit for the first time in nearly a decade and winning a MAC championship, and they did just that with a dominant win over Miami on Saturday. Now, Western Michigan will will play in a bowl game in the coming weeks with an opportunity to reach the 10-win mark for just the second time ever.
"All glory to God. How about the Broncos? You know we started out 0-3 and everybody counted us out. They buried us and they said we were dead but we have a group of fighters with the heart of a champion. It's never been pretty but it was sure as hell gritty," Western Michigan head coach Lance Taylor told the media following the championship triumph.
2025 MAC Championship Game stat leaders
Jalen Buckley: 193 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns
Nadame Tucker: 6 total tackles, 2.5 sacks
James Camden: 4 total tackles, 1 fumble recovery
2025 MAC Championship Game awards
Offensive Player of the Game: Jalen Buckley
Defensive Player of the Game: Nadame Tucker
Special Teams Player of the Game: Palmer Domschke
MAC Championship Game recent history
2012: Northern Illinois over Kent State (44-37 2OT)
2013: Bowling Green over Northern Illinois (47-27)
2014: Northern Illinois over Bowling Green (51-17)
2015: Bowling Green over Northern Illinois (34-14)
2016: Western Michigan over Ohio (29-23)
2017: Toledo over Akron (45-28)
2018: Northern Illinois over Buffalo (30-29)
2019: Miami over Central Michigan (26-21)
2020: Ball State over Buffalo (38-28)
2021: Northern Illinois over Kent State (41-23)
2022: Toledo over Ohio (17-7)
2023: Miami over Toledo (23-14)
2024: Ohio over Miami (38-3)
2025: Western Michigan over Miami (23-13)
MAC Championship Game past winners
1. Northern Illinois Huskies (5)
2. Marshall Thundering Herd (5)
3. Miami Redhawks (4)
4. Toledo Rockets (4)
5. Central Michigan Chippewas (3)
6. Bowling Green Falcons (2)
7. Western Michigan Broncos (2)
8. Akron Zips (1)
9. Ball State Cardinals (1)
10. Buffalo Bulls (1)
11. Ohio Bobcats (1)
12. Eastern Michigan Eagles (0)
13. Massachusetts Minutemen (0)
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