Broc Lowry's career passing day powers Western Michigan to 38-7 win vs. Kent State

Kalamazoo — Getting the ball with 1:49 until halftime, Kent State having just scored its first touchdown of the game to cut Western Michigan’s lead to seven, Lance Taylor didn’t want to be conservative. 

Kent State would get the ball out of the half, and could thus double up on scoring if the Broncos just relented with knees and went to the break. And with WMU’s quarterback, Broc Lowry, having played well to that point, Taylor made clear to offensive coordinator Walt Bell what he wanted to do.

“‘We're not playing conservative. Let's go score points,’” Taylor said, recalling postgame his message over the coaching comms. “They get the ball coming out of half. We're not gonna just take this to half and run it out. Let's give Broc an opportunity to push the ball down the field and go score. And he did that and he made it look pretty seamless.”

Lowry and Western Michigan delivered then, marching the team 73 yards in 1:19 for a touchdown before half, a well-thrown 28-yarder to Baylin Brooks on a slot fade route, and delivered all day in a 38-7 win that might’ve involved Lowry’s best day as a passer. 

“Very, very proud of Broc and how he played today,” Taylor said.

Western Michigan (4-2, 2-0 MAC) ended up rolling as Lowry completed 18-of-26 passes for a career-high 257 yards and three touchdowns, while adding a rushing score and 52 yards on nine carries to boot. He delivered calmly and cooly in critical moments, never put the ball in jeopardy, and came through decisively down the field, completing seven passes of 15 or more yards. Six of those went for 25 or more yards. 

“We have games like this where we get it going on both the ground and in the air,” Lowry said postgame. “I think that's what makes it so dangerous.”

Lowry’s passing ability flashed on the third play from scrimmage, with WMU facing 3rd and 11 after the first two plays fizzled out. He dropped back, scanned his options, and rifled over the middle to Egypt Nelson running a post route from the right side. With the catch and run, WMU gained 33 yards. 

The very next play of the day, Lowry came up with the longest, as WMU ran tight end Adam Parks on a vertical route that got him wide open up the seam on the left side for a 42 yard touchdown where all the tight end had to do was turn up field, run 10 yards, and cut back on one defender to fall into the end zone for his first touchdown as a Bronco. 

“Taking what the defense gives you,” Lowry said. “They were middle of the field open coverage and Egypt ran a nice bender route and was able to get over the linebacker, just a great connection. Then we were able to, next play, throw it to Parks up the seam. And it’s just a great week of practice that goes on before that. And we earn the right to make those plays in practice.”

Lowry would go on to have completions of 15, 25, 28, 30 and 31 yards, additionally, including connecting on another in-breaker over the middle to Baylin Brooks for the 15 yarder in the third quarter. The 28-yard touchdown to Brooks right before halftime was another. The second touchdown drive was set up by a 30 yard wheel route throw and catch to tailback Cole Cabana, the longest of his career. 

All told, Lowry completed 69.2 percent of his passes for the career high in yards, all while completing passes to nine different receivers. No WMU pass catcher caught the ball more than three times, though Parks really made it count with a pair of touchdowns. 

“I think what he did in the pass game allowed us to be explosive and efficient,” Taylor said. “It shows that his confidence has grown in what we're doing, and that we have playmakers on the perimeter. That when they want to load the box, and when they're trying to blitz and stop the run early, we're able to throw the football down the field.”

FINAL: Western Michigan defense, Broc Lowry shine in 38-7 drubbing of Kent State

The Broncos kick off homecoming at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+ against the Golden Flashes.

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Park’s second touchdown illustrated the sort of control Lowry had in the pocket on Saturday. 

On that play, a quick rush came from Lowry’s right, and he turned and started to bail out but didn’t lose his vision for a pass catcher, finding Parks out in the flat and letting the tight end bully a few yards for a score. 

It was a similar story just before half, as Taylor and Bell opted to push forward. Lowry understood the situation well, too. 

“Can't throw a pick, but still trying to be aggressive,” Lowry said. “You know, if we get in field goal range, we're guaranteed points.”

On the two-minute drive before half, Lowry delivered almost flawlessly. He went 5-for-6 for 59 yards and capped it with the touchdown to Brooks — although there was an incompletion wiped out by a defensive pass interference. Lowry also added a six yard gain on the ground. 

But it was the way he commanded the situation, made good decisions and avoided the drive-crippling play that stood out, like bailing from a muddy pocket to deliver a six-yard completion on the sideline to Keivin Boone-Nelson II that also stopped the clock. 

“He was confident in what he was doing, confident in his reads, and where to go with the football, and there were a couple of plays in there where they blitzed us, and he protected, you know, didn't take a sack, and knew what — knew where to go with the football,” Taylor said. “So I think that shows, you know, a quarterback who is playing really confident and also put in a ton of time to work and improve and study.”

It was the sort of comprehensive, on-point performance from Lowry that the Broncos have been hoping to see as the MAC player of the year evolves into something more complete as a quarterback. 

And at least on Saturday, Lowry was that more complete quarterback, one who can lead Western Michigan to a lot more wins like Saturday.