10TH ANNUAL SERVPRO FIRST RESPONDER BOWL WKU Vs
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10TH ANNUAL SERVPRO FIRST RESPONDER BOWL WKU vs. Western Michigan Monday, Dec. 30, 2019 Postgame Bowl Notes/Records RECORDS: WKU (9-4 overall; 6-2 C-USA), Western Michigan (7-6, 5-3 Mid-American). Most Valuable Player: WKU WR Lucky Jackson (17 receptions for 148 yards and one touchdown). *WKU won the game on an untimed down, with freshman K Cory Munson booting a career-long 52-yard field goal, the longest field goal in SERVPRO First Responder Bowl history. This marked the first time in the bowl’s nine-game history that the game-winning points were scored on the final play of the game. *WKU’s victory means that nine different programs have won the first nine SERVPRO First Responder Bowl games. *The three-point margin of victory made this the closest game in SFR Bowl history. *Though just 43 total points were scored, the game featured three ties and three lead changes. *WKU’s win allows the Hilltoppers (9-4) to triple their win total from the 2018 season (3-9). *WKU improves to 4-2 in bowl games (all since 2012), while Western Michigan falls to 1-9 in bowls (1-4 in the last six seasons). The Hilltoppers are now 582-405-31 (.587) in 107 seasons since 1913, while the Broncos are 562-447-24 (.556) in 115 seasons dating back to 1906. *Today marked the first time in SFR Bowl history that the team trailing going into the fourth quarter has won the game (Western Michigan led 17-10 after three quarters). *WKU had 11 chunk plays in the game (3 rushes of 10+ yards and 8 passes of 20+ yards), 6 of which went for 20 yards or longer. Western Michigan had 6 chunk plays (2 rushes of 10+ and 4 passes of 15+), 4 of which went for 20 yards or longer. *WKU senior WR Lucky Jackson finished the game with 17 catches for 148 yards. The 17 receptions are tied for the fifth-most in any bowl game all-time. He closed the first half with 10 catches (72 yards), breaking the WKU bowl record for receptions by halftime. *WKU graduate QB Ty Storey set season-highs for pass completions (35) and pass attempts (51), throwing for 358 yards and two touchdowns. He was 5-of-5 for 57 yards on WKU’s first touchdown drive (a 20 yard TD pass to Jahcour Pearson in the second quarter) and 4-of-5 for 30 yards on the Hilltoppers second TD drive (a 5-yard TD pass to Lucky Jackson in the fourth quarter). *WKU senior DB Ta’Corian Darden registered four of the Hilltoppers eight pass breakups on the day, including two on fourth quarter WMU drives. That total matched his regular season total of 4 PBUs. The 4 PBUs doubled the previous First Responder Bowl record. *WKU senior WR Lucky Jackson and junior WR Jahcour Pearson became the second teammates in SFR Bowl history to each have 100 or more yards receiving (Houston had two in 2011). *Western Michigan senior CB Kareem Ali’s 85-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the second quarter was the longest return in SFR Bowl history and the third return for a score in SFR Bowl history. *Western Michigan’s second touchdown came on its first drive of the second half, as the Broncos marched 90 yards in 10 plays, culminating with a 6-yard TD pass from Jon Wassink to DaShon Bussell. That drive came after WMU had produced 105 yards on 32 first half plays. *Conference USA schools are now 4-2 in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. The six appearances are more than any other league. This was the first SFR Bowl appearance for a team from the Mid-American Conference. *This is the seventh of eight Conference USA bowl contests in post-2019, and the circuit is 3-4 to date. This is the Mid-American Conference’s fifth of eight bowl bouts, and the MAC is 2-3 through Dec. 30 games. *This marked the fourth time that a non-SMU FBS game has been played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. On Sept. 13, 2008, Air Force defeated Houston, 31-28, in a Cougars home game that was moved to Dallas due to Hurricane Ike hitting south Texas. In addition, the stadium played host to the Armed Forces Bowls in both 2010 and 2011 due to renovations at TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium. SFR BOWL RECORDS BROKEN Receptions - 17, Lucky Jackson, WKU Pass Breakups – 4, Ta’Corian Darden, WKU Longest Interception Return – 85, Kareem Ali, Western Michigan Defensive Yards Returned – 85, Kareem Ali, Western Michigan Longest Field Goal Made -52, Cory Munson, WKU .