WKU Football: Munson Drills 52 Yard Field Goal as WKU wins First Responder Bowl 23–20.

Photo from Hank Wilson

WKU Football survived a lot of self-inflicted mistakes and ground out a 23–20 victory over Western Michigan in the First Responder Bowl to finish 9–4 during the 2019 Football season.

The game started off slow as Western Michigan & WKU’s drives would stall out (WKU’s on a Storey INT). The Broncos would drive 13 plays and 57 yards but would stall out and settle for a field goal to claim a 3–0 lead.

WKU would put together a nice drive to start the second quarter as 91 yards on 11 plays as Ty Storey would connect with Jahcour Pearson for a 17-yard touchdown to give WKU a 7–3 lead.

Cory Munson would drill a 26-yard field goal with 2:22 remaining and WKU to extend WKU’s lead to 7. Western Michigan tried to push the ball downfield before the half, Linebacker Kyle Bailey came thru with a huge interception as WKU took over at their own 41.

WKU would drive to the 14-yard line and was poised to extend the lead before Ty Storey threw an interception that Josh Simon tipped into the air that would be returned for a touchdown to tie it at 10.

WKU wouldn’t go away quietly before the half driving down 54 yards in less than a minute setting up a Cory Munson field goal from 29 yards. He would push the kick wide right and the score was tied at 10 at the half.

WKU would go three and out on their first drive and Western Michigan would drive 90 yards capping off their drive on a six-yard touchdown to take a 17–10 lead with 8:18 left in the third quarter. That score would hold into the fourth quarter.

WKU offense would respond by going 80 yards in 12 plays to tie it up at 17 on a Storey touchdown to Lucky Jackson.

Western Michigan would add a field goal and WKU would respond by answering with a 31 yarder from Munson to even it up at 20 with 1:36 remaining.

Western Michigan would start the final drive of the fourth quarter from their own 15 and drive all the way down to the WKU 30 before electing to go for it on fourth and three which they wouldn't convert as WMU’s pass sailed incomplete.

WKU would take over at their 30-yard line. They would drive to the WMU 39 yard line and looked to throw a hail mary pass but Western Michigan had 12 players on the field. After the hail mary was deflected, Tyson Helton protested and a long review ensued. It was found that Western Michigan in fact had too many players on the field which resulted in a 5 yard penalty. That penatly put WKU within 52 yards of a field goal and Tyson Helton decided to give Cory Munson a shot a redemption. He’d drill the long field goal and give WKU a thrilling 23–20 victory to finish Tyson Helton’s debut season 9–4.

Here are some thoughts on WKU’s

• WKU outgained the Broncos 481 yards to 307 yards but self-inflicted wounds kept WMU in the game. Seeing WKU reduce the mistakes should help them take the next step next season.
• The Defense dominated most of the game. They only gave up 13 points on the day and repeatedly came up with several stops when it mattered the most. Kudos to Clayton White’s unit and lets hope they can keep him for one more season.
• Ty Storey ended his Hilltopper career on a high note. While he wasn’t perfect he finished 35–51 for 358 yards and two touchdowns. His legacy will live on for a while as he’ll be favorably compared to Doughty, White, Jakes as WKU quarterbacks that put forth memorable careers.
• Lucky Jackson was an absolute beast again today. He caught 17 catches for 148 yards and topped 1000 yards on the season. After an up and down three seasons, Jackson finished his Topper career on a memorable note.
• Tyson Helton finally figured out how to add Josh Simon to the offense on a consistent basis. Today he caught six catches for 106 yards and was the safety valve that most fans envision him to be. We should all be excited about his potential moving forward with three years left to play.
• Cory Munson’s missed field goal rightfully angered the entire fan base. He more than made up for that by drilling that 52-yard field goal. He should get better as he gains more experience. His potential is through the roof.
• WKU losses several key players including Storey, Jackson, and Coco Darden but return almost everyone else. With another offseason of the players being in Helton’s system, a Conference Title is very much on the table in 2020.
• After the Sanford years, it’s been great to savor this bounceback season. WKU’s decline was greatly exaggerated.

WKU heads to the offseason with a lot of momentum and good feelings. Here are your final stats from today’s exciting victory