KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) - Alex Carder threw for 237 yards and a touchdown to lead Western Michigan to a 30-24 win over Connecticut on Saturday.
It marks the second straight season the Broncos (2-2), from the Mid-American Conference, have defeated Connecticut (2-2), from the Big East.
Carder completed 18 of 34 passes before leaving the game late in the third quarter after hitting his throwing hand on a helmet. Josh Schaffer caught six of Carder's passes for 104 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown early in the third quarter that put Western Michigan ahead 24-7.
Chandler Whitmer was 28 of 44 for 333 yards passing and three touchdowns for Connecticut. Lyle McCombs rushed for 119 yards while Geremy Davis caught nine passes for 123 yards for the Huskies.
Connecticut pulled within 24-17 on a 2-yard pass from Whitmer to John Delahunt and a 32-yard field goal from Chad Cristin midway through the fourth quarter. But on the Huskies' next drive, Desmond Bozeman returned a Whitmer fumble 53 yards for a touchdown.
It was the Broncos' first fumble recovery for a touchdown in three years. The score also pushed Western Michigan past the 10,000-point total in team history.
Whitmer added a 7-yard TD pass to Davis with 54 seconds to play, but the Broncos recovered the onside kick.
Antoin Scriven scored from 1 yard out early in the second quarter to cap an 88-yard drive and give Western Michigan a 10-0 lead. It marked his ninth career touchdown, all on 1-yard runs.
The Broncos followed that with a 36-yard drive capped by Dareyon Chance's 9-yard run for a 17-point lead. Chance led Western Michigan with 66 yards rushing.
The Huskies finally got on the scoreboard with 2:36 left in the first half on Whitmer's 9-yard pass to Ryan Griffin.
Donald Celiscar's interception at the 3-yard line stopped a UConn drive midway in the first quarter.
UConn had a 425-330 advantage in total yards.
This marked the first appearance at Western Michigan for a Big East opponent.
The start of the game was delayed by a half-hour because of lightning storms in the area.
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| Scoring Summary |
| WMICH | Andrew Haldeman 44 yd FG |
| WMICH | Antoin Scriven 1 yd run (Andrew Haldeman kick) |
| WMICH | Dareyon Chance 9 yd run (Andrew Haldeman kick) |
| UCONN | Ryan Griffin 9 yd pass from Chandler Whitmer (Chad Christen kick) |
| WMICH | Josh Schaffer 30 yd pass from Alex Carder (Andrew Haldeman kick) |
| UCONN | John Delahunt 2 yd pass from Chandler Whitmer (Chad Christen kick) |
| UCONN | Chad Christen 32 yd FG |
| WMICH | Desmond Bozeman 53 yd fumble return (missed kick) |
| UCONN | Geremy Davis 7 yd pass from Chandler Whitmer (Chad Christen kick) |
| Team Stats | ||
| UCONN | WMICH | |
| First Downs | 24 | 19 |
| Third Down Efficiency | 7-17 | 6-15 |
| Fourth Down Efficiency | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Plays-Net Yards | 78-425 | 70-330 |
| Rushes-Yds | 34-92 | 30-77 |
| Passing Yds | 333 | 253 |
| Kick Return Yds | 106 | 19 |
| Punt Return Yds | 32 | 24 |
| Passes | 28-44-1 | 21-40-0 |
| Punts | 6-252 | 8-336 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 4-1 | 1-0 |
| Penalties-Yds | 7-53 | 6-53 |
| Time of Poss. | 33:18 | 26:42 |
| Individual Stats |
| RUSHING |
| UCONN: Lyle McCombs 23-119, Scott McCummings 3--3, Chandler Whitmer 8--24 |
| WMICH: Dareyon Chance 19-66, Brian Fields 3-9, Alex Carder 1-7, Antoin Scriven 2-4, Tyler Van Tubbergen 2--2, Team 2--3, Daniel Braverman 1--4 |
| PASSING |
| UCONN: Chandler Whitmer 28-44-333-1 |
| WMICH: Alex Carder 18-34-237-0, Tyler Van Tubbergen 3-6-16-0 |
| RECEIVING |
| UCONN: Geremy Davis 9-123, Shakim Phillips 4-42, Nick Williams 4-26, Ryan Griffin 3-40, John Delahunt 3-39, Michael Smith 3-35, Lyle McCombs 2-28 |
| WMICH: Jaime Wilson 8-100, Josh Schaffer 6-104, Daniel Braverman 3-25, Kendrick Roberts 1-10, Blake Hammond 1-9, Gabe Hughes 1-5, Matt Cutler 1-0 |
| Standings | |||
| Team | Standings | Conference | Overall |
| Connecticut | 6th Big East | 2-5 | 5-7 |
| Western Michigan | 5th Mid American West | 2-6 | 4-8 |
