Western Michigan Demolishes Nevada 52–24 in 2021 Quick Lane Bowl

By Jackie Hagar

In their home state, the Western Michigan Broncos cruised past the Nevada Wolf Pack 52–24 in  the Quick Lane Bowl on December 27 at Ford Field in downtown Detroit. 

The Wolf Pack (Mountain West Conference)  were the first to get on the board after a 42-yard field goal but Broncos running back Sean Tyler responded quickly with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown just 13 seconds afterwards. By the end of the first quarter the Broncos (Mid-American Conference) were up 14–3. 

“I was quite surprised when I broke through,” Tyler said. “I was like, ‘wow, there’s nobody  left.’ It was a nice little jog to the end zone.” 

The Broncos kept that momentum throughout the game, with 352 rushing years. To add,  the Broncos outgained Nevada by nearly 300 more yards in total offense. Broncos Head Coach  Tim Lester says that he was proud of his team. 

“I’m proud of these guys,” he said. “They’re champions of this bowl game, and now we’re  going to grow from there.” 

Over 22,000 people were in attendance at Ford Field; mostly Broncos fans.  With Western Michigan only being two hours from Detroit, this bowl game hit very close to  home. 

“I’d say doing it in Detroit is really special,” Lester said. “There are fans here, they have so  many alumni here. It’s such a great day to have a bowl game.” 

Although Western Michigan came home with a victory, the road hasn’t been easy. On Christmas  Day, the Broncos lost La’Darius Jefferson due to COVID-19, which opened up the door for senior  running back Jaxson Kincaide. 

Kincaide, who played for Nevada for four seasons until transferring last season, rushed 17 times for  105 yards and two touchdowns. Overall, he was thankful that he got to play against his former  team. 

“It felt surreal,” Kincaide said. “It was a great feeling to live with some of the guys that I came  up with in 2016 and see a lot of familiar faces. It was great to go out this way.” 

Nevada’s roster and staff has changed tremendously throughout the season. Former Head Coach  Jay Norv+ell accepted an offer with Colorado State just three weeks before the end of the season.  Assistant Coach Vai Taua served as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season and  Ken Wilson will take over beginning next season. 

Furthermore, the Wolf Pack lost three players opting to prepare for the NFL Draft, including quarterback Carson  Strong, who was named the Mountain West’s Offensive Player of the Year. The Wolf Pack also  lost over a dozen players to the transfer portal. Despite the bowl game loss, Taua is proud of his team after all the hardships leading up to the  Quick Bowl. 

“Obviously, not the result we wanted, but I was proud of our team,” Taua said. “This was a  challenge, and they accepted the challenge and never ran from it. They continued to fight for  each other and do the best that they could and that’s all I could ask of them.” 

Western Michigan looks to build off this victory while preparing for the upcoming 2022 Mid-America Conference season.