Monmouth Hangs Tough Before FBS Opponent Western Michigan Pulls Away

WEST LONG BRANCH - Beating an FBS opponent is already a tall order for any FCS team, but facing one fresh off being cheated out of the biggest win in program history is like walking straight into a buzz saw. That’s what Monmouth was up against Saturday, after the fiasco in Ann Arbor last week gave Michigan a miraculous but highly controversial last-second win over Western Michigan.

Just to add another layer of difficulty, Western Michigan went 10-4 and won the MAC championship last season before being picked as the conference favorite again in the 2026 preseason coaches poll.

As expected, Monmouth lost, but the final score of 49-14 hardly reflected how competitive the Hawks were for much of the afternoon.

“We did some things well. We moved the ball well, we got stops, but it’s putting it all together,” said head coach Jeff Gallo. “That’s a good team, but we’re out here trying to compete and win and play better. We’ll keep pushing ourselves to play better. We have to play complementary football, meaning getting a stop and a score. It’s putting it all together throughout the course of a whole game. Not a quarter, not a half, not a drive. It’s playing a full game as a team.”

Below are some of the Highs and Lows of Saturday’s game:

MONMOUTH WON THE STATISTICAL BATTLE:

The Hawks had a 27-24 edge in first downs. Outgained Western Michigan in total offensive yardage, 431 to 414, and held an edge in time of possession, 31:52 to 28:08.

DROP PASSES KILL POTENTIAL GAME-TYING DRIVE:

Western Michigan was clinging to a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter when Monmouth's defense forced a Broncos three-and-out and punt. The Hawks took over at their own 26-yard line and on first down, redshirt sophomore quarterback Frankie Weaver completed a 19-yard dart to redshirt senior wideout Gavin Nelson. The Hawks then advanced to the Broncos' 30-yard line, but on first down, tight end Greg Genross dropped a Weaver pass at the 20 with room to run. Then, on third-and-7, Weaver’s pass to wide receiver Keshawn Mister was also dropped, setting up a fourth-down pass that fell incomplete. Trailing 14-0 with a first down at the 36-yardline, Weaver lofted a perfect spiral to Nelson, who couldn’t come up with it, at the Broncos' 30-yard line. Nelson had plenty of green in front of him to work with, too. In games of this magnitude, miscues like these always come back to haunt you, and of course, they did.

PASS INTERFERENCE CALL ON INTERCEPTION CHANGED THE COMPLEXION OF THE GAME:

Following Monmouth’s punt and the score still 7-0 early in the second quarter, the Broncos took over at their own 30-yard line. On second down, freshman Amori McNeil stopped the ball carrier for a seven-yard loss. Then, on third-and-13 from the Broncos 27, cornerback Omar Ibrahim intercepted a Broc Lowery pass but was whistled for a bogus pass interference call that had home-team bias written all over it. Western Michigan took advantage and went down and scored to make it 14-0 with 10:53 left in the half. So, instead of having a first down in Broncos territory and trailing by only one score, the Hawks suddenly found themselves in a 14-0 hole.

PUNT RETURN TURNS THE GAME ON ITS HEAD:

With Monmouth down 14-0, but still holding its own, the disturbing trend of special team gaffes reared its ugly head again. Monmouth was forced to punt from their own 35-yard line with Kordell Gouldsby fielding it at the 19-yard line. Gouldsby then returned it to the Monmouth five-yard line, and two plays later, it was 21-0. Monmouth never really recovered, but they never stopped fighting. On their ensuing possession, they drove to the Broncos' five-yard line, but on first-and-goal from the five with 21 seconds left in the first half, Weaver ran into the man in motion as he was about to hand off to Kenny Smith and fumbled the ball away. That was an absolute momentum killer.

HAWKS THIRD DOWN CONVERSION RATE WAS ELITE:

Anything over the 50 percent threshold on third-down conversions is considered elite. Monmouth converted on 11-of-20 (55%) attempts, so that’s a pretty impressive number. On the Hawks' first possession of the second half, Weaver completed a 44-yard bomb to Tra Neal on third-and-8 from the 44. Two plays later, he hit Neal for a five-yard touchdown. Neal was a shining light in the game, finishing with seven receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown. On the flip side, the Hawks were only 1-of-5 on fourth-down conversions, which stalled several potential scoring drives.

WEAVER STANDS TALL IN THE MIDST OF ADVERSITY:

Frankie Weaver was a beacon of strength throughout Saturday's game. He showed courage, poise and determination in an extremely tough environment. He never gave up, directing a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive on the Hawks' final possession of the game, trailing 49-7. That’s an example of true leadership. He finished completing 28-of-46 passes for 273 yards and one touchdown without an interception.

OFFENSIVE LINE WAS DOMINANT AGAINST A STEP-UP IN COMPETITION

Left tackle Matt Fries, left guard Collin Goetter, center Kevin Shrinner, right guard Michael Petitio, right tackle Josh Duran and rotating linemen Brady O’Hara and Reed Collins are worth their weight in gold. In only their third game working together, they more than held their own against FBS competition. They allowed just one sack and protected the pocket against a defense that led the MAC with 46 sacks a year ago. They’ve allowed just two sacks in the three games, and Saturday paved the way for almost 500 yards of total offense.

DEFENSE HAD ITS MOMENTS BUT HAD TOO MANY LETDOWNS:

The Hawks defense knew they had their work cut out for them facing an FBS offense that returned four 2025 All-MAC selections, including quarterback Broc Lowry, running back Jalen Buckley, and offensive linemen Chad Schuster and Hunter Whitenack. They didn’t fall apart by any means, but they definitely didn’t distinguish themselves either. Lowry finished 14-of-20 for 212 yards and three touchdowns. Backup quarterback Trey Petty completed four-of-5 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. The Broncos averaged 4.6 yards per attempt rushing and 7.3 yards per play. The defense had to defend a short field on numerous occasions, which made a difficult task that much more difficult. Western Michigan had scoring drives of two plays for five yards and four plays for 43 yards. And short scoring drives of three plays for 68 yards and four plays for 74 yards. Prior to that devastating punt return, the Hawks' defense forced consecutive three-and-outs, but had to immediately return to the field and defend from the five-yard line. That’s a tough ask for any defense. On Western Michigan’s first play of the second half, the defense surrendered a 44-yard pass down to the Hawks 24-yard line. Two plays later, the Broncos scored to make it 28-0, and the defense never really recovered. Linebacker Ryan Russo played his heart out, recording 10 tackles and a sack, while Jaeden Jones had double-digit tackles again with 10.