DETROIT, MI -- The largest crowd to ever see a Mid-American Conference championship game was treated to a tighter-than-expected matchup between Western Michigan and Ohio University on Friday night.

The Broncos improved to 13-0 when they defeated the Bobcats 29-23 in front of 45,615 fans at Ford Field in Detroit and clinched the win from a hard-charging Ohio offense when linebacker Robert Spillane pulled down an interception with 51 seconds remaining.

Ohio made it to the Western Michigan 37-yard line before Spillane pulled down Greg Windham's pass to put a cap on the game.

The Bobcats trailed the whole contest but made a run at the end of the third quarter to pull within six points (26-20) and were helped along by two interceptions thrown by Western Michigan quarterback Zach Terrell.

Broncos kicker Butch Hampton set a MAC Championship game record with five field goals. Hampton put his team up 6-0 in the first quarter then added another at the start of the second quarter, another near the end of the third and his final one came with 1:24 left in the game. Distances were 42, 27, 21, 33 and 34 yards, respectively.

Ohio struggled to run the ball but found moments of passing clarity as quarterback Greg Windham connected with Jordan Reid for an 8-yard touchdown in the second quarter to get on the board for the first time, a 5-yard touchdown again to Reid and a 31-yard touchdown to Papi White to pull within six of the Broncos near the end of the third.

The Broncos will now wait to see if the College Football Playoff Committee thinks their win was enough to advance them to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2, or if Navy takes the spot. The Midshipmen play Temple at noon Saturday with the American Athletic Conference title on the line. If Navy wins, and then beats Army the next week, it could move ahead of WMU for the Cotton Bowl bid.