DEKALB, Ill. – Ball State’s Jonathan Newsome had Jordan Lynch dead to rights in the backfield, wrapped up for a loss on a third and 11.
Unbelievably, yet somehow unsurprisingly, Northern Illinois University’s senior quarterback made something out of nothing and escaped for a first down as he has done all game and all season.
The Huskies marched down the field and scored a touchdown on the drive, taking the lead.
Northern Illinois wouldn’t trail for the remainder of the game as it beat Ball State, 48-27.
The play was one of the first things Ball State head coach Pete Lembo mentioned following the game.
“Newsome didn’t bring him down,” Lembo said. “Great play by Jordan of breaking free and scampering for a first down.”
Later in the game, Lynch had a similar play along the right sideline. He was caught for a loss, but found a way to break free, running for a touchdown.
“We had a shot to contain him and maybe get the ball back with a little more time,” Lembo said. “[Lynch] is very fast. He’s built like a linebacker, but he has tailback speed.”
Lynch finished the game 26-of-32 for 345 yards and two passing touchdowns. On the ground, he added 20 carries for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
“Jordan is a great player,” sophomore linebacker Ben Ingle said. “He has size and he has speed, so it’s very hard, but you can’t beat yourselves by missing tackles.”
Ball State had one last chance to come back from the deficit. With less than five minutes left, Ball State faced a fourth and one from the Northern Illinois 46-yard line.
As it had all season long in short-yardage situations, Ball State gave the ball to its workhorse running back, junior Jahwan Edwards.
Edwards was stopped for a one-yard loss.
Despite his last carry of the game, Edwards finished with 29 carries for 156 yards and one score. His longest carry was for just 13 yards. Ball State was missing backup and change-of-pace running back Horactio Banks, as it was reported he had a torn ACL before the game.
“I was very pleased with how effectively we ran the football today,” Lembo said. “Overall, we felt very good that we were staying on schedule running the football.”
Ball State led at halftime, 24-20, but was held to just three points in the second half.
“We just couldn’t keep the drives going,” senior quarterback Keith Wenning said. “We moved the ball, we had a long drive to get it on their side of the field, but it just kind of stalled. I think that was the difference between the first half and the second half.”
In the second half, Wenning was 15-of-23 for 126 yards and one interception, a pick-six late that sealed the win for the Huskies.
The loss moves Ball State to 9-2 on the year. It has a chance to get to 10 wins, for the first time since the 2008 season, on Nov. 29 against Miami University.
“We have a chance to [earn the 10th win] this next game, so we have plenty to play for,” Lembo said. “We get this next win, we know it’s going to enhance our chances to go to a really nice postseason bowl game.”
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