Fourth Quarter
Neal handed the ball off to Gilbert to convert on the fourth and short. An incomplete deep ball and a run for no gain left the Cardinals facing a third-and-10. Mabon received a screen pass and managed to pick up the 10 yards necessary to keep the drive alive. The offense only managed to pick up 2 yards before facing a fourth-and-8. Neal threw a deep ball to the end zone that was just out of reach for Williams, turning the ball over on downs.
The Bobcats took over at their own 30-yard line with 12:09 remaining in the fourth quarter with a 17-point lead. Running back Ouellette broke off a long 34-yard rush and then immediately followed that up with a 22-yard pick-up on the ground, putting them 13 yards away from the end zone. Sprague threw his third touchdown of the night, this one going to Smith from 7 yards out. The Bobcats doubled the Cardinals' score 48-24 with 8:49 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals once again returned the kickoff for big yardage, starting their drive at their own 42-yard line after a 22-yard kick return. Neal kept the ball for a 14-yard pick-up to open the drive while Green had a 4-yard follow up. A few plays later, Green picked up 24 yards on the draw play, putting the offense at the Bobcats' 11-yard line. Two plays later, Green carried the ball 10 yards for the score, bringing the score to 48-31 with 6:38 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals elected to not go for the onside kick, instead sending the ball away. Blair Brown came in at running back for the Bobcats and picked up big chunks of yardage, the longest being a 43-yard pick-up that put them in field goal range. The Bobcats ran one last play with 38 seconds remaining to end the game.
Cardinals fall to 3-8 after losing 48-31 to the Bobcats.
Third Quarter
The Cardinals received the kick to start the half and returned it to the 16-yard line to start their drive, but were forced to punt after a three-and-out.
After receiving the punt, Ohio had no trouble moving the ball down the field on the ground or through the air. Five consecutive rushes moved the chains before a 25-yard touchdown reception was called back because the receiver did not maintain possession. The Bobcats settled for the field goal to extend their lead to 31-10 with 10:50 remaining in the third quarter.
Mabon continued to return kicks for big yardage, putting the Cardinals at their own 48-yard line to start their next drive. Gilbert fumbled on the second play of the drive, the first fumble by a running back for the Cardinals all year, but the offense recovered and maintained possession. Neal completed a short pass to Mabon that went for 14 yards on the next play to move the chains. The Cardinals would later go for it on fourth-and- 6. A deep ball drew the pass interference for the Cardinals, putting them at the 20-yard line. Neal threw a strike to Mabon the next play for the score to cut the lead down to 31-17 with 7:44 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bobcats struggled at first to move the ball on the ground, but after a 42-yard pass to Sebastian Smith, Ouellete ran it up the middle for 15 yards to put the Bobcats 3 yards away from the end zone. He scored on the next play to make the score 38-17 with 4:48 remaining in the third quarter.
The Cardinals started their drive at their own 25-yard line and threw their way down the field with five straight passes ending in a Williams 33-yard score. The five-play, 75-yard drive lasted a minute and four seconds, and brought the Cardinals within 38-24 with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter.
After a kickoff that sailed out of bounds put the Bobcats at their own 35, Sprague threw a pass to Brendan Cope that could have been intercepted, but instead resulted in a 39-yard pick up. They failed to move the ball from there, but connected on a 41-yard field goal to make it a three-possession game again at 41-24 with 1:40 remaining in the third quarter.
The Cardinals continued to move the ball through the air, with Neal connecting with Mabon for a 22-yard pick up on the second play of the drive. Gilbert was tackled in the backfield to end the third quarter.
The Cardinals are trailing 41-24 facing a fourth-and-2 at the Bobcats' 42-yard line.
Second Quarter
On the first play of the second quarter, JD Sprague completed a 60-yard touchdown pass to Reid, the longest reception of his career. After the pass, the Bobcats extended their lead to 21-3 with 14:51 remaining in the second quarter.
The Cardinals failed to move the chains and would punt after a short three-and-out.
Ohio began to move the ball on its next drive, but A.J. Oullette fumbled while trying to throw the ball. After a punt, the Cardinals took over at their own 9-yard line.
Neal and the offense started to find their groove on the ground. After a fake to James Gilbert, Neal kept it up the middle for a 41-yard pick up to put them at the 50. The next play, Gilbert picked up a 13-yard gain. Ball State went for it on fourth-and-short from the 31-yard line, but failed to convert.
The Bobcats continued their trend of pounding it up the middle, rushing for the first eight plays of their drive before drawing another pass interference penalty to put them 7 yards away from the end zone. A quick slant put Ohio in the end zone, extending its lead to 28-3 with 4:08 remaining in the half.
Another big kickoff return put the Cardinals at their own 38-yard line to start their drive. A few runs put the Cardinals at midfield, but a 36-yard pass to Jordan Williams put the Cardinals at the Ohio 14-yard line. A draw play to Green put the offense just 1 yard shy of the end zone before Neal kept it in for the score. With 1:49 remaining in the second quarter, the score is 28-10.
The Cardinals got aggressive with their timeouts toward the end of the half, but the Bobcats converted and ran down the clock, giving the Cardinals the ball at their own 39-yard line with 31 seconds remaining and no timeouts to prevent them from scoring.
At halftime, Ohio leads 28-10. Ball State will receive the ball to start the third quarter.
First Quarter
Ohio received the ball to start the game. A big return put Ohio at its own 30-yard line to start the opening drive. A short run and two incompletions later, the Bobcats were forced to punt.
The Cardinals couldn't move the chains either and would punt the ball away. The kick put the Bobcats at their own 35-yard line to start their second drive of the game with 13:09 remaining in the first quarter.
After a big pass to Jordan Reid that went for 39 yards, the Bobcats punched it in from 15 yards with a run by Daz'mond Patterson. The Bobcats took the 7-0 lead with 10:21 remaining in the first quarter.
A big kickoff return from KeVonn Mabon put the Cardinals at the Bobcats' 44-yard line. Running back Darian Green was picking up some yards on the ground, but dropped passes forced the Cardinals to settle for the field goal. Morgan Hagee hit a career-long 45-yard field goal to put the Cardinals on the board with 8:19 remaining in the first quarter.
The Bobcats opened their next drive with a long 24-yard run by Patterson to put them near mid-field. The Bobcats continued to move down the field before a pass interference put them at the 15-yard line. Ohio elected to go for it on fourth and inches just 5 yards from the end zone, and converted. The Bobcats later scored on an outside run, extending their lead to 14-3 with 2:10 remaining in the first quarter.
Quarterback Riley Neal completed a long pass to Mabon, but he fumbled the ball on the same play. At the end of the play, Ohio was called for taunting, moving them back to the 18-yard line.
The Bobcats are driving at their own 40-yard line to start the second quarter.
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