CHESTNUT HILL, Mass.— For more than two quarters, BallState stayed with Boston College despite two special teams gaffesand the gashing runs of Derrick Knight.
But in the third period the Cardinals could withstand theEagles' offensive line no more, and the home team stampeded to a53-29 victory.
Ball State moved within 28-23 at the 13:23 mark in the thirdwhen Talmadge Hill tossed an inside screen to Dante Ridgeway, whotook it in from 7 yards out. Jesse Avant had recovered a Knightfumble at the 8-yard line three plays earlier.
Boston College (3-2) then reeled off 25 straight points, and theCardinals (2-3) could not answer.
"We didn't play very good defensively," Ball State head coachBrady Hoke said. "There was concern going because of them runningthe ball as efficiently as they do, and being physical upfront.
"I told (Eagle coach) Tom (O'Brien) before the game, the waythey play here is the way we want to play. We want to be a physicalfootball team."
Neither Hoke nor strong safety Justin Beriault felt it was acase of the Cardinals being worn down, though.
"We got manhandled, defensively," said Beriault, who notched ateam-high 14 1/2 tackles and forced Knight's fumble. "We've got togive our hats off to them.
"They weren't really doing anything. They were just running theball, same plays we've seen since the first day of practice. Wejust didn't make the play."
BC seemingly had the Cardinals on the ropes in the secondquarter, taking a 28-10 lead with two touchdowns in less than twominutes. Knight, who totaled 175 yards on 20 carries, broke the100-yard mark and ripped off a 42-yard scoring run with 11:04 left.Ball State went nowhere and lined up for the punt, but for thethird time Michael Hay's snap to Philip Ems was too low to handle,and Jazzmen Williams recovered the ball at the 11. Horace Doddcarried 8 yards and then the final 3 with 9:06 left.
Hay's second snap had resulted in BC's second touchdown, a GrantAdams recovery in the end zone. Hoke was very much surprised withHay's troubles.
"He's consistent (in practice)," he said. "Maybe it was like agolfer who had a bad day, I don't know. When you play a team likethis you can't make mistakes and give points off specialteams."
Ball State caught some good fortune to make it 28-16. Hill fireddeep across the middle while being tackled. Two Eagles went for theinterception, including Paul Cook, who tipped it into the waitinghands of Ridgeway at the 20. Ridgeway then ran it in for a 44-yardtouchdown with 7:15 left in the first half.
"I think the offense kept them off-balance a little bit," Hokesaid. "For the most part, Talmadge did a nice job getting us in theright plays."
The Cardinals moved for 277 yards in the first half and heldnearly nine-minute advantage in time of possession. But the theEagles turned the tables in the second half, and the yardagedifference was 273-90.
Ball State resumes Mid-American Conference play Saturday with a1-0 record in that regard, but Hill knows there's work to do beforeSaturday's game at Kent State, he said.
"I thought we made some improvement in the third quarter in thatthe defense got the turnover and we were able to score quick.That's something we hadn't done in the past. Things just got awayfrom us, and offensively we got kind of stagnant. There's somethings we're doing well, but we're taking some steps back in otherfacets of the game."
Beriault feels a tough non-league schedule that featuredMissouri, Pittsburgh and Boston College has prepared the Cardinalswell for league play, he said.
"Definately," he said. "That's why I'm glad we played it."
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