COLUMBIA, Mo. -- With Larry Bostic out for the season aftertearing his right anterior-cruciate ligament, freshman Adell Givensreceived the start at tailback and impressed right away, runningfor 15 yards around right end on the first play from scrimmage andbouncing outside for 15 more two plays later.
At halftime Givens had 74 yards on 11 attempts. He finished with92 on 20, but often had no room to run after halftime. He wasunavailable to the media after the game.
"He's a (pure) running back," Hoke said of the 5-11, 190-poundfreshman. "He's got good explosiveness, and I think he hasdeceptive power."
FRESHMAN QUARTERBACK PLAYS
At the beginning of the season, the coaching staff expected toredshirt freshman quarterback Cole Stinson. When Casey Gillenseperated his shoulder and Stinson was elevated to No. 2 on thedepth chart, there was still a chance he could sit out.
But with the game decided by the fourth quarter, Hoke elected togive Stinson experience.
Stinson completed his first pass, a 5-yarder to Jason Barnes. Hecompleted 4 of 6 for 47 yards, also throwing an interception deepover the middle.
Hoke said he was reluctant to burn Stinson's redshirt, but wasleft with little choice.
"He's a kid we recruited to play, but we wanted to see how farwe could go (without playing him)," he said. "He needs to getready."
The second-year coach added that he's still sticking with JoeyLynch as the starter.
"If we could give the poor kid some time to throw the ball,he'll be very functional. But if Joe gets hurt in the next coupleweeks, Cole's got to be ready to play."
HAPPY TO HAVE HODGES
One Ball State player drew the admiration of the partisan crowd-- punter Reggie Hodges.
The senior didn't drop seven punts inside the 20, like he didagainst Boston College, but he averaged an incredible 50.9 yards on10 boots. His long of 65 yards tied a season and career-best, andhe added a 62-yarder.
On the season, Hodges is averaging 45.6 yards per punt.
RIDGEWAY'S RECORD
With five catches for 53 yards, junior Dante Ridgway now has 149catches in his career, breaking the school record of 145 held byDeon Chester.
Ridgeway had 44 receptions as a freshman before setting asingle-season record with 82 last year.
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