On an afternoon when Ball State University celebrated the return of many of its alumni and the final announcement of the Ball State stadium renovation drive, the football team gave little extra reason to party.
Eleven penalties left the Cardinals with missed opportunities and a 34-14 loss to Toledo.
Coach Brady Hoke listed just some of the reasons why Ball State fell short of any hope of an upset - something the Cardinals have become notorious for when playing the Rockets at home in recent years.
"When you have 11 penalties, you shouldn't win," Hoke said. "They outplayed us, they ran the ball extremely well, we didn't tackle very well, but they blocked well, they threw the ball well, and we did nothing on offense."
Five plays later, the Rockets were on the board with a 13-yard touchdown pass to John Allen. But Ball State's Bryant Haines blocked the extra point attempt, leaving Toledo with a six-point advantage halfway through the first quarter.
After the teams traded possessions, Ball State's special teams gave the Cardinals an extra reason to celebrate. Redshirt freshman Louis Johnson blocked Brett Kern's punt, and Larry Bostic recovered for a touchdown.
The celebration was short-lived, however. Toledo scored in its first three possessions during the second quarter to take a 27-7 lead into halftime.
Toledo's Trinity Dawson, who rushed for 146 yards on 25 carries, scored on a 10-yard run early in the second quarter, giving the Rockets the lead for good.
"You've got to give Dawson some credit, but they kept ending up north and south way too much. There wasn't enough third or fourth hits on the back," Hoke said.
Toledo scored twice more in the second quarter less than three minutes apart. A backwards lateral pass to Ball State's Dante Love fell incomplete, and Toledo's Keon Jackson recovered the ruled fumble.
"That's definitely on me," quarterback Joey Lynch said. "It was a bad throw. He had an opportunity to make that play."
"In the locker room at halftime, we told them, 'We're going to receive the ball, we'll have a good return, and then we're going to score,'" Hoke said.
Ball State did just that, starting its possession on its own 41-yard line and driving down to the 16, where Darius Hill caught a touchdown. The score brought the Cardinals to within 13 but two penalties and a sack halted Ball State's next drive.
The Cards defense made up for the miscues when Marcus McClure intercepted Gradkowski's throw to Andre Redd at the Ball State 4-yard line.
During that drive, cornerback Joshua Taylor suffered a neck injury while making a tackle. He remained on the field for several minutes before being driven away in an ambulance. He suffered a concussion and bruised neck, but was released from the hospital on Sunday.
Lynch threw a second interception that resulted in Toledo ending any dreams of a comeback early in the fourth quarter.
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