The ball floated in the air with the game on the line, Akron on the verge of winning the game and the Ball State University defense backed against a wall.
Cardinals defensive back Marcus McClure tipped the fourth and goal pass, and Chris Allen - who was nursing a broken right wrist - came away with the interception in the middle of the end zone to secure Ball State's second straight win, 23-17.
"The d-line was making pressure, everybody was in coverage, we got the ball tipped, and the ball came our way," Allen said. "Thank God I was able to get it. I was praying the whole time."
Akron had four opportunities to score inside the 5-yard line. On first down and at the 1-yard line, Zips running back Brett Biggs was stuffed for a 4-yard loss. Quarterback Luke Getsy then overthrew to Kris Kasparek twice in the middle of the end zone, setting up the fourth and goal from the 5-yard line.
"The first play obviously was the big play with the tackle for the loss," Ball State coach Brady Hoke said. "It was a daggone good goal line play. We'll take it anytime."
Ball State's offense was able to get into the red zone several times but only came away with three field goals in the first half.
Brian Jackson's consecutive field goals gave Ball State a six-point lead as the first quarter came to the close. But B.J. Hill's 54-yard punt return resulted in Ball State's first punt return for a touchdown since 2000 and gave the Cardinals a 13-point lead.
"I was like, man, this is too wide open," Hill said. "It just opened up like the Red Sea."
The Ball State offense then came out in the second half sluggish, losing 12 yards during its first three possessions. But the Cardinals found momentum and put together a drive that eventually led to Michael Steinhaus grabbing a 6-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter.
On that play, Ball State's Joey Lynch - on third and goal from the 6-yard line - threw a pass to Steinhaus that was ruled just short of a touchdown by the original call. But the play was overturned to give Ball State the touchdown and a 23-10 lead.
"They caused problems early in the second half," Lynch said. "As we got going, we ran it right at them. Instead of them dictating the flow of the game, when you can run the ball, you can really dictate the flow of the game."
Akron went into its hurry-up offense with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game. The move resulted in the Zips cutting the deficit to six with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jason Montgomery, his second of the game. Montgomery caught his first touchdown pass in the third quarter to put Akron behind, 16-10 with less than five minutes remaining.
Akron drove 82 yards in two minutes for Montgomery's second score, and the Zips had the opportunity to take the lead after the Cardinals' offense was forced to punt after being called for two penalties that set them back 21 yards to their own 12-yard line.
Ball State last won consecutive games in 2002 when the Cardinals won three games in a row, beating Western Michigan (Nov. 2), Central Michigan (Nov. 16) and Buffalo (Nov. 23).
"Amazing, 'cause it's been a long time since we've had two in a row around here," Lynch said. "To win a big one at Northern [Illinois] and come back here and play in front of a home crowd and have a win at home, and to be able to get that second win in a row is truly amazing."
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