Forced to endure 11 disappointing years in between bowl appearances, Ball State University quickly found itself faced with an insurmountable deficit early against Rutgers University in Saturday's International Bowl.
After failing to score a touchdown in the opening half, the Cardinals trailed by 15 points at intermission. Even though Ball State's offense scored three touchdowns in the second half, it was too late to make up for a defense that allowed 595 yards of total offense. The slow start and defensive play led to a 52-30 loss, the Cardinals' largest defeat of the season.
"There never has really been a game that we've started off real good [offensively]," Ball State quarterback Nate Davis said. "We've been down before, but we just had to keep on fighting. We just couldn't fight back [Saturday]."
The Cardinals moved the ball inside Rutgers' 20-yard line twice in the opening half, but failed to score touchdowns on either possession. Instead, the offense settled for two Ian McGarvey field goals, including one on the final play of the second quarter. McGarvey, who was kicking in place of former starter Jake Hogue, connected on all three of his field goals in the first half.
In contrast to Ball State's offense, Rutgers scored two touchdowns on both of its first-half trips to the red zone, helping the Scarlet Knights to a 24-9 lead at intermission.
"You want to get seven points and not three, and it's frustrating when you don't," Ball State coach Brady Hoke said. "We didn't convert very well early in the game, and [Rutgers] made some good plays."
Entering the International Bowl, Davis had been sacked 21 times during the season. The sophomore was sacked a season-high five times in the first half against the Scarlet Knights, preventing the Cardinals' offense from continuing rhythm offensively.
Even with the consistent pressure, Davis finished with 291 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air. He also scrambled numerous times for 38 yards on the ground. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said he had the utmost respect for Ball State's sophomore quarterback.
"[Davis] is something special," Schiano said. "I knew it coming into the game, by watching it on tape, but their quarterback is really a talented guy. He's very elusive, and he's tough because our guys hit him a lot. He just kept scraping himself up off the turf and kept playing. So my hat goes off to him."
Junior running back Ray Rice helped lead the way for Rutgers' offense, recording 280 rushing yards with four touchdowns, including a 90-yard run that opened a 22-point advantage for the Scarlet Knights. However, junior quarterback Mike Teel also had success, throwing for 303 yards and three touchdowns.
"Rutgers is a good, balanced team because they can run the ball so well and they feed off of their play-action pass," Cardinals' cornerback B.J. Hill said. "With the way Rice was running, Teel was able to find his open receivers ... Rutgers came with a great game plan, and they made some adjustments at halftime that hurt us in the second half."
The loss dropped Ball State's all-time bowl record to 0-5-1, and also continued the program's drought against BCS opponents to 0-42. Despite the disappointing loss, Hoke said the experience as a whole was a positive thing for his program.
"We loved being here in Toronto, and we loved how the people treated us," Hoke said. "The bowl people here have been great, our kids have had a great experience and it's a great reward."
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