Big plays have gouged big holes in the Ball State University defense for two games in a row.
One week after Auburn University had six plays of over 20 yards, the University of Toledo racked up seven plays longer than 25 yards. The Cardinals lost both games, including their 37-30 defeat to the Rockets on Saturday.
"A lot of big plays were the cause of a lot of things," defensive end Robert Eddins said. "There are a lot of things we've got to get cleaned up."
The big gainers have been costly. 12 of the 13 have contributed to an opponents' scoring drive and eight have gone for touchdowns themselves.
But none have meant as much as Aaron Opelt's 51-yard pass to wide receiver Stephen Williams to win Saturday's game for Toledo.
"They threw it over [the defensive backs'] head," coach Stan Parrish said. "You can't play like that; not at this level."
Parrish said the problem was not defensive coordinator Doug Graber's play calling.
"We have an excellent defensive staff," Parrish said. "They know exactly what they're doing."
Most of Toledo's big plays came in the passing game. Eddins said the defensive backs weren't the only ones at fault.
"[Opelt] had a lot of time on some of the big plays," he said. "You could tell they watched a lot of film on us, because they came well prepared."
Ball State had just one sack Saturday, at least partially because Toledo used many three-step drops.
"When they first came out, they were throwing a lot of quick passes," Eddins said.
Ball State struggled to stop Toledo on long third downs as well. The Rockets converted a third-and-28 from their own 11-yard line with a 56-yard pass to Williams. On the same drive, Opelt connected with wide receiver Eric Page to pick up a third-and-23.
"Me being a pass rusher, third-and-longs are my down per se," Eddins said. "Third-and-longs, we should never give those up."
Eddins took the blame for the Rockets' conversion from their 11-yard line.
"[I was] just trying to play hard," he said. "I went underneath and [Opelt] got outside and bought him more time. That's my fault right there; I'll take the blame."
The Cardinals will try to fix the problems that have led to the big plays this week in practice.
"You got to make adjustments every week," Eddins said. "We've just got to play better, nothing else to it."
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