Ball State's 28-25 victory over Buffalo (1-2, 0-1) Saturday featured a game of two different halves. In the first half, Ball State (2-1, 0-1) had its way with the running game, rushing for 119 yards while sophomore quarterback Keith Wenning threw for 131 passing yards.
In the second half, Buffalo's offense took over and eventually took a 25-21 lead late in the fourth quarter. Buffalo quarterback Chazz Anderson engineered his team's last drive of the game that gave the Bulls a four-point lead.
On that drive, Anderson scrambled for 18-yards on a 3rd-and-8 from the Buffalo 16-yard line. The Bulls didn't face another third down that drive as running back Branden Oliver carried the ball nine times after Anderson's run before a one-yard touchdown run by Anderson capped the 14-play, 86-yard drive.
"We knew going in [Anderson] was an outstanding player," coach Pete Lembo said. "That game situation is built for an experienced quarterback like Chazz Anderson. He's poised, he's played the game for five years and he's very athletic."
Lembo credited Buffalo's long runs in the second half to Anderson and his decision-making. He said when Anderson gets loose he becomes another slot receiver or a tailback.
Buffalo's first drive of the second half was a 3-and-out, but three of its next four drives ended with touchdowns, grabbing the second half momentum. Compared to the first half, Buffalo had three 3-and-outs.
"They made some great adjustments at halftime," senior safety Sean Baker said. "We just didn't stick to our gameplan, we were getting outplayed a little bit. They made some adjustments to widen us out a little bit and they got some momentum and ran with it."
With Buffalo making plays on offense and getting large runs in the second half from Anderson and Oliver, Lembo said he didn't feel his defense getting deflated from the plays.
"You line up and play the next play," he said. "That's what we're trying to teach these guys, stuff is going to happen in the game. There's going to be highs and lows. The opponent is going to make plays. You just have to line up and play."
After Wenning found freshman wide receiver Willie Snead for a four-yard touchdown pass that sealed the win, Buffalo had 22 seconds to get within field goal range to force overtime. The Bulls got down to the Cardinal's 46-yard line with one second left on the clock with their only hope being a Hail Mary throw to the end zone. After struggling to stop Buffalo in the second half, Baker made the one play that counted.
Knocking down the desperate throw to the end zone to put his team at 1-0 in the Mid-American Conference.
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