To see the photo gallery of today's action, click here.
Moments after Sean Baker intercepted Central Michigan's Hail Mary pass in the end zone to seal Ball State's 31-27 victory Saturday, coach Pete Lembo was all smiles. The Cardinals had completed a 17-point comeback – the fourth largest in school history – and were now one win away from bowl eligibility for the first time since 2008.
"I guess you can't argue that we're not playing exciting football around here," Lembo joked.
After Saturday, surely no one would try.
Trailing 17-0 at one point late in the second quarter, Ball State (5-3, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) reenergized its offense with a field goal as the first half ended. It then kicked into high gear in the second half with four touchdowns and the defense forced three turnovers.
Lembo said there was no yelling at halftime, no rousing pep talk needed. Even though the Cardinals trailed 17-3, middle linebacker Travis Freeman and Lembo agreed there was no panic, just a desire to get back on the field and show their true talent.
"I didn't sense the wind coming out of our sails," Lembo said. "I just told them I fully expected and had confidence that we could peck away at [the lead] and get ourselves back in the game and there was still plenty of time to do so."
After Central Michigan (2-6, 1-3) opened the second half with a field goal, Ball State went to work. Keith Wenning led the Cardinals on a 12-play, 88-yard drive capped by a 28-yard touchdown pass to Briggs Orsbon. It was Wenning's first touchdown pass since Sept. 24 against Army and cut Ball State's deficit to 10 points.
Less than two minutes later, the Cardinals were only down three points. Chippewas running back Zurlon Tipton was hit by defensive tackle Nathan Ollie and fumbled. It was what Ball State calls a "city ball," meaning there was a lot of traffic around it. Freeman, who was blitzing on the play, saw the ball and fell on it, giving Ball State good field position at Central Michigan's 38-yard line.
"Anytime you can create turnovers, you can control the football game," Freeman said. "We created some today, and you can see where it got us."
Wenning and the offense took advantage. Four plays later, running back Jahwan Edwards plowed into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown run.
The Cardinals scored one more time before the third quarter ended on a touchdown pass from Wenning to tight end Aaron Mershman, giving them their first lead of the afternoon. Wenning said the offense came into the third quarter motivated to improve on its poor performance in the first half.
"That first half, we know that, as an offense, that wasn't us," Wenning said. "The big thing was just executing play by play, one play at a time, not getting frustrated. That's happened in the past a little bit."
Central Michigan wasn't done yet, however. The Chippewas retook the lead with a touchdown less than four minutes into the fourth quarter. But it wouldn't last long. Two minutes after falling behind, Wenning threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jamill Smith, who was running wide open down the middle of the field.
Smith said one of Central Michigan's safeties covered Briggs Orsbon on the play, while the other was fooled by a fake handoff. Running alone towards the end zone, he allowed himself one wave to alert Wenning.
"Thank God Keith saw me," Smith said.
The touchdown gave Ball State a four-point lead with 9:41 to play, plenty of time for Central Michigan to score again. But the Cardinals defense stayed tough, forcing another fumble by Tipton and fending off the Chippewas' last-ditch scoring chance with Baker's second interception of the year.
The victory kept Ball State in the mix for the Mid-American Conference West Division and a bowl game. Freeman said the Cardinals haven't talked about such possibilities, but he believes they belong with the other contenders.
"We're a good football team," Freeman said. "When we're playing complete football, we're a great football team."
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