Ball State got two fourth-quarter touchdowns to beat Western Michigan 27-23 and spoil the Broncos’ Homecoming at a sun-baked Waldo Stadium.
The win didn’t come easy for the Cardinals (2-1 West, 3-2 MAC, 5-3 overall), who drove the length of the field twice in the fourth quarter for go ahead scores.
After Ball State capped a three play, 66-yard drive with a 44-yard trick play pass from QB Nate Davis to Louis Johnson, the Cardinals led, 20-16. But the Broncos answered, scoring on their drive’s second play, a 50-yard throw and run from Tim Hiller to Jordan White.
Both teams then went three-and-out, exchanging two pairs of booming punts, and giving the Cardinals the ball. Ball State was able to use the powerful leg of the nation’s leading punter, Chris Miller, to maintain field position before taking over at their own 21 yard line with a little under four minutes to play.
From there, Davis executed a crisp drive which saw the Cardinals move 79 yards in 9 plays while facing only 1 3rd down. Davis was 4 of 5 passing on the drive for 47 yards, including an eleven yard toss to Dante Love which gave Ball State first and goal at the 2. On Frank Edmonds’ second run in the series, the freshman plunged in to the end zone from one yard out, giving the Cardinals the 27-23 margin.
Western Michigan’s last gasp drive ended with an Alex Knipp interception on a tipped ball down the middle. Davis knelt to end it, sealing the Ball State victory.
Davis won on both the scoreboard and the stat sheet in a matchup between two of the league’s best passers. Davis ended the day 25-48 for 358 yards and 2 TDs, including the 44-yard toss to Johnson on a play where he didn’t even line up as a quarterback.
With a little over ten minutes remaining and the Cardinals trailing 16-13, Davis lined up as one of two slot receivers split wide right. Favorite Davis target Dante Love went in to the shotgun position and took the snap before quickly passing back to Davis. Davis found Johnson behind the clearly baffled Bronco defense, giving Ball State its first lead of the contest.
Davis’ counterpart, WMU’s Tim Hiller, also played well at times, throwing 21 of 38 completions for 237 yards. But Hiller also threw three picks, including the game ender to Knipp.
The offensive star for the Broncos was sophomore tailback Brandon West, who carred 21 times for 171 yards, including a 66-yard burst which set up WMU’s go-ahead field goal just before half. Mike Jones’ 33-yard kick gave the Broncos a 13-10 edge heading to the locker room.
Overall, the contest was a near dead heat statistically. Western Michigan (2-1 West, 2-2 MAC, 3-5 overall) outgained Ball State 433-430 and earned two more first downs, 21-19. Time of possession was nearly even as well, but the Broncos came up just short on the scoreboard, giving their homecoming crowd of over seventeen thousand a disappointing send off.
Both teams are still in the running to win the MAC West and advance to the conference championship game. Each school trails Central Michigan by a game, and both teams need Western Michigan to beat Central to have a chance to claim the title.
Ball State is at Illinois next week while the Broncos travel to Eastern Michigan
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