Ball State University
Michigan
Football Team Nearly Defeats No. 2 Ranked Michigan
November 04, 2006 | Football
With 4:25 left in the third period, Ball State pulled to within 12 points of the nation's No. 2 ranked team, and then with 8:45 left in the game Larry Bostic scored on a two-yard run and the Cardinals were down only 34-26 to the Michigan Wolverines.
The Cardinals defense forced a Michigan punt with 6:38 to play and Ball State began a drive at the Wolverines 13-yard line as the 109,359 fans came to an obvious hush in the largest college football stadium in the country.
After a 25-yard pass from Nate Davis to Dante Love for 22 yards put the Cardinals in Michigan territory, Bostic put together rushes of eight yards and 19 yards to give the Cardinals the ball first and goal at the eight yard line. Ball State failed to convert a Davis to Love pass on fourth and goal and gave Michigan the ball back with 2:46 to play.
After holding the Wolverines again and forcing a punt, the Cardinals got the ball back with 16 seconds to play and had three chances to get in the endzone, but time ran out on the Cardinals rally and the Wolverines improved to 10-0 with the 34-36 win, while Ball State fell to 3-7 on the season.
"Our kids played really hard," Ball State head coach Brady Hoke says. "We wanted to play well on special teams, we did not want to turn the ball over and we wanted to make them earn this win if they were going to get it. We did that, and we got the game into the fourth quarter and put the pressure on Michigan to beat us. Our defense did a good job of getting us the ball back down the stretch, and we gave the offense a chance. We had a chance to maybe get that last score and try a two-point conversion, but could not get in the endzone."
Ball State got off to one of the best starts against a Michigan team this season. The Cardinals built a 9-7 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to a Cortlan Booker forced fumble that rolled out of the UM endzone and gave Ball State two points on the safety, plus an Erik Keys 29-yard interception return for a TD.
Ball State's 9-7 lead marked only the second time all season a Michigan team has been behind in a game. But the nation's second ranked Wolverines scored 17 unanswered points to take a 24-9 lead.
A Brian Jackson 46-yard field goal closed the gap to 24-12 with 57 seconds to play in the half. But Michigan opened the second half scoring with a touchdown at the 6:46 mark of the third quarter and took a commanding 31-12 lead.
Ball State mounted a 73-yard drive that culminated with a 54-yard touchdown pass from Davis to Love and closed the Michigan gap to 31-19.
"We feel we had some chances," Ball State linebacker Brad Seiss says. "We have some playmakers on offense, and the defense just wanted to give them a chance to win the game. It did not work out for us today, but we fought hard all day long."
Bostic led Ball State in rushing with 12 carries for 46 yards and one touchdown, while Love managed 107 receiving yards and one TD on six receptions.
Davis completed 18-of-34 passes for 250 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Ball State, 3-7 overall and 3-3 in the Mid-American Conference, will return to league play Nov. 14 at Toledo and then finish the regular season Nov. 24 at home vs. Kent State.
