Ball State University
1-0 , 1-0
Eastern Michigan
0-1 , 0-1
BSU 38, Eastern Mich. 20
August 31, 2006 | Football
Ball State used a strong offensive performance Thursday night to open the season with a 38-20 victory over Eastern Michigan at Scheumann Stadium.
Nearly every Cardinal offensive player contributed. Four Ball State rushers combined for 166 yards on the ground, and two quarterbacks combined for 230 yards through the air. Eight different Cardinal receivers caught at least one pass.
"Offensively, we were good in spurts," Ball State coach Brady Hoke said. "The kids played hard, and it's a good win."
Eastern Michigan took a 7-0 lead after the first quarter, but Ball State outscored the Eagles 31-6 over the next two quarters to take control of the game.
Early in the second quarter, quarterback Joey Lynch capped a 66-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Darius Hill on a fourth down play, knotting the score at 7-7.
Eastern Michigan responded with a 20-yard Andrew Wellock field goal to retake the lead at 10-7. That was the last lead the Eagles would hold.
Ball State true freshman quarterback Nate Davis entered the game and threw the first of three touchdown passes to put the Cardinals ahead for good. On the scoring play, Dante Love took a direct snap and threw a lateral back to Davis, who launched a 46-yard touchdown strike to Louis Johnson.
"I think Ball State has big play potential," Eastern Michigan coach Jeff Genyk said. " But they also did a good job of scheming us with some trick plays."
Davis struck again in the third quarter with touchdown passes to Love and Hill, which turned a 17-13 halftime lead into a 31-13 advantage.
Davis finished the game 7-for-8 for 108 yards, while Lynch was 10-of-20 for 122 yards and one TD.
Eastern Michigan added a touchdown on a Tyler Jones 20-yard pass to Eric Deslauriers, cutting the Ball State lead to 31-20 with 11:51 to play. But Love answered for the Cardinals, taking a reverse 31 yards to give the Cardinals their 18-point margin of victory.
Love and Hill each scored two touchdowns for Ball State. Jones led Eastern Michigan with 164 yards on the ground and 146 through the air. Deslauriers hauled in 10 passes for 127 yards for the Eagles.
Nearly four thousand students, armed with white rally towels, packed the student section to witness Ball State's season-opening victory.
"It was great to see all the students out," Hoke said. "They get the team excited, and they make the game fun."
Ball State returns to action Saturday, Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m. with another home game at Scheumann Stadium against Indiana.Â
Team Stats
EMU 7, BALL 0
EMU - JONES, Tyler 6 yd run (WELLOCK, Andrew kick), 6 plays, 88 yards, TOP 1:58
EMU 7, BALL 7
BALL - HILL, Darius 15 yd pass from LYNCH, Joey (JACKSON, Brian kick) 9 plays, 66 yards, TOP 3:39
EMU 10, BALL 7
EMU - WELLOCK, Andrew 20 yd field goal 10 plays, 77 yards, TOP 4:32
EMU 10, BALL 14
BALL - JOHNSON, Louis 46 yd pass from DAVIS, Nate (JACKSON, Brian kick) 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 1:33
EMU 10, BALL 17
BALL - JACKSON, Brian 46 yd field goal 8 plays, 25 yards, TOP 3:09
EMU 13, BALL 17
EMU - WELLOCK, Andrew 31 yd field goal 9 plays, 68 yards, TOP 1:36
EMU 13, BALL 24
BALL - LOVE, Dante 9 yd pass from DAVIS, Nate (JACKSON, Brian kick) 4 plays, 30 yards, TOP 2:08
EMU 13, BALL 31
BALL - HILL, Darius 6 yd pass from DAVIS, Nate (JACKSON, Brian kick) 6 plays, 57 yards, TOP 1:46
EMU 20, BALL 31
EMU - DESLAURIERS, E. 20 yd pass from JONES, Tyler (WELLOCK, Andrew kick) 1 plays, 20 yards, TOP 0:11
EMU 20, BALL 38
BALL - LOVE, Dante 31 yd run (JACKSON, Brian kick), 8 plays, 69 yards, TOP 3:24
