Ball State University
4-7 , 3-4
Buffalo
2-8 , 1-5
Football Posts 20-3 Victory at Buffalo
November 14, 2010 | Football
BUFFALO, NY - Ball State's football team improved to 4-7 overall and 3-4 in the Mid-American Conference with a 20-3 victory over the Buffalo Bulls Friday night on ESPNU. Buffalo fell to 2-8 overall and 1-5 in MAC play.
"We were physical and aggressive and we made some plays," Ball State head coach Stan Parrish says. "We played smart football with no turnovers, good defense and ran the ball well. We had a short week, but came out with good energy."
After being forced to punt on the opening possession, Sean Baker tallied his 15th career interception with just under 10 minutes to play in the first quarter to give the Cardinals the ball near midfield. That pick made Baker the school's all-time leader in career interceptions at Ball State, passing Mike Lecklider (1973-76) and Shafer Suggs (1972-75).
"I was fortunate to make some plays and help the team win," Baker says. "We got some stuff done on defense tonight and put together a good team effort."
Ball State's defense limited the Bulls to 144 yards of total offense, including only 56 passing yards and 88 rushing yards.
Justin Cruz led the Cardinals with nine tackles, while Travis Freeman added eight. Five Cardinals were credited with at least one tackle for loss, including Cruz, Freeman, Derrick Henry, Robert Eddins and Nathan Ollie.
With 3:06 left to play in the first quarter, Buffalo got on the scoreboard first with a 49-yard field goal to take the early lead. The score came following a third down play where a punishing hit by Ball State's Robert Eddins sidelined the Bulls' starting quarterback Alex Zordich. Zordich would not return for the remainder of the game.
On the first play of the second half, Ball State quarterback Keith Wenning completed a 32-yard scoring strike to Otis Brown and Ian McGarvey's point after gave the Cardinals a 7-3 edge with 14:55 left in the first half. It marked the third TD catch of the season for Brown and the 14th touchdown pass for Wenning. The 32-yard catch tied the season long for Brown.
McGarvey connected on a 40-yard field goal with 1:30 remaining in the half to increase Ball State's advantage to 10-3. It marked McGarvey's eighth straight made field goal, only two behind is career best 10 straight achieved in 2009 and through the Liberty game this year.
Sixteen seconds into the second half, Baker stripped a Buffalo runner of the ball and took the ball 26 yards into the endzone for a score. McGarvey's point after made the score 17-3 Ball State.
With 10:52 remaining in the third quarter, the Cardinals were forced to punt, but Jason Pinkston intercepted a Buffalo pass to give Ball State possession. It marked the fourth interception of the season for Pinkston and the seventh of his career.
The Cardinals put together a 14-play, 68-yard drive that lasted 7:26 and culminated with a 32-yard field goal by McGarvey, his second of the game, and put Ball State ahead 20-3 with less than a minute to play in the third stanza.
Bufalo turned the ball over to the Cardinals again with 13:08 left in the game when Baker intercepted his second pass of the game and Ball State took over on its own 34-yard line. Ball State's offense put together a 13-play, 65-yard drive that lasted over eight minutes and ended on the Buffalo one yard line with 4:54 left in the contest and sealed the Ball State victory.
Wenning completed 18-of-26 passes for 174 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Eric Williams rushed a career high 27 times for a career best 109 yards, while Briggs Orsbon and Jack Tomlinson tallied five catches apiece.
The Cardinals will host Northern Illinois Saturday at Noon in Senior Day and the battle for the Bronze Stalk at Scheumann Stadium.
Ball State Notes:
* Sean Baker tallied his fifth interception of the season and a school-record 15th of his career with just under 10 minutes to play in the first quarter. He added his sixth of the season and the 16th of his career with 13:08 left in the game.
* Otis Brown caught the third TD pass of his season and career.
* Wenning completed a 32-yard scoring strike to Otis Brown, which marked the 14th TD pass of the season and career for Wenning.
* Ian McGarvey connected on an 8th straight field goal when he made a 40-yard attempt with 1:30 remaining in the first half. McGarvey's career best mark is 10 straight field goals in a streak that began in 2009 and ended vs. Liberty this season.
* Sean Baker forced his second fumble of the season and fifth of his career. In addition, Baker recovered a fumble and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown. It marked his first fumble recovery of the season and the third of his career. The fumble return for a TD was the second of his career.
* Jason Pinkston registered his fourth interception of the season and seventh of his career.
Team Stats
BALL 0, UB 3
UB - PRINCIPE, A.J. 49 yd field goal 13 plays, 59 yards, TOP 4:32
BALL 7, UB 3
BALL - BROWN, Otis 32 yd pass from WENNING, Keith (McGARVEY, Ian kick) 7 plays, 76 yards, TOP 3:05
BALL 10, UB 3
BALL - McGARVEY, Ian 40 yd field goal 11 plays, 46 yards, TOP 6:33
BALL 17, UB 3
BALL - BAKER, Sean 26 yd fumble recovery (McGARVEY, Ian kick)
BALL 20, UB 3
BALL - McGARVEY, Ian 32 yd field goal 14 plays, 68 yards, TOP 7:26
