Ball State University
Temple
Football Suffers First MAC Loss of the Season
October 08, 2011 | Football
"This will be a good test for us as we move forward," first-year head coach Pete Lembo says. "We ran the ball pretty well against a team that defended the run very well this season. We tried to stay somewhat balanced against them. I think we had a lack of poise, and if that was the case week one or week two, we would never accept it, but in week six it's not what we want, it is unacceptable."
For the game, quarterback Keith Wenning finished the day throwing 19-of-34 for a 155 yards. Senior wide receiver Briggs Orsbon led the Cardinal with six receptions for a total of 68 yards.
Defensively junior linebacker Travis Freeman had 16 tackles on the day while senior free safety Kyle Hoke managed a career high 11 tackles.
Temple took the early 7-0 edge over the Cardinals after quarterback Chester Stewart threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Joe Jones in its opening drive. The Owls would add another touchdown to make it a 14-0 ball game with just under minute remaining in the first quarter.
With 8:05 remaining in the second quarter tailback Bernard Pierce rushed for four yards for his second touchdown of the half to put Temple up 21-0 over Ball State. Pierce added another TD with 4:35 on the clock increasing Temple's lead to 28-0.
The Ball State defense managed to stop Temple from scoring in the third quarter. The Owls would add two more touchdowns in the fourth.
"We played decent run defense this year, so for them to attack our secondary that is pretty banged up is what we expected," Lembo says. "You want to test yourself against the best in the conference, and we have to bounce back next week against another very good team. Temple is the finished product of a staff that did a terrific job building a program."
NOTES:
- Freshman running back Jahwan Edwards posted a 10-plus yard rush for the ninth time this season when he rushed for 15 yards at the 5:10 mark in the first quarter.
- Edwards surpassed the 400-yard rushing mark for the season on a 9-yard run in the third quarter.
- Wide receiver Briggs Orsbon's 20-yard reception in the second quarter was his second longest catch of the season.
- Quarterback Keith Wenning's 33-yard punt in the second quarter was the longest punt of his career.
- Defensive end Ryan Hartke recorded his second sack of the season and of his career at the three minute mark of the third quarter.
- The last time the Cardinals offense was held scoreless in a game was September 25, 2010, at Iowa (45-0).
- Linebacker Travis Freeman recorded a season high 16 tackles for the game, tying his career-high from the meeting at Iowa in 2010.
- Safety Kyle Hoke had a career-high 11 tackles for the Cardinals, his previous high was 7 on two different occasions.
First Quarter
Temple 7, Ball State 0
5:27- Chester Stewart 24-yard touchdown pass to Joe Jones. Brandon McManus kick good.
14 plays, 71 yards, 5:26
Temple 14, Ball State 0
:59- Bernard Pierce 2-yard touchdown run. Brandon McManus kick good.
5 plays, 26 yards, 2:09
Second Quarter
Temple 21, Ball State 0
8:05 - Bernard Pierce 4-yard touchdown run. Brandon McManus kick good.
15 plays, 71 yards, 7:04
Temple 28, Ball State 0
4:35 - Bernard Pierce 1-yard touchdown run.
4 plays, 52 yards, 2:21
Third Quarter
Temple 28, Ball State 0
Fourth Quarter
Temple 35, Ball State 0
10:37- Matt Brown 7-yard touchdown run. Brandon McManus kick good.
8 plays, 57 yards, 4:13
Temple 42, Ball State 0
7:29- Chris Coyer 7-yard touchdown run. Brandon McManus kick good.
3 plays, 78 yards, 1:36
