Ball State University
0-1
Indiana
1-0
Hoosiers Hold off Cardinals 34-24 in Ruoff Kickoff Classic
August 31, 2019 | Football
Plitt throws for 298 yards and two touchdowns, Huntley runs for 81 and one score
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BSU quarterback Drew Plitt threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns, engineering a pair of scoring drives in the second half of Saturday's season opener. But Indiana kicker Logan Justus went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, including a 50-yarder with 2:15 to play, and the Hoosiers (1-0) sealed it with an interception of Plitt in the final minute.
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Ball State (0-1) struggled to get pressure on Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. who threw for 326 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The dual-threat signal caller also led the Hoosiers with 67 yards on the ground.
"There are a lot of positive things we'll be able to look at and build on from the tape," Ball State head coach Mike Neu said. "But certainly there are a lot of things we have to clean up. The effort part of it was good, but now we're on tape, we've played one game here in 2019. We have a lot to do, to study, to watch and clean up when we get back to Muncie."
Stevie Scott III finished off a pair of IU's second-half drives with short touchdown runs, though Ball State held last year's 1,100-yard rusher to just 48 yards on 19 carries.Â
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BSU intercepted Penix twice, with first-half takeaways from Amechi Uzodinma II and Antonio Phillips. But Penix also hit on a 75-yard touchdown pass to Nick Westbrook and consistently moved the Hoosiers offense.
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AJ reading it perfectly and giving the Cardinals the first takeaway of the game!
— Ball State Football (@BallStateFB) August 31, 2019
Moving in the red zone now!#ChirpChirp | #WeFly | #OTM pic.twitter.com/3GfSejpe0I
Ball State used the ground game in the first half to control the tempo, with Caleb Huntley carrying most of the load. The junior running back, who missed the second half of last season to injury, ran 15 times for 56 yards and a touchdown before the break.
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But Indiana largely bottled up the run game in the second half, limiting the Cardinals to just nine yards on the ground. Sacks played a role in that, with the Hoosiers getting more pressure on Plitt and taking him down three times.
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The junior quarterback still managed to find graduate transfer running back Walter Fletcher and sophomore wideout Yo'Heinz Tyler for touchdowns.
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41 career D-II touchdowns. And now a big first one in D-
— Ball State Football (@BallStateFB) August 31, 2019
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Former D-II All-American Walter Fletcher breaking tackles and housing it to answer IU's touchdown.#ChirpChirp | #WeFly | #OTM pic.twitter.com/q7K64eYdTk
Fletcher, who scored 41 career touchdowns as a Division II All-American at Edinboro, took a short pass, broke a tackle and scampered 45 yards for his first Division I score to cut the IU lead to 23-16 on the first drive of the second half. Tyler's catch and run with 6:58 remaining in the fourth quarter pulled the Cardinals within seven again at 31-24.
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But the Hoosiers responded to Fletcher's score with a 65-yard drive and one of Scott's touchdowns and later answered Tyler's with Justus' 50-yard field goal. Justus also drilled kicks of 48 and 49 yards on the day.
"Obviously, we were playing a Big Ten opponent, and I know they have high expectations for this season, but we're capable if we play our best football," Neu said. "That's the challenge. You have to play your best football for four quarters when you play a team like Indiana."
Justin Hall led the BSU receivers with six catches, while Tyler finished with a team-high 71 receiving yards. Riley Miller caught five balls for 51 yards.
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GET. UP. THERE. @BallStateFB's Justin Hall hurdles over TWO players. pic.twitter.com/T9tLhWfT6m
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) August 31, 2019
Bryce Cosby, Jacob White and Ray Wilborn – playing his first game at safety after moving from linebacker – led Ball State with nine tackles.
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The Cardinals will return to Muncie for their next two games, hosting Fordham on Saturday, Sept. 7, and FAU on Saturday, Sept. 14. Both games will kick at 2 p.m. from Scheumann Stadium.
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Team Stats
IND 3, BALL 0
IND - Justus, Logan 48 yd field goal 10 plays, 60 yards, TOP 3:29
IND 3, BALL 3
BALL - RIMMLER, Ryan 22 yd field goal 13 plays, 70 yards, TOP 6:14
IND 10, BALL 3
IND - Westbrook, Nick 75 yd pass from Penix, Michael (Justus, Logan kick) 2 plays, 78 yards, TOP 0:42
IND 10, BALL 10
BALL - HUNTLEY, Caleb 1 yd run (RIMMLER, Ryan kick), 5 plays, 45 yards, TOP 1:31
IND 13, BALL 10
IND - Justus, Logan 30 yd field goal 11 plays, 57 yards, TOP 3:21
IND 16, BALL 10
IND - Justus, Logan 49 yd field goal 9 plays, 59 yards, TOP 1:10
IND 23, BALL 10
IND - Scott, Stevie 4 yd run (Justus, Logan kick), 7 plays, 63 yards, TOP 2:54
IND 23, BALL 17
BALL - FLETCHER, W. 45 yd pass from PLITT, Drew (RIMMLER, Ryan kick) 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 3:19
IND 31, BALL 17
IND - Scott, Stevie 2 yd run (Hendershot, P. pass), 8 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:20
IND 31, BALL 24
BALL - TYLER, Yo'Heinz 36 yd pass from PLITT, Drew (RIMMLER, Ryan kick) 8 plays, 93 yards, TOP 2:25
IND 34, BALL 24
IND - Justus, Logan 50 yd field goal 7 plays, 38 yards, TOP 4:05
