Week 2 Flashback: Reliving Ball State’s Greatest Football Games
September 12, 2020 | Football
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A national TV statement, a tremendous MAC debut, a gutsy two-point call and late defensive heroics
The Ball State football team was originally scheduled to visit "The Big House" in Ann Arbor, Michigan, today to take on the Michigan Wolverines.
With the postponement of the season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, ballstatesports.com is instead providing a weekly look back at some of the Cardinals' most memorable games throughout the fall.
Ball State 35, Navy 23 Sept. 5, 2008 (Muncie, Ind.)
A school-record student turnout at Scheumann Stadium and a national television audience on ESPN saw Ball State clear its first real hurdle in what would be an historic season.
With fans waving signs proclaiming early Heisman Trophy candidacy for BSU quarterback Nate Davis and receiver Dante Love, the duo did not disappoint. The pair connected for a 61-yard touchdown just three plays into the game that set the tone.
The stadium's fourth-largest crowd of 22,517 fans, including more than 10,000 students, saw plenty more of that as the night progressed.
Gallery: (9-10-2020) 2008 vs. Navy
Davis, who did eventually finish eighth in the Heisman voting, made good on 21-of-28 passing for 326 yards and four touchdowns. Love caught nine of those balls for 165 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score.
His final touchdown came with 7:33 to play in the third quarter and put Ball State back on top 28-23 after Navy had rallied to take the lead. The Midshipmen, who did their damage on the ground as usual, marched back down the field looking to answer. But Drew Duffin and Bryant Haines stood up Navy's Jarod Bryant on a fourth-and-1 at the BSU 3-yard line.
Ball State then went 97 yards in 10 plays with Davis finding tight end Darius Hill on a 35-yard connection early in the fourth quarter to move the lead to 35-23. That score stood up the rest of the way, aided by a B.J. Hill interception on Army's next drive.
Briggs Orsbon also caught one of the Davis touchdown passes on this night, and MiQuale Lewis ran for 114 yards in the win. Ball State, which had routed out Northeastern in its opener, moved to 2-0 on the way to its undefeated, 12-0 regular season.
It was the second straight year the Cardinals defeated a strong Navy program. The Midshipmen had gone 8-5 the year before, reaching the Poinsettia Bowl in their final year under head coach Paul Johnson, and would post the same record in 2008, earning a spot in the EagleBank Bowl in their first year under current coach Ken Niumatalolo.
Ball State 38, Toledo 28 Sept. 13, 1975 (Muncie, Ind.)
It was the first Mid-American Conference game for Ball State, and it was a memorable one. The Cardinals had played a growing number of MAC teams in the preceding years, but this was their first official league game.
And it was no easy task. Ball State faced established MAC program Toledo, not far removed from three straight undefeated, nationally-ranked seasons and led by 1974 MAC Offensive Player of the Year Gene Swick, one of the nation's top quarterbacks. Swick would go on to break the NCAA record for total offense in a career by season's end.
It was a challenge that led BSU head coach Dave McClain to quip early in game week, "What I'd like to have is about four inches of snow on the field for him Saturday."
As it turned out, the snow wasn't necessary. All the Cardinals needed was Art Yaroch, Earl Taylor and a defense that took the ball away from the Rockets five times. Earl Taylor
Taylor ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns, while Yaroch added 64 yards and a touchdown on the ground and also accounted for two scores through the air. Swick did manage to throw for three touchdowns, but it was not enough to spoil BSU's MAC debut.
Mike Andress dove to catch a 1-yard touchdown pass from Yaroch with 7:10 left to break a 28-28 tie, and Jim Nedeff added some insurance on a field goal with 1:50 to play. The BSU defense kept the Rockets off the scoreboard in the final quarter, as the Cardinals prevailed 38-28 in the first meeting between the teams.
Ball State forced a total of seven fumbles on the day -- including one on Toledo's first play from scrimmage -- and recovered five of them. The Cardinals fumbled four times of their own, losing two of them, and fought through 13 penalties to send the home crowd of 16,242 home happy.
BSU went on to finish its first year in the league in third place with a 4-2 conference mark, setting the table for a MAC championship just one year later.
In late game scenarios, the old adage says you go for the tie at home and the win on the road. Well, the Cardinals were on the road in this one. And they needed a win.
These were the days before overtime, and a tie just was not going to cut it for head coach Dwight Wallace after his Ball State team had suffered an opening loss to eventual MAC champion Central Michigan. The Cardinals needed to put one in the win column to avoid falling into an early hole in the league race.
So after Mark O'Connell found tight end Ray Hinton with 6 seconds left to pull Ball State within one at 17-16, the decision was an easy one for Wallace. The Cardinals would forgo a potential game-tying extra point in favor of a two-point conversion attempt.
Wallace was validated when Ken Currin broke over the goal line to lift the Cardinals to a road win under the lights at Huskie Stadium. Mark O'Connell
It didn't look promising for Ball State after Alex Armato's 12-yard touchdown run gave Northern Illinois a 17-10 lead with 2:05 left. And it looked even more bleak after a sack on the first play of the Cardinals' final drive dropped them back to their own 13-yard line.
But O'Connell then hit 8-of-9 passing on the final drive as the clock ticked away, moving his team the length of the field before hitting Hinton on a third-down play for the touchdown.
O'Connell, back after an injury knocked him out of the previous season in game two, threw for 166 yards, while Mark Bornholdt ran for 128 and a touchdown. That duo helped the Cardinals spoil the home debut for new NIU head coach Bill Mallory, the former head man at Miami (Ohio) and Colorado who would later go on to become the winningest coach at Indiana.
Ball State 25, Wichita State 21 Sept. 10, 1983 (Muncie, Ind.)
Ball State came back from a 21-13 fourth-quarter deficit behind a pair of Neil Britt touchdown passes and some late defensive heroics to avenge the previous year's loss at Wichita State.
It was a wild final period that included interceptions and fumbles by both teams, the last of which sealed a home win for the Cardinals.
Gallery: (9-10-2020) 1983 vs. Wichita State
Britt touchdown passes of 39 yards to Dave Naumcheff and 5 yards to tight end Mike Leuck put Ball State ahead with 5:15 to play. The Cardinals went for two and missed both times, leaving them with a four-point advantage at 25-21.
After alternating short defensive stands and turnovers in the closing minutes, Wichita State had the ball in BSU territory with under a minute to play and seriously threatening to steal this one back.
The decisive play came as Wichita State receiver Reuben Eckels was headed for the end zone with 50 seconds left. BSU cornerback Jeff Warner hit him hard to jar the ball loose, and linebacker Bob Regan hustled in to recover it and secure the win.
Britt threw for 263 yards, hitting both Naumcheff and Leuck for more than 100 yards. The victory proved to be pivotal in the Cardinals' bid for a winning season, as BSU went on to finish the year 6-5.
Other Notable Week 2 Games Sept. 9, 1989 at Rutgers: This one in Piscataway, New Jersey, featured four lead changes before ultimately coming down to a long field goal in the final seconds. Ball State intercepted Rutgers quarterback Scott Earney three times on the day, but Earney's 9-yard touchdown run with 1:05 left put the Scarlet Knights back on top 31-28. With no time outs remaining, David Riley hit Sean Jones for 16 yards and BSU drew a holding penalty against Rutgers that put the Cardinals in long field goal range with 6 seconds left. Kenny Stucker came on to drill a 51-yarder -- his third make of the day -- to secure a tie. David Riley threw touchdown passes to Eugene Riley and Adam Wilson on the day, while Wilson also ran for a score.
Sept. 8, 2018 at Notre Dame: Ball State more than held its own in its first visit to South Bend to face one of college football's most storied programs. The Cardinals made fans of eighth-ranked Notre Dame uneasy in the closing minutes after an afternoon of harassing Irish signal caller Brandon Wimbush. BSU intercepted the Notre Dame quarterback three times and sacked him on four occasions. The Cardinals rallied from a 24-6 fourth-quarter deficit with Riley Neal's touchdown pass to Nolan Givan and a field goal from Morgan Hagee. The field goal -- Hagee's third of the day -- pulled BSU within a single possession at 24-16 with 1:30 to play. But Notre Dame was able to recover the ensuing onside kick and run out the clock. The Irish would go on to finish the regular season 12-0 before falling to Clemson in the College Football Playoff.
