Ball State Drops Road Opener at No. 11 Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - - Playing a top 15 program in its home opener would be a tough task for any football team. Throw in a near capacity crowd of 105,323 in one of the nation's toughest venues holding its first game with fans in 651 days, that just raised the degree of difficulty.

Having won its last two games versus ranked opponents, the Ball State football team was undeterred and turned in a solid effort Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium. The strong play was not enough to earn an upset victory, however, as 11th-ranked Penn State won the contest by a score of 44-13.

The reigning Mid-American Conference Champions, the Cardinals (1-1) entered the game with the nation's fourth-longest active winning streak at eight games. Unfortunately, the Nittany Lions (2-0) were able to snap it by scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions and never allowing the Cardinals to get closer than 11 points the rest of the game.

After going three-and-out in its first two drives, the Ball State offense started to gain some traction in its third possession. The drive started with a 12-yard completion from redshirt fifth-year senior quarterback Drew Plitt to fifth-year wide receiver Justin Hall.

It marked Hall's 45th consecutive game with a catch, every game of his career, which is the longest active streak in the country at the FBS level. It also sparked a 15-play, 69-yard scoring drive which brought the Cardinals within 11 points, at 14-3.

Hall would finish the game with six receptions and 35 total yards, raising he career total to 2,883 yards. He is 147 yards shy of breaking Dante Ridgeway's program record 3,030 career receiving yards. He also raised his career reception total to 271 which leads all active college football players and is a Ball State record.

Another key play on the drive came on 4th-and-4 from the Penn State 43 when Plitt completed a 21-yard pass to true freshman running back Carson Steele for his first career reception. The Cardinals added third down conversion later in the drive to reach the Penn State 11, before settling for a 24-yard field goal from redshirt senior kicker Jake Chanove.

After holding Penn State to just a field goal on its third possession, making the score 17-3, the Cardinals looked to be on the road to answering on the next drive. Unfortunately, BSU was called for an offensive pass interference call on 3rd-and-5, wiping away a 14-year gain and ultimately forcing a punt.

The Nittany Lions would follow with their third touchdown drive of the game, pulling ahead 24-3. However, they left the Cardinals 2:50 in the half and BSU would capitalize. Starting on its own 25, Ball State would drive all the way to the Penn State four on a 23-yard pass from Plitt to junior receiver Jayshon Jackson.

Plitt would finish the game 25-for-39 with 176 total yards, including the aforementioned 23-yard completion which was a game-long for BSU's veteran quarterback.

Four plays later, the Cardinals would get a 23-yard field goal from Chanove to cut the lead to 24-6 going into the half.

Ball State's defense picked up its play after in the second half, as Penn State missed a 45-yard field goal in its first possession of the third quarter and was forced to punt on its second.

The big play on the second stop, a seven-yard sack by fifth-year senior outside linebacker Christian Albright and redshirt sophomore defensive lineman John Harris on a third-and-eight play which led to the punt.

Unfortunately, the Nittany Lions were able to get a pick-six on BSU's first offensive play of the subsequent drive to pull ahead 31-6. After another Ball State three-and-out, PSU would add a 26-yard field goal to extend its lead to 34-6 with 1:53 remaining in the third.

Following a third Penn State field goal which made the score 37-6 with 9:59 remaining, the Cardinals answered with a touchdown as Steele provided a six-yard, fourth-down run into the end zone to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive with 6:54 remaining.

It was Steele's second fourth-down conversion of the game, making the score 37-13, as he brought in the crucial 21-yard reception on fourth down in BSU's first scoring drive. Steele finished the contest with a team-high 18 rushing yards to go along with 21 receiving yards.

While a Nittany Lions touchdown with 2:10 remaining capped the scoring at 44-13, Ball State fought until the final whistle. Over the last 2:10, redshirt junior quarterback John Paddock nearly engineered another scoring drive.

Paddock completed his first five passes, including a career-long 28-yard throw to redshirt fifth-year senior tight end Dylan Koch. It was the longest passing play of the game and put the Cardinals on the Penn State 12. BSU would get five more yards on a PSU penalty, before an incomplete pass ended the game. Paddock finished the contest 5-for-6 for a career-high 50 yards.

Fifth-year senior safety Bryce Cosby led the Ball State defense with 11 total tackles, including a sack late in the fourth quarter and a pair of tackles for loss.

The Ball State football team returns to the road next Saturday with a 4 p.m. ET (2 p.m. MT) kickoff at Wyoming.

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Team Stats

Drew Plitt

John Paddock

Players Mentioned

Christian Albright

Jake Chanove

Bryce Cosby

Justin Hall

John Harris

Jayshon Jackson

Dylan Koch

John Paddock

Drew Plitt

Carson Steele

Players Mentioned

Christian Albright

Jake Chanove

Bryce Cosby

Justin Hall

John Harris

Jayshon Jackson

Dylan Koch

John Paddock

Drew Plitt

Carson Steele