Cardinals fall in final minutes at Toledo

TOLEDO, Ohio - It was only fitting that a contest between the top two teams in the Mid-American Conference West Division came down to the final minutes.

Unfortunately, an eight-yard touchdown pass with 1:18 remaining gave host Toledo a 28-21 victory over Ball State in Tuesday night #MACtion at the Glass Bowl.

The Cardinals (5-5, 3-3 MAC) would get the ball to the Rockets' (7-3, 5-1 MAC) 47-yard line on the ensuing drive, but an interception on a fourth-down pass sealed the UT victory.

"Tough loss," head coach Mike Neu said. "We really struggled to take advantage of the field position that the defense did a great job of getting us in the second half. We ran the ball effectively, but just couldn't get anything going in the passing game. Our defense really played well. They did a great job of winning the field position battle. Down the stretch, Toledo made a play. Give them credit."

Despite the loss, it was another career night for sophomore running back Carson Steele who carried the Cardinals offense with a career-high 198 yards and three touchdowns. The total included his longest rush of the season, a 38-yard touchdown jaunt to give BSU a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.

It was the eighth time this season, and sixth straight game, the reigning MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week has run the ball for over 100 yards, tied for the second most among all FBS players nationally.

The Cardinals defense also turned in a strong effort, holding the conference's top scoring offense to almost eight points under its league-leading scoring average of 35.9 points per game.

Over the four drives before the game-winning touchdown, BSU forced a pair of three-and-outs, held Toledo to one first down, and allowed just 17 total yards. It was also able to give the offense solid field position, including drives starting at the Toledo 47-yard line and the Ball State 48-yard line.

Jaquan Amos and Clayton Coll each racked up 11 tackles to lead the defense. Coll had a team-best 2.5 tackles-for-loss, while Amos added a pass breakup on a third-down stop in the second half.

Sidney Houston Jr. and Tavion Woodard tallied 1.0 sack apiece and combined for nine tackles. Amechi Uzodinma II forced a fumble and recorded an interception in the end zone.

Offensively, Brady Hunt caught four passes for 56 yards, while Jayshon Jackson had a pair of grabs for 20 yards and Yo'Heinz Tyler had one catch for five yards. Jackson and Tyler extended their streak of catching at least one pass to 35 consecutive games, which is tied for fifth-most among all active FBS players.

The Rockets were guided by Dequan Finn, who threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns. Dyontae Johnson led the Toledo defense with 11 stops.

Ball State returns to action next Tuesday (Nov. 15) when it closes the home portion of the 2022 season with a 7 p.m. ET kickoff versus MAC East Division leader Ohio inside Scheumann Stadium.

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Team Stats

John Paddock

Players Mentioned

Jaquan Amos

Clayton Coll

Sidney Houston Jr.

Brady Hunt

Jayshon Jackson

Carson Steele

Yo'Heinz Tyler

Amechi Uzodinma II

Tavion Woodard