Ball State University
2-4 , 1-2
Kent State
0-6 , 0-2
Run Game and Sacks Spark Cardinals to 37-35 Win at Kent State
October 12, 2024 | Football
For Pemberton, the late burst gave Ball State a nine-point cushion with 1:13 to play. It was the second-longest run of his career and his first touchdown of the season after missing a pair of games due to injury.
For the Cardinals (2-4, 1-2 MAC), it snapped a four-game skid while earning their first road win and first victory in the Mid-American Conference this season. Ball State beat Kent State (0-6, 0-2 MAC) for the third straight season. The Cardinals needed Pemberton's rush around right end and Jackson Courville's third field goal of the day to distance themselves from the Golden Flashes who came back from deficits of 10-0 and 27-7.
Ball State took its 27-7 lead just after halftime on a 13-yard TD pass from Kadin Semonza to Qian Magwood. The Cardinals took a 27-14 advantage into the fourth period. But even on a day in which Kent State was limited to just four first downs before halftime, the Flashes turned a 3rd-and-24 situation into a 63-yard TD that closed the Ball State lead to 27-21. The hookup from Tommy Ulatowski to Crishon McCray was their second of three TDs on the afternoon – later adding a 57-yarder with 30 seconds to play.
Courville gave the Cardinals a 30-21 lead with 3:19 to play and seemingly put the game out of reach. But Ulatowski drove the Flashes for a score with 1:18 to play. Ball State recovered an onside kick and, on second down with just over a minute remaining, Pemberton burst free for another score that ultimately sealed the victory. Ulatowski and McCray scored on a third long pass moments later, but Christian Davis recovered the Flashes' second onside kick in less than a minute and the Cardinals knelt one time to close the contest.
Ball State rushed for a season-high 191 yards, and rode the efforts of the defense which managed a season-best seven sacks. While Brandon Berger led the Cardinals defense with three sacks, he joined Joey Stemler, George Udo, Darin Conley and Sam Feeney among Ball State defenders who crashed the Kent State backfield. The Golden Flashes managed just 67 rushing yards of their own. Riley Tolsma led Ball State with nine tackles and Stemler added eight which, but for long plays, helped the Cardinals to one of their best defensive efforts of the season.
Offensively, Braedon Sloan finished with 76 rushing yards on 22 carries. Pemberton had five carries for 52 yards and the Cardinals rushed more times (39) than they threw (35) for just the second time this season.
Tight end Tanner Koziol, eighth in the country with an average of 7.6 receptions entering the game, finished with eight catches for 43 yards.
The Cardinals got momentum early while freshman cornerbacks Eric McClain and Will Yates both earned the first starts of their collegiate career. Yates picked off Ulatowski on the game's first possession and five plays later, Sloan slammed into the end zone from a yard out for the game's first score.
Ball State forced a punt on the Flashes' next possession, and capped a 12-play, six-minute drive with Jackson Courville's 34-yard field goal. The Flashes got on the board with the first of three aerial TDs from Ulatowski to McCray, but Ball State extended its lead to 17-7 on Sloan's second touchdown run and Courville booted a 35-yard field goal in the half's final minute as the Cardinals took a 20-7 lead into the intermission.
Ball State breaks from its MAC schedule next week to visit Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., for the Cardinals' final non-conference game of the season.
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Team Stats
BSU 7, KSU 0
BSU - Sloan,Braedon 1 yd run (Courville,Jackson kick), 5 plays, 35 yards, TOP 01:32
BSU 10, KSU 0
BSU - Courville,Jackson 34 yd field goal 12 plays, 45 yards, TOP 06:02
BSU 10, KSU 7
KSU - McCray,Chrishon 24 yd pass from Ulatowski,Tommy (Hryszko,Will kick) 4 plays, 74 yards, TOP 00:57
BSU 17, KSU 7
BSU - Sloan,Braedon 1 yd run (Courville,Jackson kick), 6 plays, 44 yards, TOP 02:03
BSU 20, KSU 7
BSU - Courville,Jackson 35 yd field goal 10 plays, 55 yards, TOP 03:18
BSU 27, KSU 7
BSU - Magwood,Qian 13 yd pass from Semonza,Kadin (Courville,Jackson kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:32
BSU 27, KSU 14
KSU - Thomas,Ky 4 yd run (Hryszko,Will kick), 6 plays, 72 yards, TOP 03:31
BSU 27, KSU 21
KSU - McCray,Chrishon 63 yd pass from Ulatowski,Tommy (Hryszko,Will kick) 6 plays, 84 yards, TOP 03:18
BSU 30, KSU 21
BSU - Courville,Jackson 38 yd field goal 8 plays, 54 yards, TOP 03:00
BSU 30, KSU 28
KSU - Floriea,Luke 18 yd pass from Ulatowski,Tommy (Hryszko,Will kick) 10 plays, 62 yards, TOP 01:46
BSU 37, KSU 28
BSU - Pemberton,Vaughn 41 yd run (Courville,Jackson kick), 2 plays, 40 yards, TOP 00:14
BSU 37, KSU 35
KSU - McCray,Chrishon 57 yd pass from Ulatowski,Tommy (Hryszko,Will kick) 4 plays, 77 yards, TOP 00:38
