Eastern Michigan University lost its first home game of the season 33-31 Saturday against the Cardinals of Ball State.
With the score 30-28 in favor of the Cardinals with more than six minutes to go, the Eagles offense took the ball on a 13-play, 68-yard drive down to the Ball State 1.
Three plays later the Eagles failed to get into the end zone and settled for a 20-yard field goal by Kody Fulkerson to go back on top 31-30 with a 1:18 remaining.
The Eagles did have more chances to stop Ball State. The Cardinals had a third-down situation negated on a roughing-the-passer penalty on the Eagles, and they had a fourth-and-5 situation at the EMU 40, but the Cardinals converted it and went for the game-winning 44-yard field goal on the next play. The attempt appeared to be blocked, but Steven Schott still converted with nine seconds remaining.
“We can’t have penalties and mental mistakes like that, especially when your team needs a stop,” coach Ron English said.
The loss hurts the chances of the Eagles’ (5-4, 3-2 Mid-American Conference) for a bowl game. Ball State (6-4, 4-2 MAC) increased its chances for a bowl game. The point of emphasis for this game is the Eagles gained 513 yards on offense despite being defeated.
“We shouldn’t lose these type of games after gaining more than 500 yards on offense,” English said.
Quarterback Alex Gillett had his best game as an Eagle, completing 12-of-17 passes for 196 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing for 126 yards. As efficient as the offense was, mental mistakes on defense and special teams hurt the Eagles.
The Cardinals started the scoring with a 94-yard pass from quarterback Keith Wenning to wide receiver Toriel Gibson. That drive for the Cardinals started at their own 1-yard line.
EMU answered immediately on its next drive, as the Eagles drove for a six-play 68-yard drive that was capped with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Gillett to Trey Hunter.
Both teams recorded touchdown drives of more than 70 yards on their next drives to keep the score tied at 14.
BSU began the second quarter with a Schott 31-yard field goal to give the Cardinals a 17-14 lead, which would hold up until EMU scored on one of Gillett’s two touchdown passes of the game to true freshman tight end Tyreese Russell. The touchdown gave the Eagles their first lead, 21-17, with 1:47 remaining in the first half.
Special teams broke down on the ensuing kickoff, as the Cardinals returned the ball 78 yards to the EMU 15-yard line. The defense did stay strong by holding BSU to a 29-yard field goal by Schott to keep the Eagle lead at halftime, 21-20.
The Eagles took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove to the Ball State 43.
A failure on fourth-and-2 gave the Cardinals the ball back, and they took advantage of the good field position. The no-huddle offense worked to perfection against the Eagles and ended with a Jahwan Edwards 15-yard touchdown run to give the Cardinals the lead back, 27-21.
Two possessions later, the Eagles found a rhythm, with a 13-play, 88-yard drive that ended with a Gillett to Nick Olds 18-yard touchdown completion to regain the lead, 28-27.
The next drive for the Cardinals ended with a Bryan Pali interception on the Ball State 35-yard line, but personal fouls moved the ball back to the EMU 45, and a three and out prevented the Eagles from scoring on a good opportunity.
Pass interference and illegal hands to the face penalties helped the Cardinals take the ball to the EMU 5, where they settled for a 23-yard field goal by Schott after the Eagles’ defense nearly picked off a pass in the end zone.
“We struggled a bit on defense, we couldn’t get the stops when we needed to,” English said.
The Eagles still need to win at least two more games to ensure a bowl game, and when asked about the goal of making a bowl game English said, “We have goals that we still want to meet, and the players know their goals.”
The Eagles finish their home schedule as they host Buffalo (2-7, 1-4 MAC) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Rynearson Stadium. The Eagles will honor their departing seniors on Saturday, as well.
