KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Even though his most spectacular playof the game — a 42-yard heave to Ryan Hahaj after muchscrambling -- had a sour result, it was the culmination of severalclutch plays on third and fourth downs that senior quarterbackTalmadge Hill made in a 28-20 loss at Western Michigan.
Like against Toledo two weeks ago, coach Brady Hoke planned onplaying both Hill and Andy Roesch. But Roesch did not take a snapuntil running the two-minute drill in the fourth quarter, as Hill'sperformance was convincing enough.
"We were going to do that in the first half," Hoke said ofputting in Roesch. "We didn't get to it because, really, Talmadgewas doing a nice job. Offensively, we did a pretty good job ofmoving the ball and controlling the time of possession."
Hill used both his arm and legs to produce in criticalsituations. In the second quarter, he rolled out before findingLarry Bostic for what turned into a 43-yard gain. His drive-cappingtouchdown sneak came on fourth-and-inches. In the third he foundMark Franklin for 15 yards on fourth-and-five before, setting up aBrian Jackson field goal. A 12-yard run on third-and-nine precededJackson's second boot.
"They did a good job taking away the QB draw," Hill said. "Theydefinitely scouted that well and did a good job keeping guys in thepocket and blitzing our empty [backfield] set. Fortunately, therewere a couple lanes on third downs where I could make some playshappen."
In all, the Cardinals converted eight of 19 third downs.
RECORD BREAKER
With 10 receptions for 110 yards, sophomore Dante Ridgeway nowhas a Ball State-record 74 catches on the season. The previous markwas 67 by Mike Leuck in 1983.
Ridgeway is also second on the single-season TD catch list withnine and third in the yardage rankings with 925. Brian Oliver (10TDs in 1993) and Dave Naumcheff (1,065 yards in 1983) hold thosestandards.
TAKING ON BABIN
Ball State offensive tackles Joel Hofmann and Justin Schneiderhad the unenviable task of facing Western Michigan defensive endJason Babin, the reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Year and anAll-America candidate.
"I don't think he was as big a factor as I was afraid he wouldbe," said Hoke. He added that his team did not give specialattention to Babin, who finished with nine tackles, including onefor a loss.
"We watched film on him all week and knew going in he was apretty good player," Hofmann said. "We knew he was going to get ussometimes, we just had to limit the times he got pressure."
ALSO...
Hill's 51 yards made him Ball State's top rusher, as theCardinals notched just 111 on the ground. The Cards had rushed for198 and 199 yards in their last two games.
Junior safety Justin Beriault registered the first blocked kickof his career, on Robert Menchinger's 33-yard field goal in thesecond quarter. It is the fourth kick blocked by Ball State thisseason.
Even though Ball State racked up 437 yards of offense, itrepresented the first time in five games Western Michigan limitedits opponent to less than 500 yards.
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