When Ball State University coach Brady Hoke has his team go through its weekly two-minute drill this week in practice, the players might be a little more appreciative of its importance.
Trailing by three points with 3:57 left in the fourth quarter, a weekly practice routine paid dividends in a game situation.
Ball State, which led for 1:30 of Saturday's game at Western Michigan University, orchestrated a nine-play, 79-yard drive. The possession culminated in Frank Edmonds' one-yard touchdown run with 1:07 left in regulation that secured a 27-23 win, putting Ball State two games above .500 for the first time this season. The victory also wrecked Western Michigan's homecoming and gave the Broncos their first loss in the Mid-American Conference West Division.
"We run [the two-minute drill] twice a week and always have," Hoke said. "I think if you want to find out the merit of your team, you scrimmage those situations in fall camp because it really takes a lot of urgency, a lot of focus and a lot of communication. We put them in our two-minute drill and it got them off balance."
Though Ball State was the first Western Michigan opponent in 34 games to not commit a turnover, the Cardinals had seven dropped passes in the first half and committed nine penalties throughout the game. Before Ball State's final drive, the offense had produced 41 rushing yards during the game.
However, all that turned around in the Cardinals' final possession. Ball State did not hurt itself with a penalty in the final drive and the Cardinals' tight end Darius Hill made a 20-yard diving catch that moved the ball into Broncos' territory. Led by a 25-yard run by Edmonds, Ball State also recorded 31 rushing yards on its final drive.
Even though the Cardinals struggled offensively throughout most of the game, Ball State receiver Dante Love - who led the team with 11 receptions for 101 yards - said the players never lost confidence.
"From the beginning it wasn't the play calling, it was the players," Love said. "We were killing ourselves the whole game, so we knew once we got focused we would start making plays. When it came down to it we were able to make those plays."
Ball State got its first lead of the day with 10:01 left in the fourth quarter on a trick play that resulted in a 44-yard touchdown pass to Louis Johnson. On the play, Love lined up as the quarterback in shotgun formation and lateraled the ball to starting quarterback Nate Davis, who was split out to the right side as a receiver. The defensive secondary lost track of Johnson, and Davis tossed his second touchdown of the day, giving the Cardinals a 20-16 lead.
"Dante is one of our main players, and every defense is looking to stop him," Davis said. "They'd never seen the double pass before, so no one covered [Johnson] and he was wide open."
The momentum Ball State received off the trick play was short lived. After an incomplete pass, Western Michigan quarterback Tim Hiller threw a 50-yard touchdown to Broncos' receiver Jordan White. The score gave Western Michigan a 23-20 lead, 23 seconds after Ball State had grabbed its first lead of the game.
Knipp said the defense had to have a short memory to recover after its breakdown.
"After that happened we just went out there and tried to focus on the next play," Knipp said. "That was a mistake by the secondary, and we know those happen sometimes. But we knew if we came back out there and played like we had been we could stop them."
Saturday's showdown was the first of a three-game road trip for the Cardinals, and Ball State will travel to the University of Illinois and Indiana University in the next two weeks. Love said it was important for Ball State to get a victory before continuing the rest of its road trip.
"We're going into two games against the Big Ten, and those guys pretty much think we are a gimme game," Love said. "They'll probably give us their B game. So we're going to go in there and give them a good fight for their money."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
