WEST POINT, N.Y. - It seemed like Ball State University couldn't stop the option.
The first time they touched the ball, Army cut Ball State's defense to pieces with a 13-play, 80-yard drive that resulted in a one-yard touchdown run for Jameson Carter. There was no need for quarterback Trent Steelman to put the ball in the air, except for a few option pitches.
But that was about all for the Black Knights, who struggled to move the ball during the rest of their 24-17 victory Saturday.
"I could only see on the first drive that they did move the ball on us," linebacker Davyd Jones said. "Coming into an offense like this, you have to play assignments. I thought we did a really good job."
Ball State allowed 265 yards of offense by Army, 207 that came on the ground. With 365 yards of total offense of their own, the Cardinals outgained an opponent for the first time this season.
Jones led Ball State with 13 tackles. Fellow linebacker Travis Freeman added 11 tackles and defensive lineman Robert Eddins had the Cardinals' only sack and three tackles for a loss.
Coach Stan Parrish said the defense did their job.
"Our defense played well enough to win," Parrish said. "They made some plays."
Army fumbled six times, but only three were forced by Ball State. Safety Sean Baker was able to recover one, but the Black Knights got most of their own fumbles back. Some were a result of poor pitches that are inherent for teams running the option, but Jones said it was frustrating only recovering one.
"The past couple games we've caused fumbles," Jones said. "We haven't been able to recover them."
Before the game, Parrish said a key would be getting Army to throw the ball, something they're not very comfortable doing. In three games, Army has thrown only 37 passes.
Against Ball State, Army only completed three of their eight passes, but they all were big plays.
The Black Knights took a seven-point lead into halftime after Steelman connected with Ali Vilanueva twice for 46 yards and a touchdown. The 6-foot-10 wide receiver used his height to haul in a 22-yard pass on third-and-20. Two plays later, he caught a wide open 24-yard touchdown pass.
"Koreen [Burch], I thought had an interception [on the first catch]," Parrish said. "He tipped it and they got it. Then we had a busted coverage."
Jones said with a couple breaks, the game could have had a different outcome.
"There were a few, couple plays [where they] got lucky," Jones said. "If a few lucky plays go our way, you're looking at a different game."
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