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FOOTBALL: Ball State shutout at No. 18 Iowa

Worst loss for Cardinals since 2005

IOWA CITY, Iowa – As the rain soaked Kinnick Stadium in the third quarter Saturday, Kelly Page rolled to his right and looked downfield.

Everywhere he looked he saw the black jersey of an Iowa defender keeping close watch of any possible Ball State target. He cocked the ball once, as if he saw a receiver, but then it was gone. Almost hanging his head in resignation, Page tossed the ball into the sideline.

It was that kind of day for the Cardinals, especially on offense. Unable to contend with No. 18 Iowa, Ball State lost its third straight game 45-0. It was the first time they have been shutout since losing 38-0 to Boston College in 2005, snapping a 61-game streak.

"They played good defense," captain and left guard Michael Switzer said. "We didn't do our job on offense. They outplayed us today."

The Cardinals had no answer for the clearly superior Hawkeyes in any facet of the game. They were held to just 112 total yards while allowing 562.

After getting to watch Iowa in person, Stan Parrish reiterated his belief the Hawkeyes could have lost a chance at a national championship with its loss at No. 24 Arizona last week.

"They're a physical, Midwestern, fun football team," he said. "They play football the way you ought to play football."

Ball State entered the game beat up, missing left tackle Cam Lowry, running back Cory Sykes, center Kreg Hunter and linebacker Theon Dixon. Iowa's physical play didn't help. The Cardinals lost tight end Zane Fakes to a torn ACL in the first quarter, and throughout the game, various players were shaken up and had to be helped off the field.

For some, however, the injuries may have been mental. Quarterback Keith Wenning didn't play in the second half after a lackluster start. The freshman was 4-of-8 for 26 yards and an interception. He also fumbled before yielding to Kelly Page.

"It was a real step backward for him," Parrish said. "Maybe he wasn't ready."

Page didn't play much better than Wenning, finishing 4-of-11 for 30 yards. Parrish said he didn't see much to like out of Page, either, but it wasn't entirely his fault.

"He didn't get much of a chance to show anything," Parrish said. "He never got protected. When you don't block any better than that, it's hard to gauge anybody."

Offensively, Ball State simply couldn't get anything started against Iowa's dominant defensive front. The quarterbacks were under almost constant pressure, and running backs found few running lanes.

Switzer said the Hawkeyes physically overpowered the Cardinals' offensive line. Parrish said he'd never seen such dominance by a defensive line.

"There was nowhere to run," Parrish said. "That was as overwhelmed in the offensive line as any I've been around."

While Parrish wasn't happy with Ball State's overall play Saturday, he said the defense played hard in the first half. After the first quarter and a half, however, fatigue set in for the Cardinals.

Iowa's offensive line was often able to open wide holes for its running backs and provide quarterback Ricky Stanzi as much time as he needed to throw. Stanzi didn't play in the fourth quarter and finished 19-of-25 for 288 yards and three touchdowns.

"Iowa has a great football team," middle linebacker Travis Freeman said. "We didn't play tough enough today."

The loss was Ball State's worst since a 63-3 drubbing at Auburn in 2005. But there isn't much time for the Cardinals to forget what happened Saturday. Ball State begins its Mid-American Conference season next Saturday at Central Michigan, the defending conference champions.

Parrish knows his team must rally itself after such a devastating loss.

"I hope so," he said. "Otherwise we're going to have a long, long, long year."

 


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