Before Saturday's Homecoming game, the tailgating lots outside of Scheumann Stadium buzzed with excitement. It was a beautiful sunny day, perhaps the last warm one of the fall. The leaves beginning to change colors provided a picturesque backdrop to the grills and revelry.
The atmosphere would only last so long. Ball State (3-3) fell behind Temple by 14 points in the first quarter and never came close to catching up. The Owls didn't slow down, routing the Cardinals 42-0 in front of a crowd of 11,874 that largely didn't stick around for the second half.
What had started as a perfect day for football turned into Ball State's second worst loss ever in Scheumann Stadium, which opened in 1967. Only a 49-3 drubbing at the hands of Ben Roethlisberger and Miami in 2003 was worse.
"We've got to do better than that," quarterback Keith Wenning said. "That was ugly."
At times, it was worse than ugly. Ball State had gone 35 years without being shut out on Homecoming and hadn't been shut out in a Mid-American Conference game since 1999.
Pete Lembo has said much of the season that he might not know where Ball State stacks up against the rest of the MAC until December when he has time to reflect on the season. He saw no reason to wait that long after the game Saturday.
"You want to measure yourself against one of the best in the conference? Guess what, everybody got to see where we're at right now," Lembo said. "We've got a ways to go, I think, before we're at their level."
Ball State had a chance to take the lead less than five minutes into the game, driving to Temple's 21-yard line. But the Owls called a blitz on third-and-six coming out of a timeout and dropped Wenning for an eight-yard loss. Steven Schott attempted a 46-yard field goal, but pushed it wide left.
It was as close to scoring as the Cardinals would get. By the end of the first quarter, the Owls (4-2) had two touchdowns and their first takeaway of the day. By halftime, their lead had expanded to 28 points and running back Bernard Pierce was Temple's career record holder for rushing touchdowns.
The Cardinals ultimately had no answer for Pierce or his sidekick, Matt Brown. Pierce ran 30 times for 121 yards and three touchdowns, pushing his season total to 15, the most in the nation. Brown added 114 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
Temple's heavy rushing attack was just what Ball State had expected. But that didn't make stopping it any easier.
"We knew what we were getting ourselves into," middle linebacker Travis Freeman said. "Power football, and that's what they did."
Ball State played without safeties Sean Baker and Josh Howard, who were both injured in last week's loss at Oklahoma. Lembo was clear that he didn't intend to use injuries as an excuse, saying other players needed be playmakers.
The offense, meanwhile, seemed to be out of sync all day. Ball State was called for multiple false starts, which Lembo called unacceptable for the midpoint of the season. Wenning completed just 19 of 34 passes and was intercepted twice. He also fumbled, and has now turned the ball over seven times in the last two weeks.
After starting the season 3-1, the Cardinals have has lost their last two games by a combined score of 104-6. Ball State will play another MAC title contender next week when it goes on the road against Ohio. Lembo said the Cardinals need contributions from unexpected sources against teams of that caliber.
"To have a chance against a quality opponent like this in the condition we're in as a team, guys have to step up and play great," Lembo said. "I don't think we did that in any phase today."
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