YPSILANTI, Mich. – In the moments that followed Steven Schott's 44-yard field goal Saturday, Ball State celebrated on the sideline. The Cardinals had just taken a 33-31 lead against Eastern Michigan with nine seconds left in the fourth quarter. They were nine seconds away from being bowl eligible for the first time since 2008.
But the celebration quickly died down. There was, after all, still time on the clock. There was still work to be done.
But once the final heave by Eastern Michigan quarterback Alex Gillett had been knocked to the Rynearson Stadium turf, Ball State's celebration began anew and with much less restraint. Junior kicker Schott's field goal had proved to be a game-winner, and the Cardinals (6-4) were in position to be selected for a bowl game.
After singing the fight song with the Ball State fans who made the trip to Ypsilanti, the Cardinals returned to the locker room. Sophomore quarterback Keith Wenning said the Cardinals were pretty excited.
"That was a tough game, Eastern's a tough team," he said. "Everyone feels good about themselves."
But the Cardinals will soon be moving on. There is still work to be done.
In addition to making Ball State bowl eligible, the victory also kept alive its hopes for a Mid-American Conference championship. Ball State is a half-game behind Northern Illinois and Toledo in the MAC West standings, the two teams left on the Cardinals' schedule.
So while senior safety Sean Baker was happy to become bowl eligible, he was already thinking about what comes next for Ball State.
"All our goals are still out there," Baker said. "Win the MAC, get to a bowl game and we're right on track for all of them. We've got to get ready, we've got to get rested, we've got to get healed up and we've got to get back to work."
Ball State has eight days until it plays at Northern Illinois. Cardinals' fans might need the few extra days to recover from Saturday's wild game.
The Cardinals opened the scoring with a 94-yard touchdown pass from Wenning to senior wide receiver Tori Gibson. It was Ball State's longest play of the year and the nation's longest passing play. Gibson, who caught seven passes for a career-high 142 yards, said credit for the play belonged to Wenning, who recognized Eastern Michigan's defense on the play and signaled Gibson to change his route.
"I liked the match-up," Wenning said. "He got a good win off the line, and I just went to him."
Ball State's defense once again struggled to stop big plays, which coach Pete Lembo admitted frustrated him Saturday. Gillett threw two touchdown passes of more than 30 yards in the first quarter, and Ball State was in another shootout.
But at the end of the game, the Cardinals' defense kept the Eagles out of the end zone when it mattered most. Eastern Michigan had first-and-goal from the inside of Ball State's one-yard line with 2:17 left to play. The Eagles couldn't get the ball across the goal line, thwarted on three straight rushing attempts and settled for a 20-yard field goal that gave them a 31-30 lead.
"Our guys stepped up and made a few nice plays there," Lembo said. "But we also had our three timeouts and that was critical at that point to use them and try and get the ball back with the maximum amount of time left on the clock."
There was just enough time for Wenning, who threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns, to lead the Cardinals 46 yards in 68 seconds to set up Schott's game-winning kick. The 44-yarder was Schott's career long and his fourth field goal of the day, another career best.
After the game, Lembo, who is more familiar with the intricacies of the playoffs in the Football Championship Subdivision than the bowl system, told the Cardinals they needed to keep winning in the season's final weeks.
"What I told our guys is this: ‘We're eligible, but No. 1, we're still in the hunt for a championship,'" Lembo said. "‘And No. 2, obviously with every additional win, your chances of going get better.' All we got to do now is get ready for the next game."
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