Between the booming fireworks and the victory cheers from fans around Scheumann Stadium, it would be easy to think Ball State had played a perfect game after beating Eastern Michigan 37-26 on Thursday.
Coach Pete Lembo knew that was far from the truth, addressing any issues in the post-game news conference.
"We've got to finish a little better," Lembo said. "We've got to be more consistent throughout the game. We've got to cut back on our penalties."
Lembo's main criticism came down to Eastern Michigan's two touchdowns in the fourth quarter following a Ball State field goal that extended the lead to 37-13.
"The field goal put us up four scores, and that's where I felt like our guys took their foot off the gas pedal a little bit, and that was part of my message to them afterwards," Lembo said. "Obviously, I'm very happy we won, but we've got to play 60 minutes. Hopefully that's a good learning experience for them."
Senior middle linebacker Travis Freeman was equally critical of Ball State's performance in the final period, saying the defense had too many coverage breakdowns and allowed Eastern Michigan quarterback Alex Gillett to make too many plays.
But when any team wins by double-digit points, there is almost always going to be more positives to talk about than negatives.
Both field goal kicker Steven Schott and kickoff specialist Scott Secor played one of the best games of their careers.
Schott nailed a 52-yard kick in the first quarter that cleared the uprights with room to spare, breaking his previous career-long by eight yards. Secor, meanwhile, held back Eastern Michigan's return game, earning four touchbacks on eight kickoffs.
Although kickoffs were moved from the 30-yard line to the 35-yard line this season, Secor only managed to kick five touchbacks in 56 attempts in 2011.
"Scott Secor's kickoffs were tremendous tonight," Lembo said. "Scott came out with a lot of confidence. [Special Teams Coordinator] Justin Lustig trusted him to do some things, and it really worked out well for us with some directional kickoffs tonight."
Even though it seemed like Ball State players were limping off the field every other play, the team only suffered two slightly concerning injuries, Lembo said.
Junior wide receiver Jack Tomlinson left the game in the first quarter with a right arm injury after he was hit while making a catch. Fortunately for Ball State, the injury didn't appear to be serious.
"I don't think it's long-term," Lembo said. "I hope he's ready for Clemson."
Freshman safety Chris Pauling was the other injured Ball State player Lembo mentioned in the post-game news conference. Lembo said Pauling left the game in the second quarter with a thigh bruise, only to return in the third quarter. At that point, it didn't take long for the coaching staff to realize Pauling wasn't ready to play.
"In that one big run in the third, he was supposed to come down and it was just clear he just couldn't do it," Lembo said. "So we pulled him out, and [Jarrett] Swaby, Brian Jones and J.C. Wade played the rest of the way."
The biggest win for Ball State may have come with the amount of students at the game, who nearly filled the entire section of bleachers on the west side of the stadium at one point in the game.
"It was very obvious to me we had a great student turnout tonight," Lembo said. "I don't know what the numbers were, but they were loud, they were into it, they looked like they were having a good time. Obviously, it was an entertaining game. We've tried very hard to reach out to them and let them know we wanted them to be here. Hopefully they come back out when we're back home for South Florida in a few weeks."
EDWARDS HONORED BY MAC
After setting a physical tone for Ball State against Eastern Michigan by running for 200 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, sophomore running back Jahwan Edwards' breakout performance didn't go unnoticed.
The Mid-American Conference named Edwards the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
This is the first time Edwards has won the weekly award. His career-high game puts him 74 rushing yards away from totaling 1,000 in his career.
Edwards currently ranks sixth in the FBS in total rushing yards. Clemson running back Andre Ellington sits in first on the list after he ran over Auburn for 231 yards on the ground on Saturday.
Conveniently, Ball State plays at Clemson at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
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