BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - In the moments following Ball State's thrilling 41-39 win over Indiana Saturday night, coach Pete Lembo walked off the field with his arm around President Jo Ann Gora's shoulders.
Athletic director Bill Scholl walked on the other side of Lembo, clapping his hands as the group walked past the section filled with Ball State fans who made the trip to Bloomington, Ind.
For those few seconds, there was a rare sense of harmony in Ball State football.
"This is a very humbling experience right now," Lembo said after the win. "This is a great place. Indiana is much improved, and this was a great college football game tonight."
No, Ball State didn't win a national championship or even the Mid-American Conference championship Saturday night. In reality, the win put Ball State at 2-1 in the young season.
But it's how the Cardinals won the game that shows how far this team has come in the last 15 games.
"Just some of the things this team does for just a little over a year in the process - our assistant coaches do a good job of getting this team ready," Lembo said.
After Indiana took the momentum right before halftime with a touchdown and a two-point conversion to take a one-point lead, Ball State took it right back in the third quarter with two touchdowns of their own.
The highlight was the trick play that involved wide receiver Jamill Smith throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to a diving Keith Wenning in the endzone.
"We just put that play in this week," Smith said. "Coach said it was in that place on the field that we would call it at. The same thing happened like it does in practice everyday."
But Indiana made a final push in the final four-plus minutes to take a one-point lead with less than a minute remaining. Before Lembo arrived on campus, Ball State wouldn't have been capable of doing what it did next.
With 49 seconds to get from its own 31-yard line into field goal range, Wenning drove the offense to the Indiana 25-yard line with one second left. It wasn't the perfect drive, and at times it wasn't pretty. But it set up kicker Steven Schott for the game-winning 42-yard field goal.
The drive was an indication Ball State is still heading in the right direction.
For the second time in as many seasons, Ball State has beaten a BCS opponent and beaten Indiana. And it's the third straight win over the Hoosiers, going back to the 42-20 win in Bloomington in 2008.
The game had a different tone than Ball State's win last season in Indianapolis. Then, both teams were playing their first game under new coaching staffs and the game was at a neutral site. The game was basically decided by who could commit the fewest mistakes.
Saturday's win was on the road at a Big Ten stadium. Indiana was supposed to get revenge on last season's loss and prove it could win at its own field. For about 48 seconds, the Hoosiers were about to get that revenge too.
There's still work to be done for Ball State, and Lembo and the rest of the team are well aware of it.
"We have a long way to go," Lembo said. "I know we gave up a lot of yards and a lot of points tonight. We could have done a better job holding onto our lead."
Going forward, Ball State knows its challenge in a home game against South Florida on Sept. 22 before the bulk of the MAC schedule starts.
But the team and the university know a third straight win over Indiana is another step in the right direction of what Lembo is trying to do at Ball State.
"I learned last year that Ball State people really have an affinity for beating Indiana," he said. "That may be an understatement. I know a lot of people in our fan base, our alumni around the country are probably very, very happy with the university and the football program right now."
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