BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -¡- It should never have come down to a desperation drive, the hands of Willie Snead or the foot of placekicker Steven Schott.
But it did.
Ball State should never have allowed its older and wiser brother, Indiana, to climb back into the game.
But it did.
The Cardinals should never have allowed a true freshman quarterback to march down the field on consecutive fourth-quarter drives and erase a 13-point deficit to give his team the lead.
But they did.
The Cardinals were ahead at three different points in the game, but somehow they kept allowing those pesky Hoosiers to claw their way back into the game.
But the Cardinals didn't budge. They bent, but didn't break.
The offense stalled early, but showed heart and determination. That mixed with plays similar to ones called in video games, such as junior receiver Jamill Smith's 12-yard, third-quarter touchdown pass to junior quarterback Keith Wenning to give the visitors a 31-25 lead.
Wenning didn't look comfortable in the pocket early on and didn't appear to be on the same page with his receivers on a handful of plays. But he settled down and found his rhythm. After not throwing a touchdown in the first two weeks of the season, Wenning was destined to bounce back and overcome his early-season troubles.
And he did so by tossing three scores en route to returning to the quarterback we've been accustomed to seeing over the past two years.
The defense had its own challenges to overcome. Sophomore quarterback Cameron Coffman, who totaled 251 of the Hoosiers' 423 passing yards, torched the Cardinals' defense.
But once again, the Cardinals didn't blink.
After going two weeks without recording a sack, the Cardinals harassed the Hoosiers' offensive line before dragging Coffman to the turf three times and true-freshman quarterback Nate Sudfeld to the turf once more.
With everything that unfolded Saturday night inside Indiana Memorial Stadium, Ball State, Indiana's younger brother, fought back and triumphed for the second consecutive time and third since 2008.
And the result means more to this team than just another "W" in the win-loss column. There's a greater value to defeating a bigger, stronger and more prestigious program, especially in the same state.
Smith said after the game he hated Indiana because they always thought they were better.
Not anymore.
For Smith and the rest of the Cardinals, this victory will be forever remembered in the minds and hearts of the men who wore the Cardinal red and white Saturday night in Bloomington.
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