At least, they did for the first half.
A dominating third quarter led Ball State to a 51-28 victory over Illinois State on its season opener Thursday night.
“We haven’t had many wins by that kind of margin here,” head coach Pete Lembo said.
Heading into halftime, the Cardinals had a 21-16 deficit and were either tied or behind in most statically categories.
Illinois State was winning the time of possession battle, 16:23 to 13:37.
The Redbirds’ tight end James O’Shaughnessy made a number of difficult catches in the first half, consistently jumping over Cardinal defenders for the reception.
The team that finished last season as 27th in the country in offensive yards had 46 fewer than Illinois State at halftime.
“Nobody panicked,” Lembo said. “There was no peeling paint off the walls.”
Although the second half was when Ball State unleashed its offense, the shift of momentum occurred in the last offensive play of the second quarter.
“I just told the offensive linemen, ‘We need a score going into the half,’” senior quarterback Keith Wenning said.
With 10 seconds remaining in the half, Ball State was knocking on the Illinois State door at the 16-yard-line. Wenning found sophomore wide receiver Jordan Williams on a comeback route for a touchdown.
Williams used his 6-foot-2, 216 pound frame to fight off the defensive back and get in the right spot for his first career touchdown.
That play gave Ball State momentum going into the locker room for halftime.
“I don’t know it changed my demeanor at all,” Lembo said of Williams’ touchdown. “It reminded me of the Central Michigan game two years ago.”
In mid-October of 2011, Central Michigan had a 17-0 lead before Ball State kicked a field goal to cut the deficit to two touchdowns.
The Cardinals scored three touchdowns in the third quarter and ended the game with a 31-27 win.
Coming out of halftime against Illinois State, senior wide receiver Jamill Smith kept the momentum rolling and took the kickoff 33 yards back to the Ball State 45-yard-line, a shoestring tackle by the Illinois State kicker away from a touchdown.
Five plays later, the Cardinals were once again celebrating as junior wide receiver Willie Snead caught a nine-yard touchdown in the northeast corner of the end zone on a fade route.
Snead led the game with nine receptions for 164 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
That would be the second of five unanswered touchdowns by Ball State.
Lembo attributed the difference in halves to Ball State playing so many new starters, saying they’re still “feeling their way.”
The Cardinals started nine new players on both sides of the ball. All five offensive linemen were new starters, with Jordan Hansel, who was listed as questionable before the game, beginning the game on the bench. He would eventually enter the game in the third quarter.
On defense, all three linebacker spots were occupied by new starters, as well one player in the secondary, sophomore Martez Hester.
The third touchdown was set up by an interception by sophomore Ben Ingle, who ended second in the game with nine tackles.
He also racked up one sack, three tackles for loss and one pick.
Ball State’s running game struggled throughout the first half, and sophomore running back Horactio Banks spelled starter Jahwan Edwards for much of the game. Banks ended with 10 carries for 43 yards and a late touchdown. His quickness seemed to put more pressure on Illinois State than Edwards’ power-running style.
Edwards ended the game with 14 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown, good for 3.5 yards-per-carry.
Illinois State scored a garbage time touchdown to get its first points since the second quarter.
“Everybody knew it was our job to do it,” senior Nate Ollie said. “We had to win the game.”
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