FOOTBALL: Cardinals staying humble despite big win over Rockets

The theme of the news conference following Ball State’s 31-24 win over Toledo was simple.

It’s just another win.

Head coach Pete Lembo said it in his opening remarks. Keith Wenning echoed him.

It’s just another win.

“I don’t want to blow this out of proportion,” Lembo said. “It’s a win, it’s a good win, but it’s just the next game. It doesn’t mean more or less than Kent State or Western Michigan or Akron or anybody else. It’s a good win and we’re happy to get it.”

Ball State’s win Saturday looks like another win when looking on the schedule. It’s how the Cardinals (4-1, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) got the win that makes it more than that.

Toledo (2-3, 1-1 MAC) led for only 1:01 of game time after a Wenning fumble was returned for a touchdown late in the first quarter to take a 10-7 lead. One minute later, Scott Secor hit a 22-yard field goal to tie the game.

When the Rockets’ offense woke up by tying the game at 17-all four seconds into the fourth quarter, the Cardinals came right back at them. The two teams worked their own scoring drives in the final quarter until Ball State’s final touchdown – a 4-yard run by Jahwan Edwards – was the final blow to Toledo.

“Our coaches had done a good job showing us what they were going to do,” linebacker Kenny Lee said. “They made a few plays but our coaches got us together on the sideline.”

Similar to last season’s road win against Toledo, Ball State needed to come up with stops on fourth down. The Cardinals forced two turnover on downs in the fourth quarter, including a 4th and 6 on Toledo’s final offensive play of the game.

Being able to trade touchdowns with one of the consistently top teams in the MAC hasn’t been something Ball State has always been able to do. But getting a second consecutive win over Toledo means that Ball State can consistently compete with the top MAC programs and can nearly put themselves in discussion for the West Division title.

But that’s the furthest thing from the player’s minds.

“It’s another win on our schedule,” Wenning said. “[Toledo] is a good opponent, but every week’s a battle. Every week you have to come ready to play or you’ll get your butt kicked.”

Ball State’s humble approach to the win comes from its own experiences a season ago.

Wenning and Lembo admitted the team became complacent after rattling off consecutive wins against Bowl Championship Series teams in Indiana and South Florida. The result was two straight losses in MAC play against Kent State and Northern Illinois.

After those losses, the Cardinals came back to the ground and are hesitant to let themselves fly again.

“We’re mature, we knew that after we beat South Florida we slipped up against Kent,” Wenning said. “We always have that in our back of our head. Each week is a battle and you have to prepare for that opponent.”

The win is the seventh straight in the MAC for Ball State dating back to last season. The last time Ball State dropped a conference game was the 35-23 home loss to Northern Illinois. The 2-0 start in conference play is the first of such for Ball State since 2008.

Wenning threw for over 300 yards for the 11th time in his career, totaling at 335 yards. He had three receivers – Willie Snead, Jamill Smith and Jordan Williams – with over 90 receiving yards. Snead led the team with 131 yards.

Edwards continued his scoring streak since returning to the lineup last week against Eastern Michigan. He scored three times against Toledo and six times in the last two games.

Ball State will already be focused on its road game against Virginia come Monday morning. But the thing that will be the same is the team’s humbleness in beating Toledo.

“Those guys that were around before wins like this existed, those guys really understand how hard it is to beat anybody,” Lembo said. “I think we have enough of those messengers in the locker room that know it wasn’t always like this around here.”